Imgflip vs Adobe Animate
Imgflip and Adobe Animate 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.
Imgflip vs Adobe Animate at a glance
| Imgflip | Adobe Animate | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, or Pro at US$11.95 a month billed yearly | US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, 7-day free trial | Free, no paid plan |
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Imgflip and Adobe Animate before you decide.
Imgflip
- Watermark
- imgflip.com on free GIFs, removed with Pro
- GIF size
- Up to 360×360 from a video and 500×500 from images, on the free plan
- Text and images
- 1 text and 1 image per GIF on the free plan
- Motion
- Text and images moved at points in time
- Where your files go
- Hosted on imgflip.com, public unless marked private
- Meme templates, YouTube links
- Yes
When Imgflip fits better
You're making a meme: a classic template or a clip from a YouTube video with a caption, posted to Imgflip's community in a minute. smooth.video has no meme library and doesn't read links.
Imgflip vs smooth.videoAdobe Animate
- Install
- Desktop app for Windows and macOS
- Account
- Adobe account required
- Development
- Maintenance mode: fixes, no new features
- How you animate
- Frame-by-frame drawing, tweens, bone rigging
- Interactive output
- HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, SVG, sprite sheets
- Photoshop files
- PSD and Illustrator layers imported
When Adobe Animate fits better
You draw frame by frame, rig characters with bones, or deliver interactive HTML5 Canvas content, games or sprite sheets. smooth.video does none of that.
Adobe Animate vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
The GIF isn't a meme: a product announcement, an animated banner, a sticker for a newsletter. It needs to be bigger than 500 pixels, carry more than one line of text, and come out clean.
You used Animate for banners, animated logos or social posts, you'd rather not pay for a tool that no longer gets new features, and your animation is made of text, images and shapes that move rather than drawings.
Open the editorStart from a template
See all 172 templatesQuestions
- Can I make memes?
- You can put a caption over any image or video you add, but there's no library of meme templates: bring your own picture.
- Can my GIF have sound?
- No, a GIF file can't hold sound. For an animation with music, export an MP4: the audio you added is included.
- Is there a limit on text or images?
- No. Add as many texts, images and shapes as the animation needs.
- Is Adobe Animate discontinued?
- No. Adobe announced its end in February 2026 and reversed the decision the next day: Animate stays available, with security and bug fixes but no new features.
- Can I open .fla files?
- No. Export your artwork from Animate as PNG images, then animate them in smooth.video.
- Can I make HTML5 banner ads?
- Not as HTML5: smooth.video exports video, GIF and images. Where an ad slot takes a GIF or an MP4, a banner made here works.