The Best Adobe After Effects AlternativesTop Motion Graphics Software & Animation Makers like Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is described as 'Professional-grade motion graphics and visual effects tool for post-production in film, TV, and creative projects through cloud subscription' and is a very popular Motion Graphics software in the photos & graphics category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Adobe After Effects for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Web-based, Linux and iPhone apps. The best Adobe After Effects alternative is Natron, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Adobe After Effects are Blackmagic Design Fusion, Blender, NUKE and Apple Motion.

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Alternatives list

  1. Natron icon

    Natron

     224 likes

    Natron is an open source, cross platform nodal compositing application. It is built around industry standard open source tech such as OpenFX, OpenEXR, OpenColorIO and OpenImageIO. The feature set includes realtime playback/RAM cache, multi-threaded rendering, 2d tracking...

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • FreeBSD
    • Flathub
    Natron screenshot 1
     
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    9
    Natron vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    4

    Free and open-source node based alternative to After Effects. It's pretty similar to Nuke, but doesn't cost anything.

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    10

    Awful documentation (blank page); The versions change so much that the old tutorials don't help at all; Difficult to learn by just messing around; High learning curve.

    ahmed52
    Positive
    2

    free ,open source a bit hard to use at first

    3 of 9 comments
    • Natron is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • Natron is a VFX Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
  2. Blackmagic Design Fusion icon

    Blackmagic Design Fusion

     53 likes

    Fusion is the world’s most advanced compositing software for visual effects artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers and 3D animators.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Blackmagic Design Fusion screenshot 1
     
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    6
    Blackmagic Design Fusion vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    4

    Great software and well integrated with DaVinci Resolve.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Great node-based alternative if you require an advanced control over your compositions. It supports OFX plugins, macros, and software-specific plugins/scripts(Lua & Python)

    Guest
    Positive
    7

    High level composition software.

    3 of 6 comments
    • Blackmagic Design Fusion is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • Blackmagic Design Fusion is a VFX Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
  4. Blender icon

    Blender

     1828 likes

    A comprehensive open-source 3D software suite for modeling, UV unwrapping, texturing, rigging, and animating. It supports renderings, simulations including fluid and cloth dynamics, complex compositing, video editing, and Python scripting, running across all major operating systems.

    148 Blender alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Steam
    • Flatpak
    Splash Artwork for Blender 4.3
     
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    30
    Blender vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Top Positive Comment
    sas_ja
    5

    Blender is has a bit different workflow, that doesn't make it worse than AE. People think that Blender is only a 3D program, but it fact it has greasepencil (2d animation tool), and it also includes node-based compositing, video editing and video tracking. With Blender you can combine 2d animations, 3d renderings and video footage without using any external program.

    Top Negative Comment
    danielmichel
    49

    AE's main purpose: Video effect editing. Blender has a whole range of possibilities, but it's hard to get into and it's not designed to be used solely for video effect editing.

    Avoyt
    Negative
    0

    Comparing Blender with After Effects is wild to me. I regularly use both for work, and I can't fathom using one for the other. Like, sure, you can do video editing in both, but neither excel at that.

    3 of 30 comments
    • Blender is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • Blender is a 3D Modeler Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
    • Blender is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe After Effects is not according to our users
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    CapCut icon
    CapCut

    Free video editor offering multi-track timeline, trimming, splitting, speed adjustments, advanced filters, stickers, backgrounds removal, licensed music, speech-to-text, stabilization, customizable 4K 60fps export, and direct sha...

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  6. NUKE icon

    NUKE

     35 likes

    NUKE is a powerful compositing application that delivers unparalleled speed, an efficient multi-channel scanline rendering engine, and a first-class feature set that is unrivalled in the desktop market.

