Apple Motion vs LottieFiles

Apple Motion and LottieFiles 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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The Letterbox title template, playing live. Open it in the editor

Apple Motion vs LottieFiles at a glance

Price
Apple MotionUS$49.99 once, or in Apple Creator Studio at US$12.99 a month
LottieFilesFree plan, then paid plans billed yearly
smooth.videoFree

As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Apple Motion and LottieFiles before you decide.

Apple Motion

Platform
Mac only, macOS 15.6 or later
Install
Desktop app from the Mac App Store
How you animate
Keyframes, 230+ behaviors, 2D and 3D space
Transparent video
ProRes 4444 and HEVC with alpha
3D and mask tracking
Yes
Final Cut Pro templates
Yes

When Motion fits better

You edit in Final Cut Pro and want titles and effects your editors adjust in its inspector, or you need 3D, behaviors, mask tracking or ProRes with alpha for a professional pipeline.

Apple Motion vs smooth.video

LottieFiles

Output
Lottie and dotLottie, plus MP4, WebM, MOV and GIF
Where your files live
In your LottieFiles workspace
Video and audio in the scene
No
Interactive state machines
Yes
Lottie players for apps and websites
Yes
After Effects and Figma plugins
Yes

When LottieFiles fits better

The animation ships inside an app or a website and should stay tiny, sharp at any size, recolorable with themes, or interactive. That's what Lottie is for, and smooth.video doesn't export it.

LottieFiles vs smooth.video

When smooth.video fits better

You're on Windows, Linux or a Chromebook, you edit in something other than Final Cut Pro, or you only need an animated title or logo from time to time and don't want to install anything.

The animation goes in a video, a social post, an email or a presentation rather than in an app: a logo reveal, a Reel, an animated banner, a lower third. You want a video file, maybe with photos or footage in 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 templates

Open one, change the words, export. Every element stays editable.

Logo reveal

1080×1080

A name that pops into place

Bold statement

1080×1920

Three lines, one point

Count-up stat

1080×1080

A number that climbs

Lower third

1920×1080

Name and title, on cue

Quote card

1200×630

A line worth sharing

Product drop

1080×1350

An announcement that lands

Questions

Can I use smooth.video exports in Final Cut Pro?

Yes. Import the MP4 like any other clip.

Does smooth.video work on a Mac?

Yes, in a recent browser, and just as well on Windows, Linux or a Chromebook.

Is it really free?

Yes, with no watermark, no account and no purchase.

Can smooth.video open or export Lottie files?

Neither. It imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files, and exports video, GIF and images.

Can I use photos and video in my animation?

Yes. Add images, video clips and audio to the scene next to your text and shapes.

Do I need an account?

No, and there's no workspace either. Your current project is autosaved in your browser; save it as a .smooth file on your computer to keep it.

Or skip the decision.

smooth.video is free, opens in a tab and exports without a watermark. Try it while you compare.

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