Wax is a lightweight After Effects alternative for Windows only, and for totally free. With Wax, you can do composing and special effects like After Effects. This free alternative program to After Effects can either work as a standalone application or as a plugin for software like Sony Vegas. You can create 2D/3D video effects with it easily. Mar 26, 2021 You can use FilmoraPro, from Wondershare, as an alternative to After Effects. Filmora is good enough to be used by both beginners and pros. This After Effects alternative is one of the best-rated on the market and should provide you with all the features you need to animate any artwork that you want to. The Best After Effects alternatives. Comparing the available After Effects alternatives on the market, there can be only one true winner. HitFilm, across Pro and Express suites, represents too much power and value to be overlooked. HitFilm Pro is the best paid After Effects alternative because, with over 880+ built-in presets, its VFX features. Wondershare’s Filmora Pro is a non-linear editing tool that offers a cheap alternative to After Effects, whether you prefer to rent or buy. It's a good choice for intermediate-level video editors wishing to create professional looking titles, filters, overlays, transitions, and motion graphics. NATRON is another alternative for After Effects that's free to download. For your composition software, NATRON brings you a cross-platform for visual effects and motion graphics. This digital compositor utilizes interface functionality that operates the same across all.
Adobe After Effects is a powerful editing and visual effects software for creating stunning videos.
Thanks to its feature-packed array of tools for animation, cinematic effects, and motion picture compositing, After Effects has been used to create visual effects for high-profile projects like “Iron Man,” “The Walking Dead,” and “Star Trek. ”
But the steep learning curve, high cost ($239.88 per year or $31.49 per month), complex interface, and harsh hardware demands (especially on RAM and disk space) mean the iconic software isn’t ideal for everyone.
That’s why we’ve listed the best After Effects alternatives in this post.
The Top 10 Adobe After Effects Alternatives
1. HitFilm Pro
HitFilm Pro is an all-in-one video editing, visual effects, and 3D compositing software for filmmakers and motion artists. It’s a great After Effects alternative if you need detailed graphics and eye-catching special effects.
Key features:
- Supports lights, shadows, and environment maps that create realistic objects and effects.
- Over 870 ready-to-use visual effects and presets, available for any layer or clip.
- Importable 3D models and access to tracking functions.
- Audio visualization features.
Potential drawbacks: The powerful but granular features are hard to use if you’re not a trained visual effects designer.
Cost: One-time purchase price is $349. A free trial gives access to all the tools in HitFilm Pro, but you’ll have to buy the software to export projects.
Best for: Experienced video editors who need to create stunning special effects and graphics.
2. Fusion Studio 16
Fusion 16 specializes in visual effects, Virtual Reality, motion graphics, and 3D solutions. While it’s often used to create visual effects and digital compositing for HD footage and commercials, the software has also been used post-production on movies like “Thor,” “Lost,” and “Avatar.”
Key features:
- GPU acceleration and a 360º panoramic workspace enable real-time editing of VR scenes.
- Node-based interfaces create fluid, streamlined editing workflows.
- AI-assisted VFX production speeds up compositing.
- Annotate different clips, versions, and projects.
Potential drawbacks: Limited training resources and tutorials when compared to other visual effects software.
Cost: One-time purchase price is $299. You can get a free version with basic features through the Davinci Resolve Studio 16.
Best for: Large teams that need to collaborate on video projects and have a high creative output.
3. Natron
Natron is a free, open-source After Effects alternative for those seeking greater control and flexibility over the functions and interfaces they use.
Key features:
- Interface and functionality are the same across Mac, Linux, and Windows devices.
- Node-based engine for a more organized editing process.
- Over 250 community-written plugins.
- Flexible Roto and Rotapaint toolset that can generate unlimited layers of masks, mattes, and shapes.
Potential drawbacks: No support for 3D effects.
Cost: Natron is free to download and use.
Best for: Beginner visual effects designers and editors looking to add a professional finish to simple projects.
4. Wondershare FilmoraPro
Wondershare FilmoraPro is an advanced nonlinear editor that allows for extra polish in every project. It’s known for strong compositing, motion graphics, special effects, color correction, and audio adjustment tools.
