A Magic UI alternative for animated React components
Magic UI and Nexus UI both give you animated React components you add to your own project. Here is how they differ, and when Magic UI is the better fit.
| Magic UI | Nexus UI | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A library of animated React components and effects that it calls a companion for shadcn/ui. | A library of animated React components, blocks and Next.js templates. |
| Stack | React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS and Motion. | React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS and Framer Motion. |
| Install | Its homepage does not describe the install method; the source is on GitHub. | Copy from each component page, or install with the shadcn CLI through the @nexus-labs registry. |
| Free | 150+ free, open-source animated components and effects, as it states. | 68 of 175 components, 2 of 22 templates and the free blocks. |
| Paid | Magic UI Pro adds 50+ blocks and templates, as it states. We did not find a price on its homepage. | Pro is $49.99 a year, or All-Access is $79.99 once. Either unlocks the 107 Pro components, all 22 templates and the premium blocks (21 block groups in total), plus Pro build prompts. |
Choose Magic UI if
- You want free, open-source animated effects to sit alongside shadcn/ui.
- You mainly need landing-page effects and its Pro blocks and templates fit what you are building.
Choose Nexus UI if
- You want one plan that unlocks every Pro component, block and template, with the choice of a yearly or a one-time payment.
- You want springs and physics-driven components, and full-page Next.js templates, in the same library.
- You install with the shadcn CLI and want Pro build prompts an AI coding agent can work from.
What we say about Magic UI comes from magicui.design as we read it in October 2026, and it may have changed since. Anything its homepage did not state is left out. Nexus UI is independent and not affiliated with Magic UI.
For a longer read that covers more libraries, see Aceternity UI and Magic UI alternatives for React: the full guide.
Also compared: React Bits, Aceternity UI.