Kodza vs React Bits

A React Bits alternative with zero dependencies.

Q: Do both work with AI tools?

Yes. React Bits has Copy for AI on every component, an llms.txt and MCP through the shadcn MCP server. Kodza runs its own MCP server at https://kodza.dev/api/mcp, free, with no account and no key.

React Bits is a big, free library of animated React effects, and a good one. Kodza builds the same kind of effects in plain HTML, CSS and JS: no package, no React needed, at home in any page. Here's the honest comparison.

Their side checked on reactbits.dev, October 27, 2026

The short version

Pick the one that fits your stack.

Both ship text effects, backgrounds and cursors. The difference is what they ask of your project.

Pick React Bits if

your app runs on React: Vite, Next.js, Astro or Remix;
you want the biggest catalogue: 217 components free, 447 on their paid plans;
you'd tune a WebGL background live: their free Background Studio exports the code, a 4K image or a video;
you want each component in JS or TS, with plain CSS or Tailwind.

Pick Kodza if

your site isn't a React app: WordPress, plain HTML, a CMS theme;
you want zero packages: no GSAP, no Three.js, no Motion;
you want all of it free, client work included.

Side by side

The facts, no spin.

What each one asks of your project and your wallet. Their column comes from their own site.

Feature	React Bits	Kodza
Built with	React; JS or TS, plain CSS or Tailwind	HTML, CSS, plain JS
Runs in	React apps: Vite, Next.js, Astro, Remix	Any page: HTML, WordPress, React
Adding one	shadcn CLI, or by hand	Copy and paste, or ask your AI
Packages to install	For 88 of 218: Motion, GSAP, OGL, Three.js…	None
Free	217 components	All 142 components
Paid plans	$129 to $349 once, or yearly from $79	None
On paid plans	230 more components, 600 blocks, 15 templates	Nothing held back
License	MIT + Commons Clause: use, don't sell	Kodza License: use, don't resell
AI tools	Copy for AI, llms.txt, shadcn's MCP	Own MCP server, no account, no key

React Bits figures from their Pro page (opens in a new tab), docs and registry, read on October 27, 2026. Prices change and vary by region: theirs is the page that counts.

Install

Adding one, both ways.

Same goal, an animated component on your page. Different first step.

React Bits

Start from a React app: Vite, Next.js, Astro or Remix.
Add the component with their registry:

npx shadcn@latest add @react-bits/SplitText-TS-TW

The code lands in your project, with the packages it needs: here, gsap and @gsap/react.

Kodza

Open a component page, any stack.
Copy the HTML, CSS and JS. Paste them where they go.

$ npm install nothing

No build step, no package. Or let your AI do it: the command is at the bottom of this page.

Try one

Six to start with.

Backgrounds that move, text that reveals, a cursor that follows: in plain code. Free, like the rest.

Backgrounds & textures Standard · 10.5 KB

Topographic Lines

A hero over a contour map drawn by a native WebGL shader: the lines drift very slowly, the pointer raises a hill under it, and they thin out under the text. Plain CSS rings without WebGL.

View code

Backgrounds & textures Standard · 17.1 KB

Dot Map

A hero over a world map in fine dots, framed on the places you list. Each one shows its local time, and a ring tours them, lighting the land it crosses. A plain list without the script.

View code

Cursor Standard · 3.8 KB

Custom Cursor

Inside its zone the pointer becomes a dot with a soft lag, and a pill that says what a click will do over each item. No GSAP.

View code

Text effects Standard · 3.5 KB

Text Reveal

Text that writes itself in when it reaches the screen: lines rising from a mask, words coming into focus, or letters. Plays once.

View code

Text effects Standard · 8.0 KB

Eye Glyph

Any letter with a hole becomes an eye: the pupil follows the pointer, lashes grow on top, and real lids close it when it blinks. Poke one and it winks.

View code

Text effects Light · 2.6 KB

Shimmer Text

A band of light that sweeps across text, the way a busy interface says "still working on it". Looping, on hover, or following the pointer.

View code

Browse all 142 components

FAQ

Before you switch.

The questions people ask when they compare the two.

01Is Kodza a free alternative to React Bits?

Yes, and React Bits is free too: 217 components, client work included, with paid plans from $129, paid once. Every Kodza component is free, with no account and nothing to unlock.

02Does Kodza need GSAP or Three.js?

No. Kodza has zero dependencies: CSS, the Web Animations API and plain JS, with CSS 3D or native WebGL when it goes 3D. In the React Bits registry, 88 of 218 components list a package, most often Motion, GSAP, OGL or Three.js.

03Can I use Kodza in a React or Next.js app?

Yes. The plain JavaScript starts and stops cleanly, React StrictMode included, and most components also come as a React .tsx file on their page.

04Does Kodza work in WordPress?

Yes. Paste the HTML in a block, the CSS and JS in your theme. Each component is tested in real WordPress themes before it ships.

05Are the licenses different?

Close in spirit. React Bits uses MIT + Commons Clause: use the components in any app, site or product, but don't sell or redistribute the components themselves. The Kodza License says the same in fewer words: use it anywhere, don't resell it.

06Do both work with AI tools?

Yes. React Bits has Copy for AI on every component, an llms.txt and MCP through the shadcn MCP server. Kodza runs its own MCP server at https://kodza.dev/api/mcp, free, with no account and no key.

07Can I use both on the same site?

Sure. Kodza's CSS stays inside its own component, so a Kodza menu can sit next to a React Bits background without either one noticing.

Just ask.

Copy, paste, and go home early.

claude mcp add -t http kodza https://kodza.dev/api/mcp

Also in Codex, Cursor and VS CodeBrowse 142 components