EZGIF vs Kapwing
EZGIF and Kapwing 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
EZGIF vs Kapwing at a glance
| EZGIF | Kapwing | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with ads | Free plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearly | Free |
| Account | Not needed | Required to save a project | Not needed |
| Watermark | Never | On free plan exports | Never |
- Price
- EZGIFFree, with ads
- KapwingFree plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearly
- smooth.videoFree
- Account
- EZGIFNot needed
- KapwingRequired to save a project
- smooth.videoNot needed
- Watermark
- EZGIFNever
- KapwingOn free plan exports
- smooth.videoNever
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of EZGIF and Kapwing before you decide.
EZGIF
- Makes a GIF from
- An uploaded video or a set of images
- Moving text
- Text shown on a range of frames, without motion
- Where your files go
- Uploaded to its servers, kept up to an hour after last use
- Compression and optimization
- Yes: lossy, fewer colors, fewer frames, target file size
- Format conversion
- GIF, WebP, APNG, AVIF, MP4, WebM and more
When EZGIF fits better
You already have the GIF or the clip and need to do something to it: cut it, change its speed, reverse it, shrink it under a size limit, or convert it to WebP, APNG or AVIF. smooth.video makes GIFs; it doesn't edit, compress or convert them.
EZGIF vs smooth.videoKapwing
- Export resolution
- 720p on the free plan, 1080p and 4K on Pro
- Projects
- Deleted after 3 days on the free plan
- Where your files live
- In Kapwing's cloud
- AI subtitles, translation, dubbing
- Yes
- Real-time collaboration
- Yes
When Kapwing fits better
You edit talking videos and need subtitles, translations or dubbing in many languages, or several people edit and comment in the same project. smooth.video has no subtitle generator and no shared workspace.
Kapwing vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
The GIF doesn't exist yet: an animated headline for an email, a badge for a website, a demo for a README. You want to build it from text and images, make things move, and keep your files on your computer.
You're making the animated pieces of a video, like titles, lower thirds, logo stings or animated stats, want them at full quality without a watermark, and don't need a team workspace.
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 compress a GIF in smooth.video?
No. A short GIF with a modest size and few colors stays light; to shrink it further, run the exported file through a GIF optimizer such as EZGIF's.
Can I turn a video into a GIF?
Yes. Add the video to the scene, put text or stickers on top if you like, and export the whole thing as a GIF.
Are my files uploaded?
No. Everything, the GIF export included, runs in your browser, so your images and videos never leave your computer.
Does smooth.video generate subtitles?
No. You can type captions as text elements and time them on the timeline, but nothing is transcribed automatically.
How long are my projects kept?
As long as you keep the files. The editor autosaves the project you're working on in your browser; save it as a .smooth file to keep it on your computer and reopen it later, on any machine.
Is there a watermark?
No, never.
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