LottieFiles vs Placeit

LottieFiles and Placeit 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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LottieFiles vs Placeit at a glance

Price
LottieFilesFree plan, then paid plans billed yearly
PlaceitSingle purchases, or a subscription from US$89.69 a year
smooth.videoFree, no paid plan

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

LottieFiles

Output
Lottie and dotLottie, plus MP4, WebM, MOV and GIF
Where your files live
In your LottieFiles workspace
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.video

Placeit

Watermark
On previews, until you buy
What you can change
Text, colors, images and music in the template
Formats
MP4 for videos, PNG for designs
Product mockups and logo generator
Yes

When Placeit fits better

You sell merch and need photo mockups of your designs on shirts, mugs and phones, or want a logo generated for you along with matching assets. smooth.video only animates.

Placeit vs smooth.video

When smooth.video fits better

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.

You need one intro or logo animation rather than a subscription, want it to move your way, or need it on a transparent background.

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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 templates

Open one, change the words, export. Every element stays editable.

Questions

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.

Can I use my own logo?

Yes. Import it as an image, remove its background in one click if it has one, and animate it.

Does smooth.video make mockups?

No. It animates: intros, logo reveals, titles and social posts. For product mockups, Placeit is the better tool.

Is there a watermark?

No. The download is free and clean.

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