A free Adobe Express alternative for animation
Adobe Express designs a bit of everything, from flyers and social posts to short videos, with a huge template library, Adobe Stock, Firefly AI, and animation presets that make an element come in, loop or go out. smooth.video is made only for animation: each element sits on a keyframe timeline where you set its position, size, rotation, opacity and colour at any moment, and the result exports as MP4, GIF or transparent WebM, with no account.
smooth.video vs Adobe Express
| smooth.video | Adobe Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no paid plan | Free plan, Premium at US$9.99 a month |
| Built for | Animation only | Every kind of design: social posts, flyers, PDFs, presentations, video |
| Motion | Keyframes on a timeline: position, size, rotation, opacity, colour | In, Loop and Out presets, with duration, speed and intensity |
| Transparent video | Free, as WebM | Not supported |
| Photoshop files | Each PSD layer becomes an element to animate | PSD and Illustrator files placed linked or converted |
| Where your files live | On your computer | In Adobe's cloud, 5 GB on the free plan |
| Templates and stock | A gallery of animation templates | 100,000+ templates and Adobe Stock |
| Generative AI | No | Firefly, with monthly credits |
Adobe Express as of September 2026. Plans change, so check theirs before you decide.
How it works
- 1
Open smooth.video. No account, nothing to install.
- 2
Bring in your images or a PSD, or start from an animation template, and set where each element is at each moment.
- 3
Export an MP4, a GIF or a transparent WebM, free and without a watermark.
Start from a template
See all 164 templatesWhen smooth.video fits better
The animation is the deliverable: an intro, a lower third, an animated stat, a Reel. You want to decide exactly where each element is at each moment, and a transparent export to put over video.
When Adobe Express fits better
You need matching flyers, posts and presentations from a huge library of templates and stock, you work with Photoshop and Illustrator files that stay linked, or you want AI to generate images. Animation is a finishing touch.
Questions
- Can I bring my Adobe Express designs in?
- Yes, as images: download your design or its parts as PNG, add them to a scene and animate them in smooth.video.
- Can I animate a Photoshop file?
- Yes. Drop the PSD into the editor and each layer becomes its own element, in place, ready to animate.
- Is there a watermark?
- No. Every export is free and clean, transparent WebM included.