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.

Yes. It runs in your browser with no server doing the work, so there's no subscription and no watermark.

Can smooth.video open or export Lottie files?

Neither. It imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files, and exports video, GIF and images.

Can I use photos and video in my animation?

Yes. Add images, video clips and audio to the scene next to your text and shapes.

Do I need an account?

No. Your projects stay in your browser, and you can save any of them as a .smooth file.

After Effects vs LottieFiles

After Effects and LottieFiles 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.

Open the editorFree, no signup, nothing to install

After Effects vs LottieFiles at a glance

	After Effects	LottieFiles	smooth.video
Price	From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial	Free plan, then paid plans billed yearly	Free, no paid plan

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

After Effects

Install: Desktop app
Account: Adobe account required
How you animate: Keyframes, graph editor, effects and expressions across compositions
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 does none of that.

After Effects vs smooth.video

LottieFiles

Output: Lottie and dotLottie, plus MP4, WebM, MOV and GIF
Where your files live: In your LottieFiles workspace
Video and audio in the scene: No
Interactive state machines: Yes
Lottie players for apps and websites: Yes
After Effects and Figma plugins: Yes

When LottieFiles fits better

The animation ships inside an app or a website and should stay tiny, sharp at any size, recolourable with themes, or interactive. That's what Lottie is for, and smooth.video doesn't export it.

LottieFiles 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.

The animation goes in a video, a social post, an email or a presentation rather than in an app: a logo reveal, a Reel, an animated banner, a lower third. You want a video file, maybe with photos or footage in it.

Open the editor

Start from a template

See all 172 templates

Logo reveal

1080×1080

A name that pops into place

Lower third

1920×1080

Name and title, on cue

Bold statement

1080×1920

Three lines, one point

Product drop

1080×1350

An announcement that lands

Count-up stat

1080×1080

A number that climbs

Quote card

1200×630

A line worth sharing

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 smooth.video open or export Lottie files?: Neither. It imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files, and exports video, GIF and images.
Can I use photos and video in my animation?: Yes. Add images, video clips and audio to the scene next to your text and shapes.
Do I need an account?: No. Your projects stay in your browser, and you can save any of them as a .smooth file.