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Entertainment · head to head

Adobe After Effects vs LottieFiles

Adobe After Effects logo

Adobe After Effects

Entertainment

Visual effects and motion graphics software

From
$22.99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
LottieFiles logo

LottieFiles

Design

Authoring, hosting and delivery platform for Lottie vector animations

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only LottieFiles has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Adobe After Effects the Internet Archive's capture of Adobe's After Effects page on 1 January 2022 priced the standalone app at US$20.99 per month, with the full Creative Cloud All Apps bundle at US$52.99 per month; current prices may differ.; LottieFiles lottie only renders the After Effects features the player libraries implement, so expressions, most effects, layer styles and merge paths behave inconsistently or fail outright, and you must test every animation on web, iOS and Android before shipping.
  • They diverge on capability: Adobe After Effects covers Motion graphics, LottieFiles covers Lottie Creator.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Adobe After Effects and LottieFiles actually diverge.

Attributes where Adobe After Effects and LottieFiles differ
AttributeAdobe After EffectsLottieFiles
Starting price$22.99/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWindows, MacosWeb, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android
CategoryEntertainmentDesign
Founded1990Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Adobe After Effects

  • Motion graphics
  • Visual effects
  • 2D and 3D compositing
  • Animation tools
  • Keying and rotoscoping
  • Color correction
  • Text animation
  • Particle systems

Only in LottieFiles

  • Lottie Creator
  • After Effects plugin
  • Figma plugin
  • dotLottie
  • Hosted delivery
  • Player SDKs

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Adobe After Effects

  • Motion graphics creationnot LottieFiles
  • Visual effects compositingnot LottieFiles
  • Title sequencesnot LottieFiles
  • Commercial advertisingnot LottieFiles
  • Social media contentnot LottieFiles

LottieFiles

  • Replacing a heavy GIF or MP4 loading state with a vector animation that costs a few kilobytesnot Adobe After Effects
  • Shipping the identical animated brand asset to a website, an iOS app and an Android app from one source filenot Adobe After Effects
  • Handing motion work from a designer to engineers without exporting frames or writing animation codenot Adobe After Effects
  • Auditing and version-controlling a library of micro-interactions across a design systemnot Adobe After Effects

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Adobe After Effects

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Adobe's After Effects page on 1 January 2022 priced the standalone app at US$20.99 per month, with the full Creative Cloud All Apps bundle at US$52.99 per month; current prices may differ.

LottieFiles

  • Lottie only renders the After Effects features the player libraries implement, so expressions, most effects, layer styles and merge paths behave inconsistently or fail outright, and you must test every animation on web, iOS and Android before shipping.
  • Runtime cost scales with path and keyframe count, so a detailed illustration animated at 60fps can consume more CPU on a low-end Android handset than the video it was meant to replace.
  • The free plan caps private files and collaborators, so once a team standardises on the platform for handoff the seat count grows with reviewers and stakeholders, not just with animators.
  • Using the hosted CDN puts a third-party request in your page or app load path; self-hosting removes that dependency but also removes the versioning and analytics that justified the subscription.
  • The browser editor still does not replace After Effects for character work or complex effects, so most studios keep an Adobe subscription running alongside it and pay for both.

Pricing, plan by plan

Adobe After Effects

$22.99/month
  • After Effects Single App$22.99/month
    • Motion graphics and VFX
    • 3D design space
    • Data-driven animation

LottieFiles

Free
  • Free$undefined/month
    • Public and limited private files
    • Basic editor access
    • Open-source players and SDKs
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Private workspaces
    • Version history
    • Team review and handoff
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SSO
    • Admin controls
    • Volume seat management

Which should you pick?

Choose Adobe After Effects if

  • You need motion graphics.
  • You work on Windows, Macos.
  • You also want visual effects.
Adobe After Effects review

Choose LottieFiles if

  • You need lottie creator.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android.
  • You also want after effects plugin.
LottieFiles review

Questions people ask

Is Adobe After Effects or LottieFiles better?
Neither clearly leads. Adobe After Effects starts at $22.99/month and LottieFiles at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Adobe After Effects or LottieFiles?
LottieFiles has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $22.99/month for Adobe After Effects and Free for LottieFiles.
Does Adobe After Effects or LottieFiles run on more platforms?
Adobe After Effects runs on Windows, Macos. LottieFiles runs on Web, macOS, Windows, iOS, Android.
Can I use LottieFiles for free?
Yes. LottieFiles has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Adobe After Effects starts at $22.99/month.
What is Adobe After Effects best used for?
Adobe After Effects is most often used for motion graphics creation, visual effects compositing, title sequences, commercial advertising. Of those, motion graphics creation and visual effects compositing are not what LottieFiles is typically brought in for.
What can Adobe After Effects do that LottieFiles cannot?
Adobe After Effects covers Motion graphics, Visual effects, 2D and 3D compositing, Animation tools. LottieFiles covers Lottie Creator, After Effects plugin, Figma plugin, dotLottie.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LottieFiles: Do I need After Effects to produce Lottie files?

No. Lottie Creator and the Figma plugin both output Lottie directly. Character animation and anything using complex effects still goes through After Effects.

LottieFiles: Is the format proprietary?

No. The Lottie JSON schema and the player libraries are open source under permissive licences and dotLottie is an open container, so files keep working after you stop paying.

LottieFiles: Why does the same file look different on Android?

Each platform ships its own renderer with its own level of feature support. Test the exact file on every target rather than trusting the After Effects preview.

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