After Effects vs Renderforest
After Effects and Renderforest 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 Renderforest at a glance
| After Effects | Renderforest | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free plan, then paid plans with monthly credits | Free, no paid plan |
| Account | Adobe account required | Required | Not needed |
- Price
- After EffectsFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- RenderforestFree plan, then paid plans with monthly credits
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- After EffectsAdobe account required
- RenderforestRequired
- smooth.videoNot needed
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and Renderforest before you decide.
After Effects
- Install
- Desktop app
- 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 is 2D only, with no particles, tracking or scripting.
After Effects vs smooth.videoRenderforest
- Watermark
- On free plan exports
- Export resolution
- 720p on the free and Lite plans, 1080p on Pro, 4K on Business
- How you edit
- Template scenes, some with fixed, pre-rendered animation
- Where your files live
- In your Renderforest account
- AI video, text-to-speech, stock footage
- Yes
- Logos and websites
- Yes, in the same account
When Renderforest fits better
You want a finished video from very little input: an AI-generated clip, a voiceover read by text-to-speech, stock footage, or a logo and a website made in the same place. smooth.video has none of those.
Renderforest 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 want an intro, a logo sting or an animated title in full HD or 4K without buying a plan, and you'd like to change how things move, not only the text inside a scene.
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 use a Renderforest template in smooth.video?
No, but smooth.video has its own gallery of intros, logo reveals and titles, and every element in them can be changed.
Is my video rendered on a server?
No. The export runs in your browser, so there's no queue and nothing to upload. A long 4K video takes a while on a slower computer.
Is there a watermark?
No, never, at any resolution.
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