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.
- Free
- No signup
- No watermark
Kapwing vs LottieFiles at a glance
| Kapwing | LottieFiles | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearly | Free plan, then paid plans billed yearly | Free, no paid plan |
| Where your files live | In Kapwing's cloud | In your LottieFiles workspace | On your computer |
- Price
- KapwingFree plan, then Pro from US$16 a month billed yearly
- LottieFilesFree plan, then paid plans billed yearly
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Where your files live
- KapwingIn Kapwing's cloud
- LottieFilesIn your LottieFiles workspace
- smooth.videoOn 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.videoLottieFiles
- 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, recolorable with themes, or interactive. That's what Lottie is for, and smooth.video doesn't export it.
LottieFiles vs smooth.videoWhen 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.
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
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.
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, and there's no workspace either. Your current project is autosaved in your browser; save it as a .smooth file on your computer to keep it.
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