After Effects vs Wideo
After Effects and Wideo 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 Wideo at a glance
| After Effects | Wideo | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | From US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free plan, then Basic at US$19 a month billed yearly, or US$59 monthly | 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
- WideoFree plan, then Basic at US$19 a month billed yearly, or US$59 monthly
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- After EffectsAdobe account required
- WideoRequired
- smooth.videoNot needed
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of After Effects and Wideo 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.videoWideo
- Download as a file
- Paid plans only: MP4 and GIF
- Watermark
- Wideo branding on the free plan
- Export resolution
- Up to 1080p, on Pro
- Video length on the cheapest plans
- 1 minute free, 90 seconds on Basic
- Interactive videos, text-to-speech
- Yes
When Wideo fits better
You make marketing videos and presentations as a team, want interactive videos or an AI voice, generate videos from a spreadsheet through Zapier, or publish straight to YouTube or HubSpot.
Wideo 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 a short animated video as a file you can put anywhere, today, in full HD or 4K, without a plan and without branding.
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 download my video for free?
Yes, always: as an MP4, a WebM, a GIF or a still image, at the size you set.
Can I add a voiceover?
Yes, recorded elsewhere: add the audio file and line it up on the timeline. There's no text-to-speech.
Is there a watermark?
No, never.
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