Aceternity UI vs Magic UI
Aceternity UI and Magic UI are both animated React component libraries built on Tailwind CSS and Motion. The biggest difference is licensing. Magic UI is MIT licensed and installs natively through the shadcn CLI. Aceternity UI has its own license terms and a larger paid Pro catalog.
Side by side
| Aceternity UI | Magic UI | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Custom terms, Pro license restricts redistribution | MIT |
| Paid tier | Pro: yearly, lifetime, and team plans | Magic UI Pro, one-time |
| Install | Copy-paste | shadcn CLI with the @magicui namespace |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS v4 and v3 | Tailwind CSS v4 |
| Style | Bold, dramatic effects | Clean landing page motion |
Which to pick
- You want MIT and a shadcn-native install: Magic UI.
- You want the most dramatic effects and do not mind the license terms: Aceternity UI.
- You want MIT animations plus blocks and dashboards in one place: Watermelon UI.