Searching for “best free motion graphics software” will probably give you a ton of results. It’s common to see questions of this kind on YouTube, forums, or questions posted by people looking to break into the animation industry. If you started your career as a motion graphics designer, then you’re probably pretty familiar with a lot of free design software out there.
In this, I have carefully compiled some of the best free motion graphics software.
HITFILM
Another boss in this free editing software world is Hitfilm express. From editing to creating VFX this is the software that you can use freely. Hitfilm Express is a free video editing software with professional-grade VFX tools and everything you need to make awesome content films or gaming videos.
Perfect for beginners, film students, gamers, YouTubers, or any creative without a budget Hitfilm Express takes your workflow to the next level. Threaded rendering allows the interface and video to work independently, allowing for a smooth and lightning-fast workflow. Users of intel and Nvidia hardware will notice the incredible power of its GPU decoding.
Hitfilm expresses over 400 unique effects and presets each of which can be pulled apart, altered and put back together again to create something entirely new. Also, you will get free training and tutorials from their website. So, don’t delay and get the software now.
SYNIFIG
When it comes to free 2d animation software Synfig studio is one that has almost all the features of a full 2d animation studio software. Do you want to create your own animated movie or just an animated postcard or animation for a game? Synfig can do that for you.
You can use Synfig anywhere without limitations at home at work or at school. Synfig is free and open-source software available for Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. It has a full-featured bone system that allows creating cut-out animation using bitmap images or controls your vector artwork. You can use an additional skeleton distortion layer to apply complex deformations to bitmap artwork. Synfig provides 50 plus layers to create artwork and animation of any complexity. Choose from various layer types geometric gradient filters, distortions, transformations, fractals and others.
DUST 3D MOTION GRAPHIC SOFTWARE
The last one we want to mention here may be a little out of your league but very useful software to practice 3d modeling. Dust 3d is a cross-platform open-source modeling software. It helps you create a 3d model in seconds. Use it to speed up your character modeling in game-making 3d printing and so on.
With dust 3d you’ll see yourself finish a game asset in a blank. It also supports exporting your model in fbx and gltf format. So that you can then import the files into software like unreal engine, unity, and gotto for further development. Believe it or not, you don’t need any experience to make a 3d model with Dust 3d. All you’ll need are good reference photos.
Genially
Unlike most other graphics tools, genially has a built-in word processing function. For this reason, it is an efficient way to edit text while you are designing an infographic with it.
With most, other options, you have to ensure your text is error-free before adding it. Another awesome feature is that you can add animations to the infographic or presentation you’re working on. It even lets you add interactive features, which is unusually flexible for this kind of graphics tool. Genially also integrates with a wide variety of other applications, allows for collaboration, and works from the cloud. Finally, there are built-in analytics tools to help you know what’s working best.
Pricing: Very limited free plan. Then, a pro plan for $9.99 per month, master at $39.90 and team for $79.15. Customization is also available.
Infogram
Infogram is another easy-to-use graphics tool that promises to allow you to create engaging infographics in minutes.
Like Genially and some others, this one includes some more traditional functionality. In particular, you can make a slideshow with this program. It also lets you prepare reports to show to your upper management team. However, probably the best feature is the ability to include sales trackers in your graphics. These can be posted on your website, and let you gather more information than you would be if the whole graphic was click-through. Best of all, the statistics can be added to a dashboard in real time. Before Infogram, this functionality pretty much required programmers to do some coding.
From an infographic maker perspective, Infogram has dozens of pre-made infographic templates to allow you to easily integrate these interactive features.
Pricing: the most basic level is free. Paid plans range from $19/month to $149/month for the most advanced features and multiple users.
PicMonkey
PicMonkey does one thing very well: edit photographs and turn them into something you can publish.
Since those early days, although “picture” is part of their name, they have become an all-in-one graphics creation tool and deserve mention in this best infographic maker list.
But, clearly, photo editing is their strength.
In particular, they let you take a photo and remove the background, add filters, retouch, and more. With PicMonkey, you can also add stock photos, corporate logos, and other branding. Collages and video are supported, too. Results are high-quality, and you can print finished products, post them online, or both. In addition to the traditional picture editing, you can make social media posts. There are templates and support for Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram content creation. That isn’t to say, however, that you can’t adapt PicMonkey-edited content to work with other networks.
Pricing: After a free trial, there are three options. Basic costs $7.99/month, Pro at $12.99 and Team at $33.99.
Piktochart
If you want a graphics solution that can replace some functions of traditional software, including but not limited to an infographic maker, check out Piktochart.
They have a functionality that produces slide decks you can use for presentations and sales pitches. Another option lets you make reports of the type that includes pure text boxes in addition to graphics. This goes further than many other graphic design solutions that don’t do much more than let you edit text. Here, rather than creating the graphic and then exporting it to a word processor, you can add the plain text within the app itself. Infographics are supported, as are posters and social media posts. Finally, with some versions you can get in-app real time collaboration on your team. One solution, many functions.
