Powtoon vs Remotion
Powtoon and Remotion 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
Powtoon vs Remotion at a glance
| Powtoon | Remotion | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, then Lite from US$15 a month billed yearly | Free for individuals and companies of up to 3 people, then a company license | Free, no paid plan |
- Price
- PowtoonFree plan, then Lite from US$15 a month billed yearly
- RemotionFree for individuals and companies of up to 3 people, then a company license
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Powtoon and Remotion before you decide.
Powtoon
- Account
- Required
- Watermark
- On free plan videos, and on all but 5 exports a month on Lite
- MP4 download
- Paid plans only
- Export resolution
- 720p on the free plan, 1080p on paid plans
- Animated characters and props
- Thousands, with a character builder
- PowerPoint import
- Yes
- Team review and brand locking
- Yes
When Powtoon fits better
You're making an explainer with characters and scenes, turning a PowerPoint deck into a video, or working with a team that reviews videos and locks the brand. smooth.video has no characters, no PowerPoint import and no shared workspace.
Powtoon vs smooth.videoRemotion
- How you make a video
- React code
- What you need
- Node.js, a code editor and some React
- Rendering
- On your machine, a server or AWS Lambda
- Transparent video
- WebM or ProRes 4444
- Videos generated from data, at scale
- Yes
- AI assistants
- Agent skills and a Claude Code plugin
When Remotion fits better
You generate videos from data, personalize them for each user, render them on servers, embed a player in your app, or build your own video product. smooth.video has no API and no server rendering.
Remotion vs smooth.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
You need a short animated piece, like a title card, a stat, a product demo with a cursor or a social post, and a file you can download right away, with no watermark and no plan.
You want one video, not ten thousand: you'd rather see it and drag things into place than write components, or the person making it doesn't code.
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
Can I import my PowerPoint?
No. Export your slides as images, add them to a scene and animate them there.
Can I put a smooth.video animation in a presentation?
Yes. Export an MP4 or a GIF and insert it into PowerPoint, Keynote or Google Slides.
Is there a watermark?
No, and the download is free too.
Can I generate many videos from a spreadsheet?
Not automatically. A script or an AI assistant can write one .smooth file per row, but each one is opened and exported by hand in the editor.
Can an AI assistant make the video?
Yes. The whole format is published at smooth.video/llms.txt: point ChatGPT, Claude or another assistant at it, describe the animation, and open the file it gives you.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The editor and the export both run in your browser.
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