Adobe Animate vs Brush Ninja
Adobe Animate and Brush Ninja side by side, as of September 2026: what each one costs, what it's made for, and when smooth.video, a free animation tool that runs in your browser with no account, does the job instead.
- Free
- No signup
- No watermark
Adobe Animate vs Brush Ninja at a glance
| Adobe Animate | Brush Ninja | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free with ads, membership at US$7 a month or US$48 a year | Free, no paid plan |
| Account | Adobe account required | Only for membership | Not needed |
| How you animate | Frame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging | Frame-by-frame drawing, with onion skin | Presets and keyframes on one timeline |
- Price
- Adobe AnimateUS$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- Brush NinjaFree with ads, membership at US$7 a month or US$48 a year
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- Adobe AnimateAdobe account required
- Brush NinjaOnly for membership
- smooth.videoNot needed
- How you animate
- Adobe AnimateFrame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging
- Brush NinjaFrame-by-frame drawing, with onion skin
- smooth.videoPresets and keyframes on one timeline
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Adobe Animate and Brush Ninja before you decide.
Adobe Animate
- Install
- Desktop app for Windows and macOS
- Development
- Maintenance mode: fixes, no new features
- Interactive output
- HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, SVG, sprite sheets
- Photoshop files
- PSD and Illustrator layers imported
When Adobe Animate fits better
You draw frame by frame, rig characters with bones, or deliver interactive HTML5 Canvas content, games or sprite sheets. smooth.video has no frame-by-frame drawing, no bones and no HTML5 output.
Adobe Animate vs smooth.videoBrush Ninja
- Layers
- None
- Video with sound
- WebM, for members
- Formats
- GIF, image sequence, and WebM for members
- Lesson plans for teachers
- Yes
When Brush Ninja fits better
You want to draw every frame, like a flipbook, in a tool made for children and classrooms, with stickers, sound effects and lesson plans ready to go.
Brush Ninja vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
You used Animate for banners, animated logos or social posts, you'd rather not pay for a tool that no longer gets new features, and your animation is made of text, images and shapes that move rather than drawings.
The animation is made of things that move: a title, a photo, a logo, a sticker, a chart. You want sound in the video, more than one layer, and no ads, without a membership.
Open the editor- Free, full stop
- No plan, no trial, no credits, no export limit.
- No account
- Open the page and the editor is already there.
- Nothing is uploaded
- Your files are read and rendered by your own browser.
- No watermark
- Every export is clean, at any size, 4K included.
Start from a template
See all 203 templatesOpen one, change the words, export. Every element stays editable.
Questions
Is Adobe Animate discontinued?
No. Adobe announced its end in February 2026 and reversed the decision the next day: Animate stays available, with security and bug fixes but no new features.
Can I open .fla files?
No. Export your artwork from Animate as PNG images, then animate them in smooth.video.
Can I make HTML5 banner ads?
Not as HTML5: smooth.video exports video, GIF and images. Where an ad slot takes a GIF or an MP4, a banner made here works.
Can I draw in smooth.video?
Yes, with a simple brush: the drawing becomes an image you can move, scale, rotate and fade on the timeline. It isn't made for drawing each frame.
Can I add sound?
Yes. Add an audio file and it's included in the MP4 or WebM. A GIF can't carry sound.
Are there ads?
No, and there's nothing to join.
Or skip the decision.
smooth.video is free, opens in a tab and exports without a watermark. Try it while you compare.
Open the editor- Free
- No signup
- No watermark