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Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects

4.8 (424)
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Recent review

"This is amazing… with patience. "

5.0

Leah G. - Auto DetailerSeptember 25, 2024

STARTING PRICE

$31.49

per month
flat rate

Free Trial
Available

EASE OF USE

3.9/5

Based on Capterra user reviews

What is Adobe After Effects?

Animation solution designed for designers, animators, and compositors. It helps with creating motion graphics, animations, and visual effects for films. Features of the platform include collaboration tools, motion tracking, visual effects, motion graphics, text animations, rotoscoping, and 3D design.

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Adobe After Effects

4.8 (424)
Adobe After Effects

VS.

USD $31.49
Per Month
USD $27.00
Per Month
Starting Price
Free Version
Free Trial
Free Version
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Pricing Options
17
30
Total Features
0
0
Total Integrations
3.9 (424)
4.6 (557)
Ease Of Use
4.2 (424)
4.7 (557)
Value For Money
4.1 (424)
4.8 (557)
Customer Service

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Key user insights about Adobe After Effects

Based on of verified reviews collected between July, 2021 and September, 2024
avatar 1avatar 2avatar 3avatar 4avatar 5avatar 6

Video animation and editing

Based on 282 reviews
Users find Adobe After Effects indispensable for creating motion graphics, animations, and visual effects. They appreciate its seamless integration with other Adobe software like Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and Illustrator, which enhances their workflow and creative possibilities. The software's extensive range of tools and pre-made effects allows users to produce professional-quality videos and animations, making it a go-to choice for both beginners and seasoned professionals in video production.

Effects creation

Based on 156 reviews

Reviewers praise Adobe After Effects for its comprehensive suite of tools and options for creating stunning visual effects. They find the user interface intuitive and well-designed, making it easier to navigate and utilize the software's vast array of effects and plugins. Additionally, users benefit from the availability of tutorials and learning resources, which help them master the software and enhance their creative projects with sophisticated visual and special effects.

Pros

  • I liked that the software was easy to use and had an intuitive user interface. I also liked that it was very reliable and had a lot of features that made it easy to customize.

  • Adobe After Effects is an extremely powerful and versatile software which provides users with a comprehensive suite of tools for creating stunning visual effects.

  • I absolutely love After Effects been using it since version 6.5, wow, almost 16 years ago and still is one of my favorite pieces of software to create motion graphics and animations.

  • I am excited to use after effects for my upcoming projects, just so I can have the best effects going for my projects.

Cons

  • It was too difficult for me to learn when I am in such a high demand of editing- it took up way to much time of my editing process.

  • Very tricky to use, can behave in confusing ways at times.

  • That's why, after using it and staying subscribed for four years, I eventually cancelled my subscription and stopped using it.

  • The most disadvantage of Adobe After Effects is that it requires high requirements in the host device for the program, and its price is considered relatively high compared to other programs.

Most Helpful Reviews for Adobe After Effects

Leah G. avatar
Leah G.
Auto Detailer
Automotive, 1-10 employees
Used the software for: 1-2 years
Overall Rating
5.0
Ease of Use
2.0
Customer Service
5.0
Features
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Likelihood to Recommend
9/10
Reviewer Source
Source: Capterra
September 25, 2024

"This is amazing… with patience. "

Pros: I LOVE the possibilities. Pretty much anything you imagine can be brought to live in living color.

Cons: Ease of use. I understand that this is a technical program with a serious learning curve but I do feel like some features could be a little easier to execute.

Switched From: Final Cut Pro
Reasons for Switching to Adobe After Effects: The animations you can make on after effects are not possible on FCPro
Md Fateh Ali S. avatar
Md Fateh Ali S.
UX/UI Designer
Design, 11-50 employees
Used the software for: 2+ years
Overall Rating
5.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Customer Service
5.0
Features
5.0
Likelihood to Recommend
9/10
Reviewer Source
Source: Capterra
May 19, 2023

"Adobe After Effects: A Powerful Tool for Motion Graphics and Visual Effects"

Overall: Overall, Adobe After Effects is a powerful and versatile motion graphics and visual effects software that is a brilliant choice for anyone who wants to create professional-quality content. It is a complex piece of software, but it offers a wide range of features and tools to help you get the job done.If you are looking for powerful motion graphics and visual effects software, then Adobe After Effects is a great option. It is a complex piece of software, but it offers a wide range of features and tools to help you get the job done.

Pros: It's a powerful software with a wide range variety of features like powerful motion graphics and visual effects software, a Wide range of features and tools, and integration with other Adobe software.

Cons: It also has some cons that you should consider if your computer isn't high config. It's a Complex software, Steep learning curve, Can be resource intensive.

Alternatives Considered: DaVinci Resolve
Reasons for Choosing Adobe After Effects: I chose Adobe After Effects over other alternatives because of its powerful features, versatility, and integration with other Adobe software. After Effects is a complex piece of software, but it is also powerful and versatile. Beginners and professionals alike can use it, and it offers a wide range of features and tools to help you create your desired results.
Switched From: Camtasia
Reasons for Switching to Adobe After Effects: It doesn't meet my needs.
nick D.
VFX artist
Entertainment, Self-employed
Used the software for: 2+ years
Overall Rating
2.0
Ease of Use
4.0
Customer Service
1.0
Features
1.0
Value for Money
2.0
Likelihood to Recommend
2/10
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice
October 2, 2023

"Once a worthy king, now a bloated tyrant on its way to the guillotine."

