Rive vs Brush Ninja
Rive 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.
- Free
- No signup
- No watermark
Rive vs Brush Ninja at a glance
| Rive | Brush Ninja | smooth.video | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan, then Cadet at US$9 per seat a month billed yearly | Free with ads, membership at US$7 a month or US$48 a year | Free, no paid plan |
| Account | Required | Only for membership | Not needed |
- Price
- RiveFree plan, then Cadet at US$9 per seat a month billed yearly
- Brush NinjaFree with ads, membership at US$7 a month or US$48 a year
- smooth.videoFree, no paid plan
- Account
- RiveRequired
- Brush NinjaOnly for membership
- smooth.videoNot needed
As of September 2026. Plans change, so check those of Rive and Brush Ninja before you decide.
Rive
- Exports on the free plan
- None
- Output
- .riv files for runtimes, plus video and images
- Interactivity and state machines
- Yes
- Runtimes for apps, websites and games
- Yes
- Rigging, meshes, real-time collaboration
- Yes
When Rive fits better
The animation lives in a product and reacts to people: a button that responds to hover, a character that follows the cursor, a loading state driven by your app's data. That takes a runtime, and smooth.video doesn't have one.
Rive vs smooth.videoBrush 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.videoWhen smooth.video fits better
The animation ends up in a video, a post, an email or a slide, and plays the same way every time: a logo reveal, a product teaser, an animated stat, a GIF.
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.
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 smooth.video export Lottie or .riv files?
No. It exports video (MP4 and WebM), GIF and images.
Can I put a smooth.video animation on a website?
Yes, as a video or a GIF. It plays the same way for everyone, without reacting to the cursor or to clicks.
Is there a watermark?
No, on any format.
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.
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