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.
Apple Motion vs LottieFiles at a glance
| Apple Motion | LottieFiles | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | US$49.99 once, or in Apple Creator Studio at US$12.99 a month | Free plan, then paid plans billed yearly | Free |
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.videoLottieFiles
- 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, recolourable with themes, or interactive. That's what Lottie is for, and smooth.video doesn't export it.
LottieFiles vs smooth.videoWhen 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 editorStart from a template
See all 172 templatesQuestions
- 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. Your projects stay in your browser, and you can save any of them as a .smooth file.