Overall: buggier every year, you are legally not allowed to use old versions, and having adobe threaten you with litigation for using a version you have a license for... it's upsetting and abusive. They raised prices on my 3 years in a row after going subscription, from 200 a month, to 400, and now 600 a month. I was able to stop them by complaining... which is just as insulting, because if the moment I threaten to stop using it, they give me a better price, means they're intentionally price-gouging. the poor teams, I've talked to them. they say "we're just a small team, we can't refactor the codebase or make a new program" meanwhile their company is raking in 15 billion a year. Now it's 1000 a month so I quit. some might say it's less... but to that I say, all their programs are 1000 yearly, as a bundle. let's say you just need photo editing, video editing, and visual effects? that's 1300 a month. it's a shameless upsell, where the programs are now so expensive, it costs your team a month or more of profits every year... for the "best value" offered (that same value used to be a perpetual license, which they revoked)

Pros: After effects is like an old friend to me... which makes me sad to say it's the last major effects program that uses layers. it's a digital version of film editing and effects, from overlays, to blending and merging and cutouts and transparent layers... it was great... those days are past now. still, if you can manage to get an old pre-subscription version, like CS6 or CS5, it'll do you just fine. yar har and a bottle of rum.

Cons: this poor, poor thing. it's like seeing an old friend with dementia. Now there are over 470 addons in this bloated mess, they hacked in multithreading, then removed it, then added it back worse 5 years later and acted like it was the first time, same with MP4 export, they advertise GPU usage, like it's special, but it has all of 5 effects that use the GPU.now, it can't even playback 1080p video reliably. it stores all previews uncompressed in RAM, so if you're editing 4k footage, 64 gigs of RAM will get you 2-5 seconds of playback at 10fps. absolute trash tier, because that's what you get when you take a program that only works on one core, then duplicate it to every core in an attempt to make it faster, while forgetting the UI shares a rendering core, so the UI now stutters and lags uncontrollably at anything above 2K footage (even phones these days can make 4K footage)TL;DR- every version is worse, post 2013, minus a single version in late 2014/early 2015, where the devs implemented many performance hacks. sadly, adobe has threatened users who use that version, and disallow use of any version except the newest, buggiest, slowest versions. a classic case of en****ification- when it came time to make money, all development and new features ceased, and now the great new feature of this version is colored outlines on keyframes. yaaay. the shareholders clapped, at least.

Andrew G.
CEO
Entertainment, Self-employed
Used the software for: 2+ years
Overall Rating
4.0
Ease of Use
3.0
Customer Service
3.0
Features
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Likelihood to Recommend
5/10
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice
October 16, 2024

"Extremely Powerful But Poor Performance Stiffles Creativity"

Overall: Overall, despite the horrific performance, it's my go to for video editing as there simply isn't a better tool.

Pros: The pros are numerous. It might be the most powerful video editing tool available. There are many add-ons and mods available to simplify daily routine tasks and take animations to the next level. The user interface could use some work, but overall it's not that complicated once you get used to it.

Cons: The biggest problem is pre-renders in the timeline. One tiny adjustment and the entire timeline has to re-render and each time long form content has to re-render can take as long as an hour. Imagine waiting an hour for every edit to pre-render so you can see the result. Yeah, that makes After Effects almost unusable. It's so bad that I have to structure how I film and often break up renders into multiple projects otherwise I would never get anything done.

Alternatives Considered: Wwise and Ci Media Cloud
Reasons for Choosing Adobe After Effects: I have been using Adobe products since 1991.
Roldan A. avatar
Roldan A.
Senior Graphic Desinger
Information Technology and Services, Self-employed
Used the software for: 2+ years
Overall Rating
5.0
Ease of Use
5.0
Customer Service
3.0
Features
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Likelihood to Recommend
9/10
Reviewer Source
Source: Capterra
November 16, 2022

"Best Compositing, Video Editing and Effects Software so far. Except..."

Overall: Superb! I Have lots of profitable and memorable projects done with Adobe After Effects. If there is one software you need who can do Effects and Video Editing, After Effects is one whole package to root from. Highly recommended software for enthusiasts and aspirants.

Pros: - Major major pros for after effects is I guess it is one of a kind compositing software in the world that can act as effects composer and video editor as well. - Just think of it, it can do it - from MoGraph, to fairy dust effects, to 3D and 2D Animations.- It allegiance with Cimema 4D is one of my most coveted feature here. You won't be banging your head on the wall for simple to complex 3D effects, right there you have it.- Media support support and compatibility specially with Illustrator and Photoshop - seamless!

Cons: - Customer support. This software needs to be an American Company again. Customer support are just terrible. They lack product knowledge, lack empathy and they lack the right customer communication.- Steep learning curve. Which is understandable. Beautifully composed effects comes with a price to pay - learning-wise. So pay it!- Expensive. I don't agree with there subscription basis. They should bring back perpetual ownership of the software.

Alternatives Considered: Camtasia and PowerDirector
Reasons for Choosing Adobe After Effects: I need to be a pro video editor, so I made a switch After Effects. Some others like Camtasia and PowerDirector are simplistic and obviously for simple projects.
Switched From: Camtasia and PowerDirector
Reasons for Switching to Adobe After Effects: Most video editing out there are good - but After Effects is best - only and only if you are willing to pay the price both the mental labor of learning it as well the as cost of the product.