Over the years, Adobe‘s After Effects application has become one of the best applications for creating all kinds of video effects, effects that give a professional touch to videos. However, having to pay a subscription forces many users to look for alternatives to this application, both free and paid alternatives that we have compiled in this article.
Although Adobe After Effects is the most popular application for the home user, it is not the most complete application available on the market. In fact, if we compare the functions it offers us with similar applications, sometimes it falls far behind.
What can we do with Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is an application with which we can create animations and visual effects to give our videos a professional touch. With this application we can add effects available in the library or that we create with other applications, animate titles that follow an element of the moving video, add movement to texts, replace the background of a video with an image or another video, among many others stuff.
We could say that with this application the limit is in your imagination as long as we are willing to pay a monthly subscription through Adobe Creative Cloud, we cannot purchase the application independently. Before paying for the subscription, we can test the app for 7 days without any feature limits.
The best payment alternatives
If the large number of functions that Adobe After Effects does not satisfy your needs, you can opt for one of the different options that we show you below.
Fusion Studio
Fusion Studio is a 2D, 3D, VR, and motion graphics compositing application built on top of the DaVinci Resolve video editor. It includes a large number of tools such as rotoscope, titling, animation, keying, 3D particles, support for importing and rendering 3D models , stereoscopic 3D, third-party Open FX plugin support among many other features.
The work interface is based on nodes to create easy workflows, it allows annotating clips, it includes GPU acceleration and a 360 degree workspace if you plan to work on the change of virtual reality. With this application the effects of movies like Thor and Avatar have been made.
Fusion Studio is available for Windows and macOS through the BlackMagic website. By downloading the DaVinci Resolve application, we can test the functions offered by this application that we can use independently if we buy the corresponding license.
Advantage
- Ideal for large projects
- Support for working collaboratively
drawbacks
- The number of tutorials to take full advantage of the application is very small
- Requires a very powerful team
HitFilm Pro
HitFilm Pro is an interesting alternative to Adobe After Effects to create all kinds of visual effects and 3D compositions , being ideal for anyone who wants to enter this world without investing large amounts of money, as long as you have the appropriate knowledge and patience to learn each and every function.
With HitFilm Pro we can add and modify lights and shadows both to the objects in the image and to those we want through the application. It includes more than 900 visual effects and a large number of adjustments that we can apply to any clip. It allows us to import 3D models created with third-party applications, it includes a graphical audio interface, which will prevent us from neglecting it…
HitFilm Pro is available for Windows and macOS, and we can download it from its website . It has a free version that we can try before buying the full version.
Positive points
- Large number of presets
- Easy to apply and adjust effects to the video
Bad points
- To get the most out of it, it is necessary to have knowledge of visual effects
- The number of options is so high that it can be overwhelming
Nuke
Nuke is the most complete professional tool available on the market if we are looking for an alternative that is up to the task of all the functions offered by the Adobe solution. With Nuke we can create any type of 2D and 3D object from scratch and apply a large number of visual effects to it, it is designed for collaborative use in large projects and is full of functions of all kinds that cover all needs.
Includes GPU acceleration, supports workflows and images and objects that include different layers, includes a lens distortion corrector. While Adobe After Effects is aimed at a more general audience, Nuke is mainly used by large studios and film and television production companies.
Nuke is available for Windows and macOS through its website .
pros
- Does not require state-of-the-art equipment
- The number of functions is practically unlimited
Cons
- It is a very expensive application, whether you opt for its purchase or if you pay a quarterly subscription.
- The learning curve is steep
Corel Video Studio
Corel VideoStudio is an application aimed at the general public who wants to add effects and use object modeling in creating videos. It allows us to work with 360-degree videos in 4K resolution, includes the object tracking function, a large number of transitions and video masks.
It has a large number of effects, filters and templates that we can use with just a mouse click. Through its website, you can find all kinds of training tutorials with practical examples, making the learning curve very low.
Corel VideoStudio is available for Windows and macOS through the following link .
