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Opaline, DiceBear and Boring Avatars

All three turn a string into an avatar. They differ in what the avatars look like, where they run and what they promise. Here is an honest side-by-side, so you can pick the right one, even when it is not us.

	Opaline	DiceBear	Boring Avatars
Look	Five styles: soft characters, glowing orbs and initials	30+ styles, from pixel art to illustrated people	Six abstract variants: marble, beam, pixel, sunset, ring, bauhaus
Framework components	React, Vue, Svelte, Angular and a Web Component	A JavaScript library: you place its SVG yourself	React
Runtime dependencies	0	0 in @dicebear/core; each style is its own package	0 (React as a peer)
Output	SVG string; PNG in the browser with toPng	SVG; PNG and JPEG with @dicebear/converter or the HTTP API	SVG as a React element
Hosted HTTP API	No	Yes, free	A separate paid service
Photo with fallback	Built in: src shows once it loads	No	No
Avatar group	Built in, with a +N chip	No	No
Initials	Yes, with letters that clear WCAG AA	Yes, an initials style	No
Theming	CSS variables, so dark mode needs no re-render	Options per style, such as backgroundColor	A colors prop with your palette
Same seed, same image	Byte-identical SVG for all of 1.x, checked by checksums in CI	Seeded and deterministic	Deterministic from the name
License	MIT for code and art	Code MIT; art licensed per style, some need attribution	MIT

Which one fits

Pick DiceBear

You want lots of art styles to choose from.
You want an image URL from an HTTP API, with no code at all.
You need PNG or JPEG files made on the server.

Pick Boring Avatars

Your app is React only.
You want minimal abstract shapes in your exact brand palette.
You do not need photos, initials or groups.

Pick Opaline

You want friendly faces or readable initials, not abstract shapes.
You ship more than one framework, or server-render and need no hydration warnings.
You want photos with a fallback, avatar groups and PNG export built in.
You cache avatars and need them never to change within a major version.

Switching over

The seed is the only thing you need to keep. Pass the same user ID, email or name you pass today.

From DiceBear

// before
import { createAvatar } from '@dicebear/core'
import { lorelei } from '@dicebear/collection'
createAvatar(lorelei, { seed: user.id }).toString()

// after
import { createAvatar } from '@inlaylab/opaline'
import { clay } from '@inlaylab/opaline/clay'
createAvatar(clay, { seed: user.id }).svg

From Boring Avatars

// before
import Avatar from 'boring-avatars'
<Avatar name={user.name} variant="marble" />

// after
import { Avatar } from '@inlaylab/opaline-react'
import { aura } from '@inlaylab/opaline/aura'
<Avatar seed={user.name} look={aura} />

Checked in November 2026 against each project's npm package and README (@dicebear/core 10.7, @dicebear/collection 9.4, boring-avatars 2.0). Both are good open-source projects; this page shows none of their art. If something here is out of date, open an issue and we will fix it. Try Opaline in the playground →