After Effects vs Vyond
After Effects and Vyond 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 Vyond at a glance
| After Effects | Vyond | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | From US$58 a month billed yearly, or US$99 billed monthly | Free, no paid plan |
| Account | Adobe account required | Required | Not needed |
| Transparent video | Yes | GIF and WebM, on paid plans | Free, as WebM |
- Price
- After EffectsFrom US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- VyondFrom US$58 a month billed yearly, or US$99 billed monthly
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- After EffectsAdobe account required
- VyondRequired
- smooth.videoNot needed
- Transparent video
- After EffectsYes
- VyondGIF and WebM, on paid plans
- smooth.videoFree, as WebM
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and Vyond 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 is 2D only, with no particles, tracking or scripting.
After Effects vs smooth.videoVyond
- Free option
- A trial, with watermarked exports
- Export resolution
- Up to 1080p
- Characters with lip sync, AI avatars
- Yes
- SCORM export
- Yes
When Vyond fits better
You make training or internal videos with characters that talk, need AI avatars, publish to a learning platform as SCORM, or share brand controls across a company. smooth.video has no characters, no avatars and no SCORM export.
Vyond 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 need motion graphics, not characters: a title, a stat, a lower third, a logo reveal or an overlay for a video you're already making, and a yearly contract doesn't make sense for it.
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 smooth.video export SCORM?
No. It exports video files, which you can upload anywhere a video is accepted.
Does it have characters or avatars?
No. It animates text, images, video, shapes and drawings.
Is there a free trial?
There's no need for one: everything is free, with no time limit and no watermark.
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