Key features:
- User-friendly interface and navigation that provide useful prompts.
- Supports a range of frame rates and resolutions, including 4K UHD at 100 frames a second.
- Customizable layouts for editing, trimming, effects, and color correction.
- Supports motion graphics, animations, and unlimited video tracks.
Potential drawbacks: Audio effects are basic — no parametric EQ or side-chain control — when compared to other visual effects software.
Cost: Annual plan price is $89.99. One-time purchase price is $149.99.
Best for: Low-budget teams that need to polish and refine small projects to perfection.
5. Wondershare Filmora X
Unlike Filmora Pro, Filmora X targets a broader user base than most visual effects software. It’s simple enough to satisfy beginners but powerful enough to meet the needs of advanced users.
Key features:
- Beginner-friendly interface that makes editing less intimidating.
- Drag and drop creative assets into your timeline.
- Use the touch bar to preview your timeline (Mac only).
- Royalty-free music and sound effects.
- Supports titles, filters, overlays, transitions, and motion graphics.
Potential drawbacks: Limited options for customizing the interface.
Cost: Annual plan price is $39.99 for Windows and $44.99 for Mac. Lifetime plan price is $69.99 for both operating systems.
Best for: YouTubers or short-film producers.
6. Blender
Blender is a free and open-source 3D creation suite for modeling, rigging, animation, compositing, and game creation.
Key features:
- Combine 2D and 3D images.
- Animation support with onion skinning.
- Ultra-realistic and premium-quality rendering.
- Python scripting for custom tools and add-ons.
Potential drawbacks: Difficult to learn and master.
Cost: Free to download and use.
Best for: Animators and game designers.
7. Apple Motion
Motion is a compositing and motion graphics application by Apple that lets you create sparkling animations in a 2D or 3D space. You can also customize stylish titles, transitions, and effects for Final Cut Pro, Apple’s video editing program.
Key features:
- Export standard or 360° projects to Apple devices and upload them directly to YouTube and Vimeo.
- Toggle between 2D/3D titles with advanced tools or templates.
- Save any title, effect, or transition for later use in Final Cut Pro.
- Access more than 230 behaviors for natural animation.
Potential drawbacks: Creating animated graphics is complicated.
Cost: One-time purchase price is $49.99. Final Cut Pro is required, at $299 one-time purchase.
Best for: For those creating low- to mid-range projects and who already use Final Cut Pro.
8. Nuke
Nuke is a powerful compositing and visual effects program. It has a flexible, efficient, and feature-packed toolset designed for collaborative, commercial, and multichannel use.
Key features:
- GPU acceleration and fluid workflows for seamless collaboration.
- Compatible with Windows and Mac, with low hardware demands.
- Works with images that contain multiple opacity and color layers.
- Handles lens distortion.
Potential drawbacks: Commercial plans are extremely expensive when compared to other After Effects alternatives. Other basic options at a lower price point are available, and there is 90% off the commercial price for students.
Cost: Quarterly plan price is $1,729. One-time purchase price is $4,988.
Best for: Large studios and professional film producers.
9. Autodesk Smoke
Autodesk Smoke is a Mac-exclusive video effects software that combines editing workflows with node-based compositing tools. Its core features help you create dazzling 3D graphics and motion effects.
Key features:
- Import 3D geometry and create dynamic 3D titles.
- Customize 3D text/titles with animation.
- A track-based, nonlinear-editor workflow.
- Compatible with Final Cut Pro X.
Potential drawbacks: Uses a lot of RAM and has incomplete rendering functions.
Cost: $1620 annually or $205 per month.
Best for: Big-budget and post-production specialists.
10. Corel VideoStudio 2020
Corel VideoStudio offers a well-balanced consumer video editing and effects software for 360-degree videos. You get access to 4K resolution editing, advanced color grading, multipoint motion tracking, video text masking, transitions, and more.
Key features:
- Tiny planet and rabbit hole effects for detailed 360-degree video editing.
- Handles complex rendering tasks without exhausting hardware.
- Beginner-friendly support and tutorials.
- Convert 360 footage to standard video.
