After Effects vs Adobe Express
After Effects and Adobe Express 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 Express at a glance
| After Effects | Adobe Express | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free plan, Premium at US$9.99 a month | Free, no paid plan |
| Transparent video | Yes | Not supported | Free, as WebM |
- Price
- After EffectsFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- Adobe ExpressFree plan, Premium at US$9.99 a month
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Transparent video
- After EffectsYes
- Adobe ExpressNot supported
- smooth.videoFree, as WebM
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and Adobe Express before you decide.
After Effects
- Install
- Desktop app
- Account
- Adobe account required
- How you animate
- Keyframes, graph editor, effects and expressions across compositions
- 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 Express
- Built for
- Every kind of design: social posts, flyers, PDFs, presentations, video
- Motion
- In, Loop and Out presets, with duration, speed and intensity
- Photoshop files
- PSD and Illustrator files placed linked or converted
- Where your files live
- In Adobe's cloud, 5 GB on the free plan
- Templates and stock
- 100,000+ templates and Adobe Stock
- Generative AI
- Firefly, with monthly credits
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.
Adobe Express 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.
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.
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.
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.
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