The Best Adobe After Effects AlternativesTop Motion Graphics Software & Video Editors 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 25 alternatives to Adobe After Effects for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android 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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Adobe After Effects alternatives are mainly Motion Graphics Software, but if you're looking for VFX Software or Video Editors you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows + Free + Video Editing and Windows + Free. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Adobe After Effects.
Adobe After Effects iconAdobe After Effects
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Professional-grade motion graphics and visual effects tool for post-production in film, TV, and creative projects through cloud subscription.

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Adobe After Effects alternatives page was last updated Jan 21, 2025
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  1. Natron icon

    Natron

     205 likes
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    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...

    20 Natron alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Natron screenshot 1

    Top Natron Features

    1.  Node Based
    2.  Open FX Support
    3.  Keyframe Animation
    4.  Video filters
    5.  Nodal Compositing
    6.  Portable
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    10.  Support for 4K
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  No registration required

    Natron VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about Natron as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    Apr 9, 2020
    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
    Aug 21, 2017
    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.

    Most Recent Comment
    ahmed52
    Positive Jan 7, 2022
    2

    free ,open source a bit hard to use at first

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    3 of 9 comments
    Adobe After Effects Icon
    Natron icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Natron is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.

    • Natron is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Adobe After Effects.

    • Natron is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe After Effects.

    • Natron is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
  2. Blackmagic Design Fusion icon

    Blackmagic Design Fusion

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

    19 Blackmagic Design Fusion alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • AU flagAustralia

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Blackmagic Design Fusion screenshot 1

    Top Blackmagic Design Fusion Features

    1.  Camera tracking
    2.  Node Based
    3.  Planar tracking
    4.  Nodal Compositing
    5.  Support for 4K
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    8.  Colour Grading
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Motion Capture
    11.  3D Renderer
    12.  Deep Pixel Compositing

    Blackmagic Design Fusion VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about Blackmagic Design Fusion as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    Top Positive Comment
    Paul
    Apr 9, 2020
    4

    Great software and well integrated with DaVinci Resolve.

    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Oct 27, 2023
    0

    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 Sep 19, 2018
    7

    High level composition software.

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    3 of 6 comments
    Adobe After Effects Icon
    Blackmagic Design Fusion icon

    • Most users think Blackmagic Design Fusion is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.

    • Blackmagic Design Fusion is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
  4. Blender icon

    Blender

     1691 likes
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    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.

    138 Blender alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • NL flagNetherlands
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    • Haiku
    • Steam
    • Flatpak
    • Snapcraft
    Splash Artwork for Blender 4.3

    Properties

    1.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  3D Animation
    2.  3D Sculpting
    3.  Real time rendering
    4.  Compositor
    5.  Community-based
    6.  Keyframe Animation
    7.  Texturing
    8.  Animation Rigging
    9.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    10.  3D Renderer
    11.  Texture painting
    12.  Grease Pencil

    Blender VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about Blender as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    Comment summary: Blender is mainly recognized as a 3D modeling and animation tool, with capabilities that extend to video editing and compositing. However, many users highlight that its primary focus differs significantly from Adobe After Effects, which is designed for VFX and motion graphics. While Blender is praised for being open-source and versatile, it isn't typically seen as a direct alternative to After Effects for video effects work. Some users appreciate Blender's potential for specific tasks, but note its steep learning curve and differing workflow.
    Top Positive Comment
    sas_ja
    Jun 14, 2020
    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
    Nov 7, 2017
    48

    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.

    Most Recent Comment
    VicQueiroz
    Negative Apr 8, 2024
    -1

    Blender and After Effects have difference proposes

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    3 of 28 comments
    Adobe After Effects Icon
    Blender icon

    • Some users think Blender is a great Adobe After Effects alternative, some don't.

    • Blender is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
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  6. NUKE icon

    NUKE

     35 likes
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    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.

    21 NUKE alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    NUKE screenshot 1

    NUKE Features

    1.  Node Based
    2.  Motion Capture
    3.  Real time collaboration
    4.  File Versioning
    5.  Video Masking
    6.  Nodal Compositing
    7.  MultiTrack
    8.  Color correction

    NUKE VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about NUKE as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    Guest
    Positive Dec 11, 2016
    7

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

    Adobe After Effects Icon
    NUKE icon

    • Most users think NUKE is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.

    • NUKE is the most popular commercial alternative to Adobe After Effects.

    • NUKE is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is also Paid and Proprietary
  7. Apple Motion icon

    Apple Motion

     23 likes
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    Motion is a compositing application used to create and edit motion graphics, titling for video and film production, and 2D and 3D compositing for visual effects.

    28 Apple Motion alternatives

    License model

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Apple Motion screenshot 1

    Apple Motion Features

    1.  Chroma Key / Green Screen
    2.  Support for 4K
    3.  Transitions Effects
    4.  Motion Capture

    Apple Motion VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about Apple Motion as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    Most Recent Comment
    Guest
    Positive Jan 31, 2017
    8

    Cheap, not free, and there are some plugins.

    Paul
    Positive Apr 9, 2020
    0

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

    Guest
    Positive Feb 7, 2018
    0

    better than ae and one-time payed

    Adobe After Effects Icon
    Apple Motion icon

    • Most users think Apple Motion is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.

    • Apple Motion is Paid and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is also Paid and Proprietary
  8. Friction icon

    Friction

     15 likes
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    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.

    5 Friction alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Friction screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Support for Layers
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  WYSIWYG Support
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Keyframe Animation
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Automated Tweening
    9.  Hardware Accelerated
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    12.  Non Destructive Editing

    Friction VS Adobe After Effects

     
  10. OpenToonz icon

    OpenToonz

     112 likes
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    OpenToonz is an animation program that is a free software version of Toonz, the animation software used by Studio Ghibli, amongst others.

    40 OpenToonz alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • JP flagJapan

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    GTS

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Pen Stabilization
    2.  Keyframe Animation
    3.  Stop Motion
    4.  Custom Brushes
    5.  No registration required
    6.  Support for scripting
    7.  Works Offline
    8.  Drawing Tablet Support
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Ad-free
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  Automated Tweening

    OpenToonz VS Adobe After Effects

     
    Comments about OpenToonz as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects
    shay
    Negative May 3, 2023
    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

    Adobe After Effects Icon
    OpenToonz icon

    • Some users think OpenToonz is a great Adobe After Effects alternative, some don't.

    • OpenToonz is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
    • OpenToonz is Privacy focusedAdobe After Effects is not according to our users
7 of 49 Adobe After Effects alternatives