After Effects vs FlipaClip

After Effects and FlipaClip 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.

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After Effects vs FlipaClip at a glance

Price
After EffectsFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
FlipaClipFree with ads, FlipaClip Plus to remove them
smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
Account
After EffectsAdobe account required
FlipaClipNot needed
smooth.videoNot needed
How you animate
After EffectsKeyframes, graph editor, effects and expressions across compositions
FlipaClipFrame by frame: draw every frame, with onion skin
smooth.videoPresets and keyframes on one timeline

As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and FlipaClip before you decide.

After Effects

Install
Desktop app
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.video

FlipaClip

Watermark
On the free version
Platform
iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromebook and Apple silicon Macs
Drawing
Brushes, layers and stylus support
Export size
Up to 1920×1920 with Plus
Transparent export
GIF and PNG sequence

When FlipaClip fits better

You want to draw: a character that walks, a flipbook, a rotoscoped clip, frame after frame with a stylus and onion skin. smooth.video has no frame-by-frame drawing.

FlipaClip vs smooth.video

When 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're on a computer, and your animation is things that move rather than drawings that change: a title, a logo, a sticker, a photo, a character cut into pieces that slide and turn.

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No plan, no trial, no credits, no export limit.
No account
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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

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Open one, change the words, export. Every element stays editable.

Logo reveal

1080×1080

A name that pops into place

Bold statement

1080×1920

Three lines, one point

Count-up stat

1080×1080

A number that climbs

Lower third

1920×1080

Name and title, on cue

Quote card

1200×630

A line worth sharing

Product drop

1080×1350

An announcement that lands

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 there a FlipaClip for PC?

FlipaClip is made for phones, tablets, Chromebooks and Apple silicon Macs, with no official web or Windows version. smooth.video runs in a recent browser, on Windows too.

Can I draw in smooth.video?

Yes, with a simple brush: the drawing becomes an image you can move, scale, rotate and fade. You can't draw a different picture on every frame.

Is there a watermark?

No, and there are no ads.

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