As of last month, this world uploaded more than 720,000 hours of videos on just YouTube. That’s nearly 30,000 days in your life and 82+ years.
That is crazy, right?
And, it’s just one platform. So, the number of videos uploaded on the web must be mind-numbing.
But why is this happening?
Why are brands pushing so much video content?
The answer is simple.
Videos are helping brands get customers. Videos are helping humans to understand anything easily and with the highest level of their comfort zone. 85% of customers are demanding more video content from brands.
Custom animated video production is a time-consuming task. It is a process of several steps that have to be done before you get custom explainer videos done.
Therefore, the brands opt for tools to help them with pre-ready templates and transitions based on the expertise of animators to produce content at scale.
Let’s unroll our list with the best motion graphics software available in the market for professionals as well as beginners in Animated Motion Graphics Video Production.
Best Motion Graphics Software for your business
1. Adobe Animate- The Professional's Choice
Adobe is the first tool when talking about professional Motion Graphics Software. The brand has created several tools for creating animations and videos.
But when it comes to motion graphics workflow, Adobe Animate takes care of it. The software is perfect for designing vector images and 2D motion graphics.
The software comes with built-in motion graphics templates that you can customize to your liking.
In addition, Adobe Animate allows you to add effects to your product video, animate vector graphics, and create interactive content for your brand.
Key features:
- Animate your graphics using the vector brush.
- Easy to export animations to multiple platforms —HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, Flash/Adobe AIR, etc.
- Create motion graphics with accessible drag-and-drop features.
- Adobe Animate camera allows you to pan, zoom, and rotate animations.
Audio Syncing to add sounds to your animations.
Pros:
- Simple and easy-to-use interface
- Create cross-platform, high-quality animations
- Built-in templates
Lightweight animation tool - Supports vector-based drawing
Pricing:
Adobe Animate costs $20.99 per month, while the annual prepaid charges are $239.88. You can access all of Adobe’s products for $79.99 per month and access all of their tools.
2. Maya-An Animation Software for Motion Tracking
Have you ever wondered which tool was behind the Visual Effects and Animations in movies like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, or Spiderman? Guess what? It’s the tool you’re currently reading about.
Maya is an Academy Award-winning 3D animation, motion graphics, and VFX-based Video Editing software. With Maya, you can create complex characters, stunning animation, and eye-catching scenarios for your videos. With its advanced features, Maya is undoubtedly the best motion graphics software.
The essential graphics panel in software allows you to create high-quality visuals, Life-like Characters, and customizable real-life backgrounds and lighting.
The software is a hit in the video game industry and can work on every operating software, including Mac, Windows, and Linux.
Key features:
- Received Bifrost liquid creation feature to create photorealistic movie simulations.
- Enhanced viewport 2.0 and DX11Shader rendering engine.
- 3D modeling in Free-form to add as many layers as you want.
- Scripts and plugin creation feature for better customization.
- Arnold Integration feature that lets you view changes in real time.
Pros:
- Good node-based workflow for procedural creation.
- Simple to create and edit animations.
- Realistic animations and effects.
- Efficient motion capture handling.
- Limitless organic modeling, character-rigging, and animations.
Pricing:
Maya is available at $1,700/year and $215/month. The software also offers a 30-day free trial, so you can test the software before making the purchase.
Need Motion Grpahic Video Inspirations
Check Out: Motion Graphic Video Examples
3. Cinema 4D
After Maya, Cinema 4D is the best motion design software. The tool is versatile, easy to use, and comes with built-in motion graphic templates.
Cinema 4D has a powerful and stable toolset that makes 3D workflows more accessible.
Cinema 4D can suit the needs of both professional and novice designers. With its user-friendly interface, Cinema 4D is easy software for both motion designers and beginners. It also supports 3D rendering, simulation, animation, texturing, and lighting.
Key features:
- Polygon reduction to preserve smooth UVs, vertex maps, and lightweight meshes.
- Reliable tools to create life-like characters.
- Ability to clone objects
- Supports adjusting and randomizing scale, rotation, and object.
Pros:
- The user-friendly interface makes it easy to use for beginners.
- Allows creating looping animations.
- Wide range of features, tools, and datasets.
- Versatile cartoon-style character rig.
Pricing:
Cinema 4D costs $94/month billed monthly and $59/month when billed annually.
Explore how much does motion graphic video cost?
Check Out: Motion Graphic Video cost
4. Blackmagic Design Fusion- User-Oriented Motion Graphics and VFX Tool
Unlike Cinema 4D, Blackmagic Design Fusion is built with professional designers in mind. This software for motion design can handle complex and versatile animated graphics, VFX, and motion graphics sequences.
Fusion has been used for effects and animations in many Hollywood movies, including Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Skyfall, etc. Its node-based interface allows users to create sophisticated effects.
Key features:
- Noise reduction and sharpening tools.
- Customizable templates.
- Animation curve modifiers that let you automatically retime animations.
- Audio sync feature to add, edit, and clip playback audio.
- Customizable vector shape tools.
Pros:
- One-time purchasing fee.
- Infinite 3D workspace.
- Powerful enough to handle complex sequences.
- Enables users to create life-like animated characters.
Pricing:
The software is available at a lifetime cost of $295.
5. Blender- A powerful software free to use
Blender is one of the best free motion graphics software. The software is widely used across multiple industries for creating motion graphic videos, animated movies, and visual effects.
