Gradient and background generators worth a bookmark
Nine generators for gradients, mesh backgrounds and shader heroes. Free WebGL editors, code you can copy, and packs for when you have no time.
9 products · Aug 10, 2026
Every landing page needs a background nobody wants to make twice. The gradient category is full of toys, so the useful question is what comes out the other end.
Three kinds of output here. Code, when the gradient has to live inside the product and move. SVG or PNG, when it just has to sit behind a hero. And a subscription pack, when you need forty of them and none of them yours. Sorted roughly in that order.
Tune a fluid gradient, copy production WebGL out of it
The output is shader code, so the result ends up inside the product instead of inside a moodboard. Free, and the editor is fast enough to land on a look in a few minutes.
Pros
- Copyable WebGL, not just an image
- Free with no account
- Real-time preview of colors and speed
Cons
- You need somewhere in the code to put a shader
- WebGL on a hero costs battery on weak devices
Animated 3D gradients with presets, then export the code
Twenty-plus presets get you to something usable immediately, and the export drops into a hero section as is. Built by a CMS team as a side project, and it now out-markets the main product.
Pros
- Presets carry you if you are not a motion person
- Code export, ready for the hero
- Free
Cons
- The presets are popular, so the look is familiar
- Animation is heavier than a flat CSS gradient
One gradient, three destinations: Framer, Figma and React
Moving gradients that ship into the tools people already work in, with no conversion step in between. If your site is in Framer and your design file is in Figma, this is the shortest path to the same asset in both.
Pros
- Framer, Figma and React from one source
- No handoff conversion between design and build
- Good default motion, not just a still
Cons
- Less freedom than writing the shader yourself
- Tied to the three destinations it supports
Mesh gradients with control points, edited live
Drag the points, watch the blend, export. It sits in the sweet spot between a one-button generator and a shader editor, which is where most brand gradients actually get made.
Pros
- Direct control over the blend, not a random roll
- Real-time preview
- Free, from the LS Graphics team
Cons
- Mesh output is an image, not live code
- Easy to lose time nudging points
Curves instead of stops, plus twelve blend modes
Curve-based control reaches places the usual two-stop picker cannot. This is the one to open when the gradient has to match a brand exactly and everything else comes out slightly wrong.
Pros
- Curve control gives precision the standard picker lacks
- Twelve blend modes, real range
- Real-time WebGL preview
Cons
- More concepts to learn than a one-button tool
- Overkill for a quick background
Interpolates in LAB, so the middle never goes muddy
A small technical decision you can see in every export: LAB interpolation keeps the mid-tones clean where a naive RGB blend turns grey. Free, one job, done well.
Pros
- Cleaner mid-tones than most generators
- Free and instant, no account
- Good for two-color brand gradients
Cons
- Flat gradients only, no mesh or motion
- Few controls beyond the colors
Dozens of free SVG generators, all in one place
Gradients, patterns, blobs, textures, noise. Each generator does one thing and outputs SVG, which is why half the design internet links here. Start here before installing anything.
Pros
- Very wide coverage, all free
- SVG output scales and stays editable
- No signup, no limits
Cons
- Utility look, you have to know what you want
- Static output, nothing animated
Vector backgrounds you can keep editing afterwards
SVG output means the background survives into print and stays editable in Figma or Illustrator. That is the difference between an asset and a screenshot you cannot fix later.
Pros
- Editable vector, not a flattened PNG
- Scales to print without artefacts
- Quick presets to start from
Cons
- Complex SVGs can get heavy on a page
- No motion
When you would rather buy a thousand than make one
A thousand-plus gradients, animated gradients and grain textures on subscription. Backgrounds are the one asset every page needs and nobody wants to build twice, which is exactly why the pack model works here.
Pros
- Enormous library, including animated and grainy
- Zero time from need to asset
- Consistent quality across the set
Cons
- Subscription, unlike everything else on this list
- Off-the-shelf, so other sites use the same files
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