Animaker vs Adobe Express
Animaker and Adobe Express 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 Express at a glance
| Animaker | Adobe Express | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, 1080p from the Starter plan at US$19 a month billed yearly | Free plan, Premium at US$9.99 a month | Free, no paid plan |
| Where your files live | In your Animaker account | In Adobe's cloud, 5 GB on the free plan | On your computer |
- Price
- AnimakerFree plan, 1080p from the Starter plan at US$19 a month billed yearly
- Adobe ExpressFree plan, Premium at US$9.99 a month
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Where your files live
- AnimakerIn your Animaker account
- Adobe ExpressIn Adobe's cloud, 5 GB on the free plan
- smooth.videoOn your computer
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Animaker and Adobe Express before you decide.
Animaker
- Account
- Required
- 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
- 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 Express
- Built for
- Every kind of design: social posts, flyers, PDFs, presentations, video
- Motion
- In, Loop and Out presets, with duration, speed and intensity
- Transparent video
- Not supported
- Photoshop files
- PSD and Illustrator files placed linked or converted
- Templates and stock
- 100,000+ templates and Adobe Stock
- Generative AI
- Firefly, with monthly credits
When Adobe Express fits better
You need matching flyers, posts and presentations from a huge library of templates and stock, you work with Photoshop and Illustrator files that stay linked, or you want AI to generate images. Animation is a finishing touch.
Adobe Express 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.
The animation is the deliverable: an intro, a lower third, an animated stat, a Reel. You want to decide exactly where each element is at each moment, and a transparent export to put over video.
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.
Can I bring my Adobe Express designs in?
Yes, as images: download your design or its parts as PNG, add them to a scene and animate them in smooth.video.
Can I animate a Photoshop file?
Yes. Drop the PSD into the editor and each layer becomes its own element, in place, ready to animate.
Is there a watermark?
No. Every export is free and clean, transparent WebM included.
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