Pricing: Free trial version. Then, individual plan at $29 per month and team starting at $99 per month. Additions to team plans are per seat.
Snappa
Want basic design tools and social media integration tools together in an infographic maker? This is an easy one to try.
They have a tool to crop images, with preset dimensions to match each intended use. That could be a social media post, some kind of an icon, or banners for web pages. Then, they have basic special effects including background removal. There’s a large stock photo library to use, as well. However, this isn’t a flashy app. It’s easy to use and has basic features for everyday content creation. Finally, the app can let you post creations to social media. Want to schedule ahead of time? You can do that through Buffer right in the app.
Pricing: Limited free, then a Pro plan ($10/mo, one user) and team plan (5 users, $20/mo). Need more users? Contact for details.
Stencil
Bloggers rejoice: this graphics tool has a WordPress plugin and browser extensions. So, you won’t have to go into a totally different program and download the graphics before uploading.
Unfortunately, while you can technically create an infographic using Stenil, their template library didn’t contain any legit infographics, so you’re on your own.
That being said, Stencil is an awesome graphics tool that deserves mention as part of this article.
For social media people, there’s a bitly feature and Buffer integration. Besides these features, there’s the ease of use. Upload something or use one of their millions of stock photos. These are brought in from providers like Pexels and are licensed for commercial use…free. In addition, there’s the live post preview and a send-to-phone feature for easy Instagram posting. Finally, they have templates for easy drag-and-drop finished products.
Pricing: “Hobbyist” is free but limited. Pro is $9 per month, and Unlimited costs $12.
Venngage
For a graphic design tool that helps you make anything, including infographics, of course, check out Venngage.
In fact, you can even make things like resumes which will capture the attention of your target recruiter. If that isn’t your thing, check out the brochure and ebook templates. With Venngage, you are mostly limited to templates. However, there’s a template to suit just about every situation. There also aren’t any integrations with other programs, so you’ll have to download everything before using it. Simplicity of use and versatility are good tradeoffs, however.
Pricing: Free limited plan. Then, Premium costs $19/month/user, Business at $49, and enterprise on request.
PhotoDirector Essential
As the all-in-one best free photo editing software, Windows-optimized PhotoDirector empowers creators of all experience levels to dive in and turn their photos into works of art. It combines Lightroom’s photo processing and organization functions with Photoshop’s powerful editing, enhancement, and altering tools into a clean, user-friendly platform. Guided modules help remove the learning curve, producing high-quality photo effects in seconds. At the same time, the unique video-to-photo and animation tools surpass all other editors in capabilities and eye-catching results.
Organizing features and processing capacity can prove invaluable, especially when dealing with thousands of photos. PhotoDirector allows you to batch sort and order tag names, locations, and other metadata. It’s AI powered facial recognition technology will also help streamline your organizational process, making it the best photo organizer for beginners. Use AI facial recognition to sort photos accurately, search for images using the platform’s convenient calendar layout, or customize hierarchical tags to keep your photos clearly labeled and categorized. You can combine photos using the automatic slideshow creator and add background music for a quick, sharable creation.
PhotoDirector also features an abundance of photo adjustment options and editing tools. Rather than moving between products to process and edit photos, you can immediately open images in the interface and access precision color replacement tools, HSL and HDR effects, and one-click, customizable presets.
Even beginners can use the software’s interactive guided modules for quick, wow-worthy results. Choose from dozens of options, including:
- AI-powered sky removal
- Content-aware actions
- Multi-exposure
- Lighting tricks, like light hits and light rays
- Photo animations
- Moving dispersion
The image editor also efficiently manages complex, layered edits for expert-grade projects. Advanced editors may notice a few similarities between the PhotoDirector console and Photoshop’s editing platform, but the ease of use and UI optimization take the hassle out of complicated edits.
Apply masks, layer filtering, experiment with blur effects, adjust alignment, or return to previous edits using the layer history function. Additionally, PhotoDirector’s unique photo editing functions allow you to experiment with 360° editing. Transform 360° photos into panorama shots or a little planet image for a zany addition to your portfolio.
Use the video-to-photos tools to create panoramas from video footage, transform film into the perfect group shot, and experiment with multiple exposure images sourced from your latest video clip. Share laugh-out-loud scenes with friends and family by crafting animated GIFs from videos or create high-definition motion stills in minutes.
You’ve got a powerful vision. Don’t let your budget, experience, or mediocre editing software slow you down. Download the free PhotoDirector Windows 10 editor now.
Get PhotoDirector 365 Essential for FREE
Take your photo to the next level with the best photo editor for PC.Learn MoreFree Download
Secure DownloadDownload from the App Store for iOS and Android.
Conclusion
In the end, I would say that all motion graphics software is worth looking into, and you should try them out to see which one is right for you. They all have their pros and cons, depending on what you’re looking for. But in the end, it’s also a personal preference. So go ahead and try some out—you won’t know if it’s your cup of tea unless you give these excellent tools a shot. And don’t just limit yourself to these four; there are many others out there as well.