    19 NUKE alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    NUKE screenshot 1
     
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    1
    NUKE vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    8

    There is a free commercial version, nuke is also more industry standard for compositing

    • NUKE is Free Personal and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • NUKE is a VFX Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
  8. Apple Motion icon

    Apple Motion

     23 likes

    Designed for video editors, Motion is a powerful motion graphics tool that makes it easy to create cinematic 2D and 3D titles, fluid transitions, and realistic effects in real time.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Apple Motion screenshot 1
     
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    3
    Apple Motion vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Guest
    Positive
    8

    Cheap, not free, and there are some plugins.

    Paul
    Positive
    0

    A great software for motion design and 2D/3D animation, especially if you're already using Final Cut Pro.

    Guest
    Positive
    0

    better than ae and one-time payed

    • Apple Motion is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is also Paid and Proprietary
    • Apple Motion is a VFX Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
  9. OpenCut icon

    OpenCut

     32 likes

    Open-source video editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux offering non-linear multi-track editing, timeline tools, and advanced features like templates, no watermarks, fast exports, extensive format support, subtitles, user-friendly interface, and offline functionality.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Self-Hosted
    OpenCut screenshot 1
     
  10. Friction icon

    Friction

     39 likes

    Friction is a powerful and versatile motion graphics application that allows you to create vector and raster animations for web and video platforms with ease.

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Friction screenshot 1
     
  11. OpenToonz icon

    OpenToonz

     137 likes

    Open-source 2D animation software supporting raster and vector workflows, node-based compositing, plug-in extensions, anti-aliased painting, and support for major platforms, developed in collaboration with Studio Ghibli and suitable for commercial projects.

    46 OpenToonz alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    OpenToonz screenshot 1
     
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    1
    OpenToonz vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    shay
    Negative
    3

    while this has video creation functionality, it is intended for animation rather than video editing and compositing. an ae user would find it difficult to do their type of work in this program

    • OpenToonz is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • OpenToonz is an Animation Maker Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
    • OpenToonz is Privacy focusedAdobe After Effects is not according to our users
  12. CapCut icon

    CapCut

     78 likes

    Free video editor offering multi-track timeline, trimming, splitting, speed adjustments, advanced filters, stickers, backgrounds removal, licensed music, speech-to-text, stabilization, customizable 4K 60fps export, and direct sharing to social platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

    218 CapCut alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    CapCut screenshot 1
     
  13. enve icon

    enve

     42 likes

    Enve is a free and open-source 2D animation app. It can create both vector and raster animations and even use sound and video files. It has been created with flexibility and expandability in mind.

    59 enve alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Official Enve Screenshot
     
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    1
    Discontinued

    The GitHub repo hasn't had updates since September 2022. There's already been 2 threads discussing the discontinued state of the program without any comment from the original dev:https://github.com/MaurycyLiebner/enve/issues/315https://github.com/MaurycyLiebner/enve/issues/336

    enve vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    groundjet
    Positive
    0

    Free and open source, much easier on the memory; still a lot of bugs and features missing but it is an absolutely amazing piece of software that will hopefully one day do to Adobe what Blender did to Autodesk.

    • enve is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • enve is an Animation Maker Adobe After Effects is a Motion Graphics Software
  14. Cavalry icon

    Cavalry

     17 likes

    Cavalry makes 2d animation smarter, easier and faster to produce. Design in real-time for advertising, mobile, data visualisation, web, broadcast, UI, generative art, experiential, games and more.

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    Cavalry screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Cavalry vs Adobe After Effects Comments
    Mosrod
    Positive
    0

    Wow! Cavalry is one of the closest free softwares I have seen with a similar interface and flow to After Effects. Although Cavalry doesn't contain all the bells and whistles of After Effects, it is a great and free software that allows you to create advanced compositions. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to composite within 2d and doesn't want to pay the expensive fee of After Effects.

    • Cavalry is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
  15. Pikimov icon

    Pikimov

     19 likes

    Pikimov is a free web based motion design and video editor.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online
    Pikimov composition editor
     
12 of 73 Adobe After Effects alternatives