Potential drawbacks:Users report frequent glitches or crashes.
Cost: Pro one-time purchase price is $79.99. Ultimate version one-time purchase price is $99.99 (includes more templates and filters).
Best for: Beginners who want to create promotional videos, case studies, and training videos.
Choose Your Adobe After Effects Alternative Wisely
Whether you’re an up-and-coming YouTuber, an animator, or work at a growing studio, this list will have an After Effects alternative that meets your needs. But where should you start?
Considering the high price tag attached to some of these alternatives, it’s best to start with free trials and low-budget options before you move on to more expensive visual effects software.
Adobe After Effects is one of the most impressive video editing and 3D modeling software for both Windows and Mac computers. If you are looking for the best After Effects alternatives to edit your video in an impressive manner. Well, you have numerous options to choose from. In today’s world of the internet, you can easily get any software package to match all your video editing requirements. However, choosing the best one is not easy work.
There are numerous competitors to this software that you can easily try in your system. After Effects is known for its impressive offerings for YouTube Video editing. Adding impressive transitions, creating intros/outros, and various other things become very easy when you have After Effects installed on your computer.
Having things video editing software means you have a leading software actively offering in this industry for years. In other words, After Effects is the most suitable software whether you want to use it as a beginner or professional
Because this software is developed by Adobe, which is a leading company in the field of digital creativity, you can expect some impressive advantages from this software package.
Also, learning this software can help you to grow professionally because its video editing services are highly demanded in different industries.
This video editor becomes handy when you use it on a powerful computer. Having good computer configurations is crucial to get the most out of this tool.
So, without further discussions, let’s know which are those popular After Effects Alternatives, which you can try for any sort of editing task.
Why should you look for an After Effects Alternative?
After Effects is considered a highly popular and effective editing software for both Windows and Mac computers, but there are numerous drawbacks that you should consider before making a purchase. Although the software comes with a free trial package with some limited features, you may find it hard to afford its monthly paid plan if you have limited budgets.
Especially when you are a student, you can’t afford to pay monthly 29.99 dollars for this software.
Another drawback of Adobe After Effects is that it consumes a lot of RAM when you are using it. So, if you have a computer with less than 16GB RAM, this software is not the best pick for you.
The software requires many more specifications when you want to use it for any purpose. You can check its system requirements on this page.
For most people, Adobe After Effects may be tough to learn. As a beginner, you can’t start doing everything in an impressive manner without good knowledge.
So, learning this software could be tough because of its steep learning curve. There are various other reasons why you should try to find an After Effects Alternative for you.
So, some of the most effective options are as follows.
Best Adobe After Effects Alternatives to using for video editing in 2020
When you compare After Effects with all its competitors, you may see that it has various drawbacks, which you can determine, and this is the main reason why you should try to find another software that can suit all your needs.
So, some of the best and most popular After Effects Alternatives are as follows.
Hitfilm Express
If you are looking for a free video editing program, Hitfilm Express can help you with that. This software is equipped with its finest video editing and compositing features for the users. Most amazingly, this software has most of the features you will find in Adobe After Effects.
The software has all the advantages which are great to see in a free software package. Also, it can work perfectly in any computer system without hassles with minimum system requirements.
So, choosing this software for your video editing works will provide you with various benefits.
Key Features of Hitfilm Express:
- Best for beginners and professionals
- Easy to learn as compared to After Effects
- VFXsupport using plugins
- Fast and high performance
Alternatives For Adobe After Effects
In the field of videography, Hitfil express has got a huge appraise of its users. So, you are free to use it for any sort of video editing task in any Windows PC. These are some of the reasons why Hitfilm express is known as the best After Effects Alternative.
Houdini
Houdini may not work well as a video editor, but it competes with the After effects when it comes to the 3D modeling and VFX work. This software is equipped with numerous excellent features to create impressive 3D artwork, which most of the other software will never be able to do.
Ranging from modeling, sculpting, animation, and motion capture, you will get all the required features from this software along with a great performance. The software is suitable for both professionals and beginners because of its interactive interface.
Houdini is preferred by various professionals all over the world for creating 3D animations. So, if your goal is to choose the best software for animation tasks, it can help you a lot with that.
