Open Source Adobe After Effects Alternatives

The best open source alternative to Adobe After Effects is Natron. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to Adobe After Effects and nine of them is open source so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source alternatives to Adobe After Effects are Blender, OpenToonz, enve and ButtleOFX.

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

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Adobe After Effects

190

Paid • Proprietary
VFX Software

Mac
Windows

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

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Natron
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
VFX Software
Video Editor
Motion Graphics Software
Mac
Windows
Linux
21 alternatives to 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...
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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
Natron vs Adobe After Effects opinions
Most users think Natron is a great alternative to Adobe After Effects.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
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
Its simple (when you get the arrangement) but still very powerful, easily works with Blender and its free!!
Top positive comment•
2

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•
8

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

gauthierhaas00
Bad support for zoom-in on SVG and fonts
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0

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5 of 9 comments
Blender
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
3D Modeler
VFX Software
Video Editor
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
Haiku
Steam
Flathub
Flatpak
149 alternatives to 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.
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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. Node BasedBlender supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
8. Motion CaptureYou can capture and modify/animate faces, gestures, movements or objects within the Blender.
9. Parametric ModelingBlender can change the shape of model geometry as soon as the dimension value is modified.
Real time rendering
Compositor
Community-based
Texturing
3D Renderer
Grease Pencil
Texture painting
2D and 3D physics
Rendering
Low memory usage
Blender vs Adobe After Effects opinions
Some users think Blender is a great alternative to Adobe After Effects, some don't.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
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•
28

Guest
It clearly doesn't look like after effects and has a pretty steep learning curve, but it can do anything that after effects can do.
Top positive comment•
8

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•
43

shaysalad
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
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0

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

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5 of 27 comments
OpenToonz
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Animation Maker
Digital Painting Tool
Vector Graphic App
Mac
Windows
Linux
36 alternatives to OpenToonz
OpenToonz is an animation program that is a free software version of Toonz, the animation software used by Studio Ghibli, amongst others.
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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
OpenToonz vs Adobe After Effects opinions
pros, cons and recent comments
shaysalad
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
enve
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Animation Maker
Windows
Linux
52 alternatives to enve
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.
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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
enve vs Adobe After Effects opinions
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
ButtleOFX
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
VFX Software
Linux
21 alternatives to ButtleOFX
ButtleOFX is a simple, user-friendly and open source compositing software. It is based on TuttleOFX, an open source, modular and sustainable image processing architecture.
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ButtleOFX Features
1. Node BasedButtleOFX supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
Photo effects
Discontinued
as evidenced by their github page, the team is no longer developing it any further. They are looking for a maintainer. The last commit is over a year old.

ButtleOFX vs Adobe After Effects opinions
Most users think ButtleOFX is a great alternative to Adobe After Effects.
Tooll
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Open Source
VFX Software
Windows
10 alternatives to Tooll
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.
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Tooll Features
1. Node BasedTooll supports node editing, a form of visual programming that gives you full control over the rendering.
2. Keyframe AnimationCompositions can be keyframed in Tooll, allowing you to change the parameters over time.
GPU Acceleration
Rebaslight
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
4 alternatives to Rebaslight
Rebaslight is a program where you can add glow effects.
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Rebaslight Features
Special effects
Add a screenshot
Liconcomp
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Windows
17 alternatives to Liconcomp
Liconcomp allows live content compositing to display screens for digital signage, scoreboards, LED installations, ....
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Liconcomp Features
1. Support for scriptingLiconcomp supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
Discontinued
The project seems to be no longer developed. Last version, 1.2.2, released in March 2011, can be still downloaded from the official website.

Liconcomp vs Adobe After Effects opinions
Talos VFX
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
VFX Software
Mac
Windows
Linux
Java
8 alternatives to 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.
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Talos VFX Features
Particle Engine