Pure CSS Cards & galleries #hover #cards #ui #product

Pricing arc in pure CSS

Three pricing cards standing in an arc: the outer two turn to face the centre, the featured one stands in front. The one you point at squares up and steps forward.

  • 126 lines of CSS
  • 13 lines of HTML
  • No JavaScript
  • No dependencies
  • MIT licensed
Video 0.7 MB GitHub

How it works

  1. Three static columns tile the container and catch the pointer; the cards inside are pointer-events: none so hovering never lands on a card mid-turn.
  2. The outer two cards start rotateY-ed toward the middle one (an arc, not a flat row) and sit a touch further back on Z so the featured card can stand in front of them at rest.
  3. Emphasis comes from translateZ, not scale() — pushing a card toward the camera through real perspective grows it more convincingly at the edges than scaling flatly would.
  4. The active card's rule sets --ry: 0deg along with the position, so turning to face you and stepping forward happen as one interpolated transform, not two separate motions.

Key techniques

  • rotateY toward the centre
  • translateZ for emphasis instead of scale
  • static columns as hit targets
  • variables drive one transform

HTML 13 lines

<div class="scene">
  <div class="pricing">
    <div class="slot" tabindex="0">
      <div class="card"><small>Solo</small><b><sup>$</sup>9</b><span></span><span></span><span></span><em>Start</em></div>
    </div>
    <div class="slot" tabindex="0">
      <div class="card"><small>Team</small><b><sup>$</sup>29</b><span></span><span></span><span></span><em>Popular</em></div>
    </div>
    <div class="slot" tabindex="0">
      <div class="card"><small>Org</small><b><sup>$</sup>99</b><span></span><span></span><span></span><em>Talk</em></div>
    </div>
  </div>
</div>

CSS 126 lines

.scene {
  perspective: 800px;
}

/* same hit-target trick as any hover demo in 3D: static columns catch the pointer,
   the cards inside are pointer-events: none and free to turn and come forward */
.pricing {
  display: flex;
  width: 210px;
  height: 168px;
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
  pointer-events: none;
}

.slot {
  --c: #8b6cff;
  position: relative;
  flex: 1;
  outline: none;
  cursor: pointer;
  pointer-events: auto;
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
}

/* the arc: outer cards turn to face the centre and stand a little further back... */
.slot:nth-child(1) { --ry: 32deg;  --x: 5px;  --z: -14px; }
.slot:nth-child(3) { --c: #2ee6d6; --ry: -32deg; --x: -5px; --z: -14px; }
/* ...the middle one stands in front */
.slot:nth-child(2) { --c: #ff4d9d; --y: -6px; --z: 34px; }

.card {
  position: absolute;
  top: 14px;
  left: calc(50% - 33px);
  display: grid;
  align-content: start;
  justify-items: center;
  gap: 6px;
  width: 66px;
  height: 140px;
  padding: 10px 7px;
  border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 70%, transparent);
  border-radius: 12px;
  background: linear-gradient(
    170deg,
    color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 30%, #141830),
    color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 8%, #141830)
  );
  box-shadow:
    inset 0 0 18px color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 22%, transparent),
    0 14px 18px -14px #000;
  color: #eceefb;
  text-align: center;
  pointer-events: none;
  transform: translate3d(var(--x, 0px), var(--y, 0px), var(--z, 0px)) rotateY(var(--ry, 0deg));
  transition: transform 0.45s cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.3, 0.5, 1);
}

/* plan name */
.card small {
  color: var(--c);
  font-size: 8px;
  font-weight: 800;
  letter-spacing: 0.12em;
  text-transform: uppercase;
}

/* price */
.card b {
  font-size: 21px;
  line-height: 1;
}

.card b sup {
  font-size: 10px;
  vertical-align: 7px;
}

/* feature lines */
.card span {
  width: 100%;
  height: 4px;
  border-radius: 2px;
  background: color-mix(in srgb, #eceefb 22%, transparent);
}

.card span:nth-of-type(2) { width: 78%; }
.card span:nth-of-type(3) { width: 58%; }

/* call to action */
.card em {
  align-self: end;
  width: 100%;
  margin-top: 8px;
  padding: 4px 0;
  border-radius: 99px;
  background: var(--c);
  color: #fff;
  font-size: 8px;
  font-style: normal;
  font-weight: 800;
}

