EZGIF vs Rive
EZGIF and Rive 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 Rive at a glance
| EZGIF | Rive | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, with ads | Free plan, then Cadet at US$9 per seat a month billed yearly | Free |
| Account | Not needed | Required | Not needed |
- Price
- EZGIFFree, with ads
- RiveFree plan, then Cadet at US$9 per seat a month billed yearly
- smooth.videoFree
- Account
- EZGIFNot needed
- RiveRequired
- smooth.videoNot needed
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of EZGIF and Rive before you decide.
EZGIF
- Watermark
- Never
- 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.videoRive
- Exports on the free plan
- None
- Output
- .riv files for runtimes, plus video and images
- Interactivity and state machines
- Yes
- Runtimes for apps, websites and games
- Yes
- Rigging, meshes, real-time collaboration
- Yes
When Rive fits better
The animation lives in a product and reacts to people: a button that responds to hover, a character that follows the cursor, a loading state driven by your app's data. That takes a runtime, and smooth.video doesn't have one.
Rive 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.
The animation ends up in a video, a post, an email or a slide, and plays the same way every time: a logo reveal, a product teaser, an animated stat, a GIF.
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.
Can smooth.video export Lottie or .riv files?
No. It exports video (MP4 and WebM), GIF and images.
Can I put a smooth.video animation on a website?
Yes, as a video or a GIF. It plays the same way for everyone, without reacting to the cursor or to clicks.
Is there a watermark?
No, on any format.
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