Cavalry vs Placeit
Cavalry and Placeit 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
Cavalry vs Placeit at a glance
| Cavalry | Placeit | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free for individuals | Single purchases, or a subscription from US$89.69 a year | Free |
- Price
- CavalryFree for individuals
- PlaceitSingle purchases, or a subscription from US$89.69 a year
- smooth.videoFree
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Cavalry and Placeit before you decide.
Cavalry
- Install
- Desktop app for Mac and Windows
- Account
- Canva account required
- How you animate
- Keyframes plus procedural tools: duplicators, falloffs, behaviors
- Transparent video
- WebM, ProRes 4444, plus APNG, GIF and WebP
- Animation driven by spreadsheets
- Yes
- Rigging, dynamics, scripting
- Yes
- Lottie and SVG export
- Yes
When Cavalry fits better
You build complex motion design: hundreds of shapes driven by one rig, charts animated from a spreadsheet, dynamics, scripts, or Lottie and ProRes deliverables. smooth.video has none of that.
Cavalry vs smooth.videoPlaceit
- Watermark
- On previews, until you buy
- What you can change
- Text, colors, images and music in the template
- Formats
- MP4 for videos, PNG for designs
- Product mockups and logo generator
- Yes
When Placeit fits better
You sell merch and need photo mockups of your designs on shirts, mugs and phones, or want a logo generated for you along with matching assets. smooth.video only animates.
Placeit vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
You need an animated title, a logo reveal or a social post today, on any computer, including one where you can't install software, and you don't need procedural systems to get there.
You need one intro or logo animation rather than a subscription, want it to move your way, or need it on a transparent background.
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
Can I animate a chart from a spreadsheet?
No. In smooth.video a chart is built from shapes, and its numbers are texts you type, which can count up as they appear. That suits a handful of figures; for charts built from real data, Cavalry is the better fit.
Can I open Cavalry projects?
No. smooth.video opens its own .smooth files and imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The editor and every export run in your browser.
Can I use my own logo?
Yes. Import it as an image, remove its background in one click if it has one, and animate it.
Does smooth.video make mockups?
No. It animates: intros, logo reveals, titles and social posts. For product mockups, Placeit is the better tool.
Is there a watermark?
No. The download is free and clean.
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