Adobe After Effects AlternativesOnly Free apps categorised as VFX Software for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe After Effects for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows VFX Software alternative is Natron, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Adobe After Effects and six of them are free and VFX Software available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows VFX Software alternatives to Adobe After Effects are Blackmagic Design Fusion, Blender, Hitfilm Express and Tooll3.

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Adobe After Effects alternatives are mainly Video Editors but may also be Motion Graphics Software or VFX Software. Other popular filters includes Windows + Free and Windows + Free + Video Editing. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe After Effects.

Adobe After Effects

199

Video Editor
Paid • Proprietary

Adobe After Effects is the premiere digital video effects software used industry wide for film making and TV production as well as creative work including high-end video intros and audio-reactive music visualizers.

More about Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects alternatives page was last updated Apr 8, 2024

Natron
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...
24 Natron alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- VFX Software
- Video Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
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
Show all NaN Natron features ▾
Natron VS Adobe After Effects
Is Natron a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
Comments about Natron as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects

Paul
Free and open-source node based alternative to After Effects. It's pretty similar to Nuke, but doesn't cost anything.
Top positive comment •Apr 9, 2020
4
fahadhasanpathik
A Node based approach for not only vector and raster image processing and animation but also for OpenGL effects and shader authoring. Also supports OFX. Mainly targeted for VFX compositing.
Top positive comment •Jan 21, 2018
15
Guest
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.
Top negative comment •Aug 21, 2017
10
ahmed52
free ,open source a bit hard to use at first
Positive comment •Jan 7, 2022
2
gauthierhaas00
Bad support for zoom-in on SVG and fonts
Negative comment •Jan 14, 2021
-1
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5 of 9 comments
- 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

Blackmagic Design Fusion
Fusion is the world’s most advanced compositing software for visual effects artists, broadcast and motion graphic designers and 3D animators.
22 Blackmagic Design Fusion alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
- VFX Software
- Video Editor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
+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
Show all NaN Blackmagic Design Fusion features ▾
Blackmagic Design Fusion VS Adobe After Effects
Is this a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
Comments about Blackmagic Design Fusion as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects

Paul
Great software and well integrated with DaVinci Resolve.
Top positive comment •Apr 9, 2020
4
Guest
High level composition software.
Top positive comment •Sep 19, 2018
7
Guest
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)
Positive comment •Oct 27, 2023
0
Guest
Very hard to understand alone.
Positive comment •May 2, 2018
0
Maxi_Mega
It's really powerful, but also very difficult to understand.
Positive comment •Nov 26, 2017
7
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5 of 6 comments
- 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

Blender
Blender is the free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, video editing, and motion tracking.
152 Blender alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- 3D Modeler
- 3D Animator
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- Flathub
- PortableApps.com
- Haiku
- Steam
- Flatpak
+6
Top Blender Features
1. 3D Sculpting
2. 3D Animation
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
Show all NaN Blender features ▾
Blender VS Adobe After Effects
Is Blender a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
Comments about Blender as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects

sas_ja
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 positive comment •Jun 14, 2020
4
Guest
Yeah, you can edit videos with it... But it's not made for it in specific and isn't it's main purpose. It has lots of purposes.
Top positive comment •Dec 10, 2015
31
danielmichel
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.
Top negative comment •Nov 7, 2017
47
VicQueiroz
Blender and After Effects have difference proposes
Negative comment •Apr 8, 2024
0
shay
not meant for video editing or compositing, though it has this functionality. most ae users will find it difficult to use blender for the same type of work
Negative comment •May 3, 2023
3
Show more comments
5 of 28 comments
- 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

Hitfilm Express
HitFilm Express is a free editor & compositor for Mac & PC. Includes over 410 powerful effects & presets.
102 Hitfilm Express alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
- Video Editor
- VFX Software
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
Hitfilm Express Features
Support for Layers
Dark Mode
Intuitive Interface
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Hitfilm Express VS Adobe After Effects
Is Hitfilm Express a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
Comments about Hitfilm Express as an Alternative to Adobe After Effects

Guest
It's free I have used black magic's da'vinchi resolve. After effects is mainly for vfx. Hitfilm too is! As per its latest update it has been optimised to a high level.no lag. It's really good.its forums are very active! I don't think any free software can compete with hitfilm express in case of VFX:)
Positive comment •Feb 17, 2019
4
Guest
Because it can do precisely similar things to what things Adobe After Effects can do.
Positive comment •Jun 21, 2019
1
- Almost everyone thinks Hitfilm Express is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.
- Hitfilm Express is Free and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary

Tooll3
Tooll is an open-source solution for creating interactive 3d content and animations. It combines the best aspects of animation, compositing, and coding into a lightweight and intuitive UI. Your designs can be shared as executable or rendered to movies.
10 Tooll3 alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- VFX Software
- Motion Graphics Software
Platforms
- Windows
Top Tooll3 Features
1. Node Based
2. Keyframe Animation
3. GPU Acceleration
4. Ad-free
5. Chroma Key / Green Screen
6. Dark Mode
7. Colour Grading
8. Lightweight
9. Works Offline
10. Support for 4K
11. Support for Layers
Show all NaN Tooll3 features ▾
Tooll3 VS Adobe After Effects
Is Tooll3 a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

Talos VFX
Talos is an open source, node based particle effect editor that can be used in game development. It features a powerful but intuitive, drag-and-drop interface with the ability to import legacy LibGDX files for easy, visual editing.
8 Talos VFX alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- VFX Software
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Java
Talos VFX Features
Node Based
Particle Engine
Show all NaN Talos VFX features ▾
Talos VFX VS Adobe After Effects
Is Talos VFX a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?