A Free Aceternity UI Alternative
Watermelon UI is a free Aceternity UI alternative for animated React components. It has 130+ Motion-based components, released under the MIT license, that install with the shadcn CLI. It also includes page blocks and full dashboards, so you can build the rest of the app with the same library.
At a glance
| Watermelon UI | Aceternity UI | |
|---|---|---|
| Price and license | Free, MIT | Free components plus paid Pro (yearly, lifetime, and team plans) |
| How you use it | Copy-paste, installs with the shadcn CLI | Copy-paste, Pro blocks are shadcn compatible |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS v4 | Tailwind CSS v4 and v3 |
| Animated components | Yes, 130+ Motion-based animated components | Yes, animation is the core focus |
| Page sections and dashboards | 180+ blocks, dashboards, templates | Pro templates and blocks |
Where Aceternity UI is stronger
- It has a large set of bold, eye-catching effects, like backgrounds, spotlights, and 3D cards, made for landing pages.
- It offers many paid templates if you want a finished marketing site.
Why pick Watermelon
- It uses the MIT license. Aceternity's Pro license is custom and restricts redistribution.
- The animations focus on product UI, like cards, tabs, docks, and widgets, alongside marketing effects.
- It covers blocks, dashboards, and 30 component categories in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Is Aceternity UI free?
Aceternity UI has free components and a paid Pro plan. Check its license page for the terms that apply to the free components.
Is Aceternity UI better than shadcn?
They solve different problems. See shadcn vs Aceternity UI.