Head to head
Magic UI vs Kokonut UI
Magic UI and Kokonut UI solve the same job (UI component libraries), so this is a pick-one decision. Magic UI is our default here: Best stack fit of the animated libraries. Animated beams for a table-of-contents, number tickers for circulation stats, shimmer on a subscribe CTA, marquee for a sponsor row — polish without changing anything structural or blowing the image budget. Watch out: Authored Next.js-first — some components import next/image or next/link and need one-line swaps in Vite. Small project, single-maintainer.
Quick read
- Editor's pick: Magic UI.
- No logged gotchas: Magic UI.
| Field | Magic UImagicui.design Not yet swept | Kokonut UIkokonutui.com Not yet swept |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | 150+ animated components built with React, TypeScript, Tailwind and Motion, explicitly designed as the companion to shadcn/ui. Installs with the exact same CLI you already use. No Three.js dependency; components stay under ~5 kB tree-shaken. | 100+ animation-heavy components built on shadcn/ui with Motion, installed through the standard shadcn CLI so source lands in your repo. Includes animated cards, hero sections, AI-chat inputs, gradient and beam effects, sign-in screens. |
| Category | UI component libraries | UI component libraries |
| Cost tier | free | free |
| Pricing | Free · MIT · Pro ~$199 once | Free · MIT · Pro $119 once |
| Why builders pick it | Best stack fit of the animated libraries. Animated beams for a table-of-contents, number tickers for circulation stats, shimmer on a subscribe CTA, marquee for a sponsor row — polish without changing anything structural or blowing the image budget. | The 'make this look designed, not generated' layer. Good for contributor cards, issue tiles and newsletter signup blocks. |
| Watch out for | not logged | Authored Next.js-first — some components import next/image or next/link and need one-line swaps in Vite. Small project, single-maintainer. |
| How to wire it up | pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add @magicui/globe | npx shadcn@latest add @kokonutui/ |
| Editor's pick | Yes | No |
Other matchups worth running
Agent endpoint: GET /api/public/compare?slugs=kokonut-ui,magic-ui