Kapwing vs LottieFiles

Kapwing and LottieFiles 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 LottieFiles at a glance

KapwingLottieFilessmooth.video
PriceFree plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearlyFree plan, then paid plans billed yearlyFree, no paid plan
Where your files liveIn Kapwing's cloudIn your LottieFiles workspaceOn your computer

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

Kapwing

Account
Required to save a project
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
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

LottieFiles

Output
Lottie and dotLottie, plus MP4, WebM, MOV and GIF
Video and audio in the scene
No
Interactive state machines
Yes
Lottie players for apps and websites
Yes
After Effects and Figma plugins
Yes

When LottieFiles fits better

The animation ships inside an app or a website and should stay tiny, sharp at any size, recolourable with themes, or interactive. That's what Lottie is for, and smooth.video doesn't export it.

LottieFiles 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 goes in a video, a social post, an email or a presentation rather than in an app: a logo reveal, a Reel, an animated banner, a lower third. You want a video file, maybe with photos or footage in it.

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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 smooth.video open or export Lottie files?
Neither. It imports images, video, audio and layered PSD files, and exports video, GIF and images.
Can I use photos and video in my animation?
Yes. Add images, video clips and audio to the scene next to your text and shapes.
Do I need an account?
No. Your projects stay in your browser, and you can save any of them as a .smooth file.