/* the featured plan is filled instead of glassy */
.slot:nth-child(2) .card {
  border-color: var(--c);
  background: linear-gradient(170deg, color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 70%, #141830), color-mix(in srgb, #8b6cff 45%, #141830));
  color: #fff;
}

.slot:nth-child(2) .card small { color: #fff; }
.slot:nth-child(2) .card span { background: rgb(255 255 255 / 0.4); }
.slot:nth-child(2) .card em { background: #fff; color: #2a1030; }

/* white on teal is hard to read */
.slot:nth-child(3) .card em {
  color: #06222a;
}

/* active card: square to the viewer and well in front of the other two */
.pricing .slot:is(:hover, :focus-visible) {
  --x: 0px;
  --y: -4px;
  --z: 84px;
  --ry: 0deg;
}

Sass source 151 lines

// Same hit-target trick as any hover demo in 3D: three static columns catch the pointer,
// the cards inside them are pointer-events:none and free to turn and come forward.
.d-pricing {
  display: flex;
  width: 210px;
  height: 168px;
  transform-style: preserve-3d;
  pointer-events: none; // coplanar with the columns

  &__slot {
    --c: var(--accent);
    position: relative;
    flex: 1;
    outline: none;
    cursor: pointer;
    pointer-events: auto;
    transform-style: preserve-3d;

    // The arc: outer cards turn to face the centre and stand a little further back...
    &:nth-child(1) {
      --ry: 32deg;
      --x: 5px;
      --z: -14px;
    }

    &:nth-child(3) {
      --c: var(--accent-2);
      --ry: -32deg;
      --x: -5px;
      --z: -14px;
    }

    // ...the middle one stands in front.
    &:nth-child(2) {
      --c: var(--hot);
      --y: -6px;
      --z: 34px;
    }
  }

  &__card {
    position: absolute;
    top: 14px;
    left: calc(50% - 33px);
    display: grid;
    align-content: start;
    justify-items: center;
    gap: 6px;
    width: 66px;
    height: 140px;
    padding: 10px 7px;
    border: 1px solid color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 70%, transparent);
    border-radius: 12px;
    background: linear-gradient(
      170deg,
      color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 30%, var(--surface-solid)),
      color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 8%, var(--surface-solid))
    );
    box-shadow:
      inset 0 0 18px color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 22%, transparent),
      0 14px 18px -14px #000;
    color: var(--text);
    text-align: center;
    pointer-events: none;
    transform: translate3d(var(--x, 0px), var(--y, 0px), var(--z, 0px)) rotateY(var(--ry, 0deg));
    transition: transform 0.45s cubic-bezier(0.3, 1.3, 0.5, 1);

    // plan name
    small {
      color: var(--c);
      font-size: 8px;
      font-weight: 800;
      letter-spacing: 0.12em;
      text-transform: uppercase;
    }

    // price
    b {
      font-size: 21px;
      line-height: 1;

      sup {
        font-size: 10px;
        vertical-align: 7px;
      }
    }

    // feature lines
    span {
      width: 100%;
      height: 4px;
      border-radius: 2px;
      background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--text) 22%, transparent);

      &:nth-of-type(2) {
        width: 78%;
      }

      &:nth-of-type(3) {
        width: 58%;
      }
    }

    // call to action
    em {
      align-self: end;
      width: 100%;
      margin-top: 8px;
      padding: 4px 0;
      border-radius: 99px;
      background: var(--c);
      color: #fff;
      font-size: 8px;
      font-style: normal;
      font-weight: 800;
    }
  }

  // the featured plan is filled instead of glassy
  &__slot:nth-child(2) &__card {
    border-color: var(--c);
    background: linear-gradient(170deg, color-mix(in srgb, var(--c) 70%, var(--surface-solid)), color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 45%, var(--surface-solid)));
    color: #fff;

    small {
      color: #fff;
    }

    span {
      background: rgb(255 255 255 / 0.4);
    }

    em {
      background: #fff;
      color: #2a1030;
    }
  }

  // white on teal is hard to read
  &__slot:nth-child(3) em {
    color: #06222a;
  }

  // Active card: square to the viewer and well in front of the other two.
  & &__slot:is(:hover, :focus-visible) {
    --x: 0px;
    --y: -4px;
    --z: 84px;
    --ry: 0deg;
  }
}
Standalone snippet · plain CSS, no build step, no dependencies.

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