After Effects vs SVGator

After Effects and SVGator 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 SVGator at a glance

After EffectsSVGatorsmooth.video
PriceFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trialFree plan, then Starter at US$20 and Pro at US$24 a month, billed yearlyFree, no paid plan
AccountAdobe account requiredRequiredNot needed
Transparent videoYesMOV or WebM, on ProFree, as WebM

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

After Effects

Install
Desktop app
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 does none of that.

After Effects vs smooth.video

SVGator

Watermark
On animated exports on the free plan
Video and GIF export
Pro plan
Video and audio in the scene
No
Animated SVG, Lottie, React Native, Flutter
Yes, from Starter
Interactive animations
Yes, from Starter

When SVGator fits better

The animation goes on a website or in an app as code: a lightweight animated SVG, an icon that reacts to hover, a Lottie file or a Flutter widget. smooth.video only exports video, GIF and images.

SVGator 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 into a video, a social post, an email or a slide, uses photos, footage or music next to shapes, and you want the file without paying for a plan.

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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 export animated SVG?
No. It exports MP4, WebM, GIF, PNG, JPG and WebP.
Can an AI assistant make the animation?
Yes. The .smooth format is published at smooth.video/llms.txt: give it to an assistant, describe what you want, and open the file it writes.
Is there a watermark?
No, on any format.