The short answer. If you composite footage, track motion or build long title sequences, stay with After Effects. If you need type that moves well for a post, a poster or a launch clip by this afternoon, Swash gets you there with presets, in the browser, free to start.
Side by side
| Feature | Swash | After Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Runs on | Any desktop browser | Desktop app for Windows 11 and macOS 14 or later, 16 GB RAM minimumsource |
| Free plan | Yes: full editor, 3 projects, 720p at 30 fps | No free plan; a 7-day free trialsource |
| Price | Pro, $12 a month | US$22.99 a month on an annual plan billed monthly; Creative Cloud Pro US$69.99 a monthsource |
| How you animate | Presets: each one is a finished animation you can tune and stack | Keyframes, text animators and animation presets on a timelinesource |
| Variable font axes | Yes, as presets | Yes, as text animatorssource |
| 3D text | Text shaped into rings, spheres, helixes, tunnels, ribbons and more | Per-character 3D and extruded, bevelled textsource |
| Text on a path | Yes | Yes, along a mask pathsource |
| Effects | 41 shader effects, such as halftone, dither, CRT and pixel sort, each with its own controls | A large built-in effect library, including grain, noise, glow and distortion effectssource |
| Export | MP4, GIF, PNG frame, up to 4K at 60 fps | H.264 MP4, QuickTime and ProRes, image sequencessource |
| Sound | Over 270 built-in sounds timed to each move, plus your own music | Import audio and process it with audio effectssource |
After Effects facts are from After Effects’s own pages, checked on November 6, 2026. Products change; if something here is out of date, write to support@swashmotion.com and we will fix it.
How the work feels
In After Effects you build motion from keyframes and text animators: set a property, add a selector, shape the curve. That gives full control and takes time to learn.
In Swash you start from a preset: a finished animation that you click onto your text. Then you tune it in the inspector, stack another one on top and set the timing on the timeline. Changing the words, the font or the colours keeps the motion. Your first animation walks through it in a few minutes.
What Swash does that saves the most time
- 3D text without a 3D scene. Shape a word into a ring, sphere, helix, tunnel or ribbon in one click. See Camera and 3D.
- A camera with depth of field (Pro). Fly past words placed at different depths, with focus and blur, without setting up a 3D comp.
- Shader looks built in. Halftone, dither, CRT, pixel sort, ASCII and 36 more effects, each with its own controls.
- Sound included. Over 270 sounds that play on each move, so a clip is ready to post with audio.
- Templates that stay editable. Every template is a full project with live animators, not a flattened render.
Where After Effects is the right tool
- Compositing with live footage, tracking, rotoscoping and character animation.
- Long, complex timelines and expressions.
- Delivery to video pipelines in ProRes and image sequences.
- Teams already working in Creative Cloud.
Price
After Effects is US$22.99 a month on an annual plan, or part of Creative Cloud Pro at US$69.99 a month, after a 7-day free trial. Swash is free to start with 720p export; Pro is $12 a month for 4K at 60 fps and no watermark.
After Effects alternative questions
Can Swash replace After Effects?
For animated text, posters and short social clips, often yes. For compositing, tracking, character animation and long title sequences, no: After Effects is built for that.
Do I need to know keyframes to use Swash?
No. You start from presets, which are finished animations, and adjust them. The timeline sets when each one starts and how long it lasts.
Does Swash animate variable fonts?
Yes. Presets can animate weight, width and other axes of a variable font. After Effects does this with text animators.
Is Swash free?
Yes, you can start for free in the browser, even without an account. Pro is $12 a month and adds 4K at 60 fps, no watermark and unlimited projects.