After Effects vs Adobe Animate
After Effects and Adobe Animate 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
After Effects vs Adobe Animate at a glance
| After Effects | Adobe Animate | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free, no paid plan |
| Install | Desktop app | Desktop app for Windows and macOS | Nothing, runs in the browser |
| Account | Adobe account required | Adobe account required | Not needed |
| How you animate | Keyframes, graph editor, effects and expressions across compositions | Frame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging | Presets and keyframes on one timeline |
- Price
- After EffectsFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- Adobe AnimateUS$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Install
- After EffectsDesktop app
- Adobe AnimateDesktop app for Windows and macOS
- smooth.videoNothing, runs in the browser
- Account
- After EffectsAdobe account required
- Adobe AnimateAdobe account required
- smooth.videoNot needed
- How you animate
- After EffectsKeyframes, graph editor, effects and expressions across compositions
- Adobe AnimateFrame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging
- smooth.videoPresets and keyframes on one timeline
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and Adobe Animate before you decide.
After Effects
- Transparent video
- Yes
- 3D, visual effects, tracking
- Yes
- Plugins and scripting
- Yes
When After Effects fits better
You need 3D, particles, motion tracking, rotoscoping, compositing over footage, expressions or plugins, or you hand project files to a studio that works in After Effects. smooth.video is 2D only, with no particles, tracking or scripting.
After Effects vs smooth.videoAdobe Animate
- 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.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
You need a title, a lower third, a logo sting or an animated stat for this week's video, you don't open After Effects every day, and a monthly subscription for a few seconds of animation doesn't add up.
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.
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
Can I open After Effects or Premiere Pro projects?
No. smooth.video opens its own .smooth projects, and imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files.
Can I use the exports in Premiere Pro or After Effects?
Yes, as regular video files. MP4 imports everywhere; for transparency, export a WebM and check that your version reads it.
Is it really free?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no server doing the work, so there's no subscription and no watermark.
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.
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