Free Adobe After Effects Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to Adobe After Effects for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best free Windows alternative is Blender, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Adobe After Effects and 13 are free and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free Windows alternatives to Adobe After Effects are Natron, Blackmagic Design Fusion, OpenToonz and Hitfilm Express.

Adobe After Effects alternatives are mainly VFX Software but may also be Motion Graphics Software or Video Editors. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Adobe After Effects.

Adobe After Effects alternatives page was last updated

Adobe After Effects

198

Paid • Proprietary
VFX Software

Adobe After Effects is the premiere digital video effects software used industry wide for film making and TV production as...

More about Adobe After Effects

Blender
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
3D Modeler
VFX Software
Video Editor
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Flathub
PortableApps.com
Haiku
Steam
Flatpak
151 Blender alternatives
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.
- - Blender is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to Adobe After Effects.
- - Blender is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Adobe After Effects.
Suggest and vote on features
Blender Features
1. 3D SculptingBlender offers tools to push, pull, smooth, grab or pinch to manipulate a 3D model.
2. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in Blender, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
3. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsBlender can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
4. Animation RiggingBlender supports bone structures to manipulate a 3D model like a puppet for animation.
5. Physically-Based RenderingPrecise rendering method for Blender to represent of how light interacts with material properties.
6. Ad-freeBlender doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
7. Motion CaptureYou can capture and modify/animate faces, gestures, movements or objects within the Blender.
8. Node BasedBlender supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
9. LightweightBlender consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Real time rendering
Compositor
Community-based
Texturing
3D Renderer
Grease Pencil
Texture painting
2D and 3D physics
Rendering
Low memory usage
Comments about Blender as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
Some users think Blender is a great Adobe After Effects alternative, some don't.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
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•
3

Guest
It is free and u can use it for everything. You can Design you own things
Top positive comment•
2

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•
44

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•
0

Guest
Blender is a 3D suite and the node based compositing workflow differs a lot from after effects.
Negative comment•
0

Show more comments ▾
5 of 27 comments
Natron
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
VFX Software
Video Editor
Motion Graphics Software
Mac
Windows
Linux
21 Natron alternatives
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...
Suggest and vote on features
Natron Features
1. Node BasedNatron supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
2. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in Natron, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
3. PortableNatron can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Open FX Support
Video filters
Nodal Compositing
Comments about Natron as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
Most users think Natron is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
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•
1

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•
12

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•
7

ahmed52
free ,open source a bit hard to use at first
Positive comment•
0

gauthierhaas00
Bad support for zoom-in on SVG and fonts
Negative comment•
-1

Show more comments ▾
5 of 9 comments
Blackmagic Design Fusion
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
VFX Software
Motion Graphics Software
Mac
Windows
Linux
21 Blackmagic Design Fusion alternatives
Blackmagic Fusion (formerly known as Fusion and eyeon Fusion) is an image compositing software program created by eyeon Software Inc, now developed by Blackmagic Design. It is typically used to create visual effects and digital compositing for movies, TV-series and commercials.
Suggest and vote on features
Blackmagic Design Fusion Features
1. Node BasedBlackmagic Design Fusion supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
2. Colour GradingBlackmagic Design Fusion lets you manipulate color in creative and artistic ways.
3. Motion CaptureYou can capture and modify/animate faces, gestures, movements or objects within the Blackmagic Design Fusion.
Camera tracking
Planar tracking
Nodal Compositing
3D Renderer
Non linear editor
Deep Pixel Compositing
VR support
Comments about Blackmagic Design Fusion as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
Most users think Blackmagic Design Fusion is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.
Paul
Great software and well integrated with DaVinci Resolve.
Top positive comment•
3

Guest
High level composition software.
Top positive comment•
6

Guest
Very hard to understand alone.
Positive comment•
-1

Maxi_Mega
It's really powerful, but also very difficult to understand.
Positive comment•
6

Guest
It may not be entirely free, but still works VERY WELL if I could only understand it XD
Positive comment•
3
OpenToonz
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Animation Maker
Digital Painting Tool
Vector Graphic App
Mac
Windows
Linux
37 OpenToonz alternatives
OpenToonz is an animation program that is a free software version of Toonz, the animation software used by Studio Ghibli, amongst others.
Suggest and vote on features
OpenToonz Features
1. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in OpenToonz, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
2. Support for scriptingOpenToonz supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
3. Automated TweeningOpenToonz can automatically generate the inbetweens from two keyframes, to carry out a smooth transition.
Pen Stabilization
Plugin API
Stop Motion
Scanned drawings cleanup
3d camera
Expressions system
Particle Engine
Color correction
Powerful nodal effects system
Remote Camera Control
Comments about OpenToonz as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
Most users think OpenToonz is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.
shay
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
Negative comment•
0
Hitfilm Express
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Video Editor
VFX Software
Motion Graphics Software
Mac
Windows
95 Hitfilm Express alternatives
HitFilm Express is a free editor & compositor for Mac & PC. Includes over 410 powerful effects & presets.
Suggest and vote on features
Hitfilm Express Features
1. Support for LayersHitfilm Express supports the organization of elements through a hierarchical order that can be manipulated/viewed independently.
Intuitive Interface
Comments about Hitfilm Express as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
Almost everyone thinks Hitfilm Express is a great Adobe After Effects alternative.
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•
4

Guest
Because it can do precisely similar things to what things Adobe After Effects can do.
Positive comment•
1
enve
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Animation Maker
Windows
Linux
53 enve alternatives
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.
Suggest and vote on features
enve Features
1. Support for Layersenve supports the organization of elements through a hierarchical order that can be manipulated/viewed independently.
2. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in enve, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
3. Works Offlineenve can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
Timeline-based
Animate Vector Illustrations
Comments about enve as a Alternative to Adobe After Effects
pros, cons and recent comments
groundjet
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.
Positive comment•
0
CapCut
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
Video Editor
Mac
Windows
Online
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
iPad
116 CapCut alternatives
CapCut is a free video editing app offering a suite of features including cutting, speed adjustment, advanced filters, a vast music library, and creative effects to help users produce high-quality videos.
- - CapCut is the most popular Web-based, Android, iPhone, iPad & Android Tablet alternative to Adobe After Effects.
Suggest and vote on features
CapCut Features
1. Ad-freeCapCut doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
2. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in CapCut, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
3. LightweightCapCut consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
4. No registration requiredYou can use most of the features in CapCut without registration.
5. Works OfflineCapCut can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
6. Support for 4KCapCut supports watching, rendering or exporting 4K content (also know as UHD or Ultra HD).
7. PortableCapCut can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
8. Dark ModeCapCut supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
9. Chroma Key / Green ScreenCapCut supports chroma key to replace the background with an image or video backdrop.
Automated Captions
Non Destructive Editing