Adobe After Effects Alternatives for Linux

Adobe After Effects is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best Linux alternative is Natron, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Adobe After Effects and 15 are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to Adobe After Effects are Blender, Blackmagic Design Fusion, NUKE and OpenToonz.

filter to find the best alternatives

Adobe After Effects alternatives are mainly VFX Software, but if you're looking for Motion Graphics Software or 3D Modelers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Open Source, Free, Linux, Windows + Free, Windows, Android and Mac. 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.

More about Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects alternatives page was last updated Sep 7, 2025

Natron
217 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...
19 Natron alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Application types
VFX
Motion Graphics
Origin
France
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Is Natron a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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9comments
Natron vs Adobe After Effects Comments

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.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
ahmed52
Positive commentJan 7, 2022
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
Blender
1775 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.
143 Blender alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
3D Modeler
Origin
Netherlands
EU
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Snapcraft
Flathub
PortableApps.com
Haiku
Steam
Flatpak
+9
Is Blender a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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29comments
Blender vs Adobe After Effects Comments

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
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.
Guest
Negative commentSep 7, 2025
0
It’s not a video editor anymore, they removed that feature.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
3 of 29 comments
Blender is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
Blender is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focusedAdobe After Effects is not according to our users
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.
20 Blackmagic Design Fusion alternatives
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application types
VFX
Video Editor
Origin
Australia
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+1
Is this a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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6comments
Blackmagic Design Fusion vs Adobe After Effects Comments

Top Positive Comment
Paul
Apr 9, 2020
4
Great software and well integrated with DaVinci Resolve.
Guest
Positive commentOct 27, 2023
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)
Review by a new / low-activity user.
Guest
Positive commentSep 19, 2018
7
High level composition software.
Review by a new / low-activity user.
3 of 6 comments
Blackmagic Design Fusion is Freemium and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
NUKE
36 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.
18 NUKE alternatives
Cost / License
Free Personal
Proprietary
Application types
VFX
Motion Graphics
Origin
United Kingdom
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+4
Is NUKE a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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1comment
NUKE vs Adobe After Effects Comments

Guest
Positive commentDec 11, 2016
7
There is a free commercial version, nuke is also more industry standard for compositing
Review by a new / low-activity user.
NUKE is Free Personal and ProprietaryAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
OpenToonz
132 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.
43 OpenToonz alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application types
Animation Maker
Digital Painting
Origin
Japan
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+4
Is OpenToonz a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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1comment
OpenToonz vs Adobe After Effects Comments

shay
Negative commentMay 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
OpenToonz is Free and Open SourceAdobe After Effects is Paid and Proprietary
OpenToonz is Privacy focusedAdobe After Effects is not according to our users
Friction
30 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.
9 Friction alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application types
Motion Graphics
Animation Maker
Origin
International
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+4
Is Friction a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
OpenCut
16 likes
The open source video editor that gets the job done. Simple, powerful, and works on any platform.
63 OpenCut alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Application type
Video Editor
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Docker
Online
Self-Hosted
Is OpenCut a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
enve
39 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.
57 enve alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Application type
Animation Maker
Origin
Poland
EU
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Windows
Linux
Is enve a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

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1comment
enve vs Adobe After Effects Comments

groundjet
Positive commentMay 10, 2022
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
Autodesk Flame
2 likes
Autodesk Flame software is a powerful finishing and visual effects solution with an integrated environment that accelerates creative workflows.
Cost / License
Paid
Proprietary
Application type
VFX
Origin
United States
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+3
Is Autodesk Flame a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
PopcornFX
5 likes
A suite of tools dedicated to real-time visual effects creation, along with ready-to-run mainstream game engine integrations and a runtime simulation framework for custom integration.
Cost / License
Free Personal
Proprietary
Application type
VFX
Origin
France
EU
Platforms
Windows
Linux
Mac
Flathub
Flatpak
+3
Is PopcornFX a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
ButtleOFX
16 likes
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.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
VFX
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Linux
Is ButtleOFX a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?
Talos VFX
3 likes
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.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (Apache-2.0)
Application type
VFX
Origin
Türkiye
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Java
Is Talos VFX a good alternative to Adobe After Effects?

12 of 15 Adobe After Effects alternatives

Adobe After Effects Alternatives for Linux

Alternatives list

Natron

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Blender

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Blackmagic Design Fusion

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NUKE

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OpenToonz

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Friction

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OpenCut

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enve

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enve vs Adobe After Effects Comments

Autodesk Flame

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PopcornFX

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ButtleOFX

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Talos VFX

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