EffectCraft

EffectCraft is a free, open source motion graphics and visual effects app from the ArtCraft team, built to work like Adobe After Effects. You build compositions from layers, animate them with keyframes and add effects, then render them out. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, and in a web browser.

What it can do

• Familiar panels. Project, Composition, Timeline, Effect Controls and Effects & Presets, with After Effects' menus and shortcuts.
• 306 effects. Every one of After Effects' effects by name, from blurs and colour correction to keying and distortion, with the same parameters and defaults.
• Classic 3D. 3D layers, one- and two-node cameras with depth of field, and parallel, spot, point and ambient lights.
• Pro exports. A Render Queue that exports ProRes (with transparency), H.264, HEVC, AV1, WebM, image sequences, GIF and audio.
• Works with AI assistants. Every menu action is a command, and an MCP server lets an assistant build and render compositions.

Part of the Crafting Apps

EffectCraft is one of the Crafting Apps, a family of free, open source creative and office apps from ArtCraft, each a clean-room rebuild of a well-known paid app written from scratch in Rust. The best known is PhotoCraft, a Photoshop-style photo editor. They share the same approach: familiar menus and shortcuts, fast native apps on every major system, a version that runs in your browser, and commands an AI assistant can drive.

EffectCraft, Blender, Natron or After Effects?

All four can make motion graphics or effects. The difference is how they work, how mature they are, and what they cost.

EffectCraftThis page

Best forAfter Effects users who want a free, familiar alternative to try

Copies After Effects' layers, panels and effects in an open source app. Started in October 2026.

How mature

Alpha (2026)

Open source

Yes (MIT or Apache 2.0)

Cost

Free

Blender

Best for3D, animation and effects in one free app

A hugely capable free 3D suite that also does compositing and motion graphics. A different way of working from After Effects.

How mature

Very mature

Open source

Yes (GPL)

Cost

Free

Natron

Best forNode-based compositing

A free compositor in the style of Nuke, good for visual effects shots. Development has slowed in recent years.

How mature

Mature

Open source

Yes (GPL 2.0)

Cost

Free

After Effects

Best forProfessional motion design today

Adobe's industry standard, with a vast plug-in and template ecosystem. Closed source and paid monthly.

How mature

Industry standard

Open source

No

Cost

Monthly subscription

A quick way to choose: want a free, proven tool for 3D and effects? Use Blender. Doing node-based compositing? Try Natron. Working with clients and templates? After Effects is the safe choice. Know After Effects and want a free, open source app that feels the same? Try EffectCraft.

How to get it

• Easiest: download it from the EffectCraft page on getartcraft.com, or from the latest release on GitHub.
• Every system: installers for Mac (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows (including ARM), Linux (AppImage, Flatpak, .deb, .rpm) and FreeBSD.
• In a browser: a web version runs the whole app in a modern browser, and you can host it yourself.
• For scripts and AI assistants: the effectcraft-cli tool runs the same commands without opening the app and includes an MCP server.

Good to know

• Alpha. EffectCraft is in alpha. About 91% of After Effects' features exist, but its team estimates it's only about 45% of the way to replacing it for professional work, because existing isn't the same as behaving exactly like After Effects. These are the team's own estimates; nobody has tested them independently yet.
• Changing very fast. New versions arrive every few days, so expect bugs and update often.
• Built with AI help. The ArtCraft team uses AI coding agents heavily, which is how so much appeared so quickly. Test it on your own files before you rely on it.
• No Adobe code. It's a clean-room rebuild, written from public file specifications and by observing how After Effects behaves, not from Adobe's code.
• Licence: MIT or Apache 2.0, your choice. Free to use, including at work. The ArtCraft and EffectCraft names and logos have their own, stricter terms.