Kapwing vs Brush Ninja

Kapwing and Brush Ninja 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.

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Kapwing vs Brush Ninja at a glance

KapwingBrush Ninjasmooth.video
PriceFree plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearlyFree with ads, membership at US$7 a month or US$48 a yearFree, no paid plan
AccountRequired to save a projectOnly for membershipNot needed

As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Kapwing and Brush Ninja before you decide.

Kapwing

Watermark
On free plan exports
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.video

Brush Ninja

How you animate
Frame-by-frame drawing, with onion skin
Layers
None
Video with sound
WebM, for members
Formats
GIF, image sequence, and WebM for members
Lesson plans for teachers
Yes

When Brush Ninja fits better

You want to draw every frame, like a flipbook, in a tool made for children and classrooms, with stickers, sound effects and lesson plans ready to go.

Brush Ninja vs smooth.video

When smooth.video fits better

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.

The animation is made of things that move: a title, a photo, a logo, a sticker, a chart. You want sound in the video, more than one layer, and no ads, without a membership.

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Questions

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?
They stay in your browser until you clear its data. Save any of them as a .smooth file to keep a copy or open it on another computer.
Is there a watermark?
No, never.
Can I draw in smooth.video?
Yes, with a simple brush: the drawing becomes an image you can move, scale, rotate and fade on the timeline. It isn't made for drawing each frame.
Can I add sound?
Yes. Add an audio file and it's included in the MP4 or WebM. A GIF can't carry sound.
Are there ads?
No, and there's nothing to join.