Whether you are a video editor, an animator or you create any sort of digital video graphics, then you must be familiar with After Effects. This is the world’s most used platform for video editing and animation purposes. However, for some people, it is not suitable to use After Effects. This is the reason people are looking for the best After Effects alternatives. So, here we will discuss all details about each After Effects alternative that we mention here. We cover as much as possible to make it easier for you to select the best After Effects alternative free or paid.
Why are the After Effects Alternatives Needed?
There is no doubt in saying that After Effects is the best tool for video editing and animation, but there are some cases that make it barely useful for people. Some of those cases are mentioned below.
- The learning curve for having expertise in After Effects is very steep.
- The high cost of using After Effects is one of the reasons people look for its alternatives.
- Being a very powerful tool, it is very hungry for hardware as well. This makes it unsuitable for people with older devices where it should work just fine.
These were the most common reasons for people switching from After Effects or selecting any other After Effects alternative free.
The best After Effects Alternatives List
Although there are a lot of After Effects alternatives, not all of them are great. Some are complex while some have missing features. So, for easier selection, here we have sorted some of the best After Effects that will be useful for you in any situation.
Apple Motion
This is an After Effects alternative mac that will only run on the Apple computers and it makes a great alternative for After Effects. This is the alternative for After Effects that can be used for a lot of different purposes and some of them are listed below.
- 2D and 3D video production and composing.
- Visual Effects
- Motion graphics
- Tilting videos and the list continues.
Optimization is the key to performance.
Being an After Effects alternative mac that runs on Apple computers only, you will find that this is a very smooth tool that seamlessly helps you in editing your desired clips without any lagging or similar things.
Not only this, but this tool is also very well optimized in that it provides real-time previews of all your work without having to wait for them to get rendered every time you make and edit. This is a feature that saves a lot of time.
Custom templates and effects
Speaking of features, you can also make your templates or transition effects that you can save and use later. Despite all these great features, this is a tool that still costs very little as compared to After Effects. At the cost of under $50, this could be one of the best After Effects alternative tools for you.
Wondershare Filmora Pro
If you are looking for an alternative for After Effects that work on different platforms, then this is the right choice for you. It is because this is the After Effects alternative window that works on mac devices and Windows devices as well.
A word about the features and benefits that you get here
One of the best things about this tool is that it comes with a lot of features, but those features are very easy to use. There are more than 100 features but all of them are very well organized that even a beginner can easily navigate and use them.
Amazingly productive
Filmora Pro is the tool that can be used in editing videos naturally or animatedly whichever you like because it provides the support for unlimited video tracks and auto audio sync for easy editing time. This could be a tool that you can use professionally without any hesitation.
Blender
Ever heard of a blender? Well, this is the tool that you can consider as one of the best After Effects alternative windows and After Effects alternative for Linux at the same time. Not only this but this also works on Mac so this makes Blender the best platform for everyone.
Made for learning and gaining expertise.
Originally, this tool was designed considering the needs of beginners and people who were still in their learning curve. This is the reason why it was kept open source and easy to use. However, this was the tool that performed very well, and it can also be considered as a powerhouse of video editing platforms.
You will hardly have to deal with any issues.
Additionally, the thing that makes it very easy to use this is the great generous community of editors that use Blender as their primary tool. In case of any issue, you can easily find an answer online from the great community of Blende users.
Huge preset and effects library
One thing to consider is that although Blender has a great library of presets and effects, you must know that this is a platform for 3D video making and animation. so, if you are looking to use it for 2D purposes, you might have to face major issues in the beginning as its learning curve will be steep as well.
Natron
This is another open-source free video editing platform that you can consider as a great alternative for After Effects.
Utility features
If you are looking for better control when you edit your videos along with an easier interface, then this might be the tool for you. This is also an After Effects alternative for Linux while maintaining the support for Mac and Windows devices making it a great platform for everyone.
In terms of features, one of the best features of using Natron is that it is so flexible for editing that there are no limits on the layers of masks so you can add as many layers as you want during the video editing process.
Best for beginners
The easy-to-use interface also makes it a great tool for beginners and those simple to do projects. However, one thing that you need to consider is that it is not made for working on 3D videos.
Autodesk Smoke
This is another alternative for After Effects that will work only on the Apple devices running on macOS. However, its features like creating Dynamic 3D titles and importing 3D esotery make it one of the most functional alternatives of After Effects when it comes to working on 3D videos.
Hardware utilization
In terms of hardware utilization, this is a tool that is well optimized for using RAM in a very efficient manner, so you do not have to worry about having a great GPU. However, there are incomplete rendering functions for the best hardware utilization that can be a negative thing considering the performance you can get from the tool.
The cost might be the deciding factor
Cost is another factor where this tool might not be right for everyone. So, if you are a professional worker and video editor, then this is the tool for you considering it is more than $200 monthly cost. This makes it only good for projects with a huge budget and post-production working as well.
Nuke
Nuke is a tool that is designed to be used by professional video editors and animators. It is because it comes with all of these things.
- Flexibility and ease of usage.
- Efficiency
- Toolset full of features and the list continues.
Preview in 3D environment
This is one of the best and the most time-saving features of using Nuke for editing and working 3D videos. It lets you preview the change in the 3D environment that saves a lot of additional effort and time.
Lens distortion is not an issue here
Nuke is a tool that is very well optimized for common human errors and lens distortion is one of the most common human errors when it comes to video making and editing. Nuke in this case deals very well with this type of issue. You can also track and correct different objects very easily and quickly when you use Nuke.
No limits on selecting images
Nuke lets you use images that contain multiple color and opacity layers in your video editing work. This provides limitless options for creating unique and attractive videos in the way you like.
Conclusion on After Effects Alternatives
This is the era of digital marketing and it has become very important to market your business in a better way to gain a higher position in the market. Even if you are working as a service provider, having video editing skills pays a great amount. However, selecting the right tool for you is very difficult considering everyone cannot afford to use After Effects.
Here we discussed some of the best After Effects open-source alternative options that will be more than enough to meet your requirements. While you are not selecting an After Effects open-source alternative, make sure to know about its hardware requirements and specifications of your computer before buying it. This will help in getting better performance.
If you’re interested in video editing software then check our article – Adobe Premiere Alternatives.