For normal video editing and effect insertion, it can help you with that too.
Key Features of Houdini:
- SideFX Solaris
- Procedural content creation
- Easy to understand and use for beginners.
- Use Houdini Engine with Unity
When it comes to pricing, Houdini is available for free only for learning purposes. However, different pricing plans are available for its various software editions.
But, all of those come with perpetual licenses, so you do not have to worry about monthly packages in any way. The software is equipped with numerous advanced features, so you will have to pay some price in order to use them all.
Blackmagic Design Fusion
Blackmagic Design Fusion is another impressive software that directly competes with Adobe’s After Effect. This package has various advantages for visual artists, 3D animators, video producers, and other professionals.
So, you can start using it anytime at the place of AEon your computer. It will surely allow you to have amazing results using its advanced offerings.
For digital compositing your movies and creating visual effects, this software is widely preferred by the users.
In other words, you are free to pick this as the best After Effects Alternative and start getting amazing results.
Key Features of Blackmagic Design Fusion:
Best Alternative For After Effects
- Supports Windows, Linux, and macOS
- 3D animation and motion graphics
- VFX and VR support
- Motion tracking
When you start using this software, you will find various other features that After Effects will also not be able to offer you.
So, you can easily pick this software with its free package to limit its capabilities with some limited features. However, the one-time price of this software is $299.
Camtasia Studio
Camtasia Studio may not provide you features for 3D rendering and VFX, but you can expect some amazing features for video editing tasks. This software is fully packed with various advanced solutions where you can easily edit your videos without any hassle.
The software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. So, you can easily pick it for you and edit your videos in the way you want. The software will allow you to add amazing effects and transitions to your videos with a couple of clicks on your videos. Also, exporting videos in high quality is possible with this too.
You can easily import various effects and other things from the internet. The software also allows you to record your screen or take screenshots easily. This software is highly impressive if you look at its advanced offerings. However, it may lack some features.
Camtasia is one of the best software which is suited best for beginners. The users can find various study solutions on the internet for free and paid.
However, if you have a little bit of earlier knowledge about this software, Camtasia will be a good option to choose for you. The software is equipped with great advantages along with its pretty minimal price range.
Key Features of Camtasia Studio:
- Amazing typography
- A large collection of music and effects
- Annotations and callouts
- Suitable for both professionals and beginners
- Easy to learn and use with great UI.
You will be able to see various advantages after installing this software on your computer. It will make your toughest editing tasks easy. You can try it and check its abilities with its Free to use version. Also, its paid package is available for Approx 250 dollars.
Filmora9
Filmora9 is another great option to choose as your After Effects alternative. This software has all the required features which you may need while editing any type of video for you.
Although it may not allow you to edit videos in a highly professional manner, you can expect amazing results for simple and basic editing. The software has an excellent audio compressor feature.
Also, you will receive a great option to add an amazing auto-sync feature. The software has a clean and user-friendly UI, which makes things pretty easy and simple for you. In other words, Filmora9 is going to help you with any sort of video editing task.
Noise reduction and noise transition features are included in this software for the users. Adding texts, lights, masks, and other effects to your videos take seconds when you have Filmora9 to help you.
Key Features of Filmora9:
- Auto-correction and color wheel
- Control settings and scope
- Easy to learn and use for editing
- Best for professional tasks too
The software is highly professional if we look at its amazing features as compared to other competitors. After Effects may be a suitable package for advanced editing but this one has amazing advantages that make it the best After Effects Alternative.
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Final Verdict:
After Effects is an industry pioneer if we see its amazing features for video editing and animations. But, you will surely have to get a good experience in order to get the most out of it.
So, you can try its alternatives. But, make sure to visit the official sites before making any decision. It will surely allow you to pick the right After Effects Alternative for you.
We hope this article will help you to pick the right video editing or 3D modeling software for you. These are highly tested and trusted software for users. So, you will be able to receive amazing advantages.
Make sure to share your feedback regarding this article in the comment section. Also, we suggest you share this article with others too. Stay connected with us to read regular articles on this sort of article.
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