Positive points
- great for beginners
- Includes a large number of filters and templates
negative aspects
- Missing some basic design features
Filmora Pro
The developer Wondershare makes available to all users looking for an application to create motion graphics and visual effects the Filmora Pro application, an application that, despite the large number of functions, includes a very intuitive and easy-to-learn interface, somewhat without a doubt to thank for the users with less knowledge.
Filmora Pro we can modify the speed of the frames per second of the animations, objects and filters that we implement, even exporting the result to 4K UHD. The resolution features of this application is quite tight, being enough for most users with basic needs in visual effects.
Filmora Pro is available for Windows and macOS from the Wondershare website, developer of this application.
Advantage
- It does not require state-of-the-art computers.
- It has a very low price
drawbacks
- The included sound effects are too basic
Maya
Behind Maya is Audodesk, one of the first companies that focused its activity on creating objects and subsequent animation. Maya is one of the most complete applications to create all kinds of objects, people and animals in 3D. With Maya, we can animate any object or character offering realistic movements , add stunning effects, create detailed simulations of weather effects.
If your needs include creating animals or characters, designing impressive landscapes and expanding a wide range of visual effects, Maya is the application you are looking for, an application that is commonly used in the world of cinema, television and video games.
Maya is available for Windows, Linux and macOS only under subscription from the Autodesk website, where we can also download a trial version to test all the benefits it offers us.
pros
- Allows you to create any landscape, person and object from scratch
- It has learning modules, documentation and support on its website
Against
- Requires a monthly, annual or every 3 years subscription
- The learning curve is quite steep
The best free alternatives to Adobe After Effects
If you want to start creating your own effects for your videos and don’t want to invest money initially until you see if you’re good at it, here are a few completely free options to get you started.
Natron
Natron is a powerful open source 2D and 2.5D effects editor, with OpenFX architecture that is characterized as one of the most flexible in the special effects community. It includes support for object tracking , it allows you to create animations in a simple way without having to have design knowledge.
The user interface offers greater control and flexibility over functions such as the user interface, one of the most important aspects in this type of application due to the high number of options they offer. The graphics engine is based on node, thus reducing the learning curve and has support for more than 250 plugins designed by the community.
Natron is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS for free at the GitHub repository.
pros
- Ideal for designers just starting out in the world of visual effects
- Extensive support thanks to the user community
Cons
- Does not support 3D effects
- Updates with new features are slow
blender
Another interesting totally free alternative to Adobe After Effects is Blender, an object creation and 2D and 3D modeling application that also allows us to animate objects. They are widely used in the creation of video games, it supports Python scripts and a large number of tools and plugins created by the community.
Despite being a free application, the quality of the rendering of objects during the animation has little or nothing to do with what other applications that we also talk about in this article offer us.
Blender is available for Windows, Linux and macOS completely free of charge through the following link to its website.
Positive points
- Download and use completely free
- Allows you to create 2D and 3D objects
Bad points
- You have to spend many hours to take advantage of all the functions
- The number of manuals and tutorials available is practically non-existent
tooll
Tooll is a completely free open source application ideal for creating visual effects of all kinds as well as animations from scratch, allowing the user to express their creativity. All the content that we create with this application can be shared later in video format or as executable files.
It includes a code editor for c#, .net, DirectX 11 that will help us design our creations more quickly (if we have the necessary knowledge) and animate them using key frames, timelines, presets, among others.
Tooll is available for free download via GitHub and is only available for Windows.
pros
- Includes a code editor
- Free for non-commercial use
Cons
- Support is limited to the community that maintains this project
- No version for Linux and macOS
What is the best alternative?
If money is not an issue and you want to start creating professional-quality effects, the most comprehensive paid alternative to Adobe’s After Effects is Nuke . It is true that this alternative is not going to reach the levels of After Effects, but it is going to be much cheaper and, except in very advanced professional uses, we are not going to miss anything.
Natron is the best free option available on the market to create visual effects if you don’t want to invest money in an application to take your first steps in the world of special effects. It may be somewhat short in terms of functions, but, as we say, to take the first steps it is perfect.
