Animaker vs Adobe Animate
Animaker and Adobe Animate 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
Animaker vs Adobe Animate at a glance
| Animaker | Adobe Animate | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, 1080p from the Starter plan at US$19 a month billed yearly | US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free, no paid plan |
| Account | Required | Adobe account required | Not needed |
- Price
- AnimakerFree plan, 1080p from the Starter plan at US$19 a month billed yearly
- Adobe AnimateUS$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- AnimakerRequired
- Adobe AnimateAdobe account required
- smooth.videoNot needed
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Animaker and Adobe Animate before you decide.
Animaker
- Watermark
- On free plan exports
- Export resolution
- 1080p on Starter, 2K on Pro, 4K on Enterprise
- Exports
- Counted each month: 10 on Starter, 30 on Pro
- Where your files live
- In your Animaker account
- Characters and lip-synced voiceover
- Yes
- AI video from a prompt
- Yes
When Animaker fits better
Your video tells a story with characters that walk, talk and react to a voiceover, or you want an AI to draft the whole video from a prompt. smooth.video has no characters and no voiceover.
Animaker vs smooth.videoAdobe Animate
- Install
- Desktop app for Windows and macOS
- Development
- Maintenance mode: fixes, no new features
- How you animate
- Frame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging
- Interactive output
- HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, SVG, sprite sheets
- Photoshop files
- PSD and Illustrator layers imported
When Adobe Animate fits better
You draw frame by frame, rig characters with bones, or deliver interactive HTML5 Canvas content, games or sprite sheets. smooth.video has no frame-by-frame drawing, no bones and no HTML5 output.
Adobe Animate vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
Your video is made of text, logos, photos, shapes and numbers, you'd rather not count exports, and you want 4K or a transparent overlay without paying for a plan.
You used Animate for banners, animated logos or social posts, you'd rather not pay for a tool that no longer gets new features, and your animation is made of text, images and shapes that move rather than drawings.
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
Does smooth.video have characters?
No. It animates text, images, video, shapes and drawings. To animate a character, bring it in as an image, or as a layered PSD to move its parts separately.
Can I add a voiceover?
Yes, recorded elsewhere: add the audio file to the scene and line it up with the animation on the timeline.
Is there a limit on exports?
No. Export as many times as you want, at any size.
Is Adobe Animate discontinued?
No. Adobe announced its end in February 2026 and reversed the decision the next day: Animate stays available, with security and bug fixes but no new features.
Can I open .fla files?
No. Export your artwork from Animate as PNG images, then animate them in smooth.video.
Can I make HTML5 banner ads?
Not as HTML5: smooth.video exports video, GIF and images. Where an ad slot takes a GIF or an MP4, a banner made here works.
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