Canva vs LottieFiles

Canva 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.

Open the editorFree, no signup, nothing to install

Canva vs LottieFiles at a glance

CanvaLottieFilessmooth.video
PriceFree plan, with many templates and features in Canva ProFree plan, then paid plans billed yearlyFree, no paid plan
Where your files liveIn your Canva accountIn your LottieFiles workspaceOn your computer

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

Canva

Account
Required
Built for
Every kind of design: social posts, slides, print, documents, video
Motion
Animation presets and timing per element
Transparent video
Not available
Library
A huge library of templates, photos and graphics

When Canva fits better

You need a flyer, a presentation and a social post that all match, drawn from a huge library of templates, photos and brand assets, with animation as a finishing touch.

Canva vs smooth.video

LottieFiles

Output
Lottie and dotLottie, plus MP4, WebM, MOV and GIF
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.video

When smooth.video fits better

The animation is the deliverable: a YouTube intro, a lower third, an animated stat, a Reel. You want exact control over timing, a transparent export to put over video, and no account.

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

Start from a template

See all 172 templates

Questions

Can I bring my Canva designs in?
Yes, as images: download your design or its parts from Canva, add them to a smooth.video scene and animate them there.
Does smooth.video have templates?
Yes, a gallery of ready-made animations, from YouTube intros to sale banners. Each one opens in the editor with every element editable.
Is there a watermark?
No. Every export is free and clean, transparent WebM included.
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.