Blender is perfect for both professional and novice users. The software is mostly used by students.
So if you’re just starting as a designer, Blender is the best software to hone your skills. The software is compatible with iPhone and Android devices.
Key features:
- Perform and create renders with production path tracers.
- Robust simulation libraries.
- Extensive toolset for sculpting, retopology, and modeling.
- In-built video editor.
Pros:
- Blender has a highly intuitive interface.
- Supports integration with multiple pipeline tools.
- Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Supports add-ons.
Pricing:
Blender is free to use.
6. Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine is another of the best 3D-creation and free motion graphic software.
It’s highly famous among the gaming and developer community where they can exercise their creative freedom and design cinematic experiences with stunning backgrounds.
But that doesn’t mean that Unreal is limited to just gaming. A lot of creators and even video production agencies have been using it to create onboarding sequences and user workflows for complex platforms.
Key features:
- Offers real-time rendering to animators to edit/implement adjustments to objects.
- Advanced light and shadow materials to help you pay attention to the minute details
- Built-in modeling, UVS, geographical and system lighting to help enhance the outer view
Pros:
- One-stop destination for sports broadcasting, game development, cinema, motion design, etc.
- For many artists, Unreal Engine is a preferred choice after Adobe AE as it allows them advanced camera angle improvement, etc.
- Offers a visual scripting tool to help you create gaming backgrounds without the need to even code.
Cons:
- Steep learning curve if you wish to develop games as the interface might seem overwhelming to beginners.
- Lacks in quality when it comes to plugins as compared to other software.
Pricing:
Free to use with a license. However, a 5% royalty is charged on production revenue exceeding $1 million.
7. Nuke
Considering the compositing POV, a lot of artists rank Nuke along the same lines as Adobe After Effects.
The high-end motion graphic software is widely preferred by film production houses and animated video companies focused on producing premium motion graphic videos.
Nuke also houses advanced 2D and 3D capabilities, allowing users to dive deep into image composing, rotoscoping, etc.
Key features:
- Offers a slight advantage in terms of project mapping and 3D tracking.
- Preferred more by visual artists over Adobe After Effects.
- Built on a node-based system, thus allowing users to exercise creative freedom.
Pros:
- Allows easy & simultaneous integration with programs like Adobe AE and Cinema 4D
- Gives artists the freedom to minutely enhance their animations and add visual effects
- A simplified nodal toolset, deep image compositing, and machine learning toolset offer vital productive functionality for quality enhancement.
Cons:
- Might come out as a pretty comprehensive and complex software for beginners and even professionals with little experience.
- Pretty expensive for small video production agencies.
- Difficult integration with cross-party apps when it comes to importing-exporting files for further processes.
Pricing:
Full-fledged costs $9000. Good news – You can buy a certain set of features at $569.
Explore how much does motion graphic video cost?
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8. Unity
Unity is not only a gaming software but also a premium choice among animation and cinematic folks.
Motion Graphic artists can design their sequential frames in Adobe PS or AI and then bring them to Unity via smooth integration between cross-platforms.
More than that, Unity also has a dedicated asset store stacked with the latest tutorials, instructions, animation assets, models, effects, etc., for artists to choose from and use as per their project’s requirements.
Key features:
- Users can edit, collaborate, and provide feedback in real-time while animating or developing universes for games.
- Stands out from software housing traditional rendering pipelines by providing quick time for creative experimentation.
- Offers the option to automate non-creative tasks to boost production time and efficiency
Pros:
- Offers great functionality for both 2D and 3D game development and short as well as long film-making processes.
- Powerful backend facilitates optimized performance across devices and platforms with built-in tools functionality.
- Superior cross-platform compatibility eliminates the need for multiple developmental processes.
Cons:
- Can be super expensive for a production agency wanting to make use of all of its features
- The asset store may sometimes fail to satisfy the quality expected and hence artists need to rely on external sources to meet their needs.
Pricing:
Free for personal use. Plus plan costs $399/per seat and the Pro at $1800/per seat
9. Mocha Pro
Mocha Pro is an excellent motion graphics tool cum plugin used by animators while they operate Adobe After Effects or Premiere Pro to remove unwanted objects.
Designed with multiple advanced modules, animators and VFX artists can play around while playing around with each one of them and generate better and more engaging results.
So from the post-production workflow, Mocha Pro is a better option if you’re someone who works a lot on stabilization, lens distortion, planar tracking, etc
Key features:
- Strong power mesh tracking to allow advanced rotoscoping and visual tracking.
- Offers the famous Edge Snapping X-Spline tools
- Multi-host plugins for advanced functionalities
Pros:
- Golden tool for highly skilled motion graphic professionals.
- Being a standalone product, it’s a built-in integration within Adobe AE.
- Faster GPU Acceleration
- Compatible with Windows & macOS
Cons:
- Doesn’t offer comprehensive tracking and spline exports
- 3D tracking functionality has room for improvement
- May seem highly complex to beginners or those not experienced with planar tracking, mesh tracking, etc.
Pricing:
One can access the basic version which is built-in Adobe AE. For an advanced version, the plugin software can be purchased at $295 one time or also at $37 per month. The standalone product pricing varies.
Which is the best Motion Graphic Software for you?
There’s no single answer to this question. There are tools with different pros and cons. Some are good at speed, while some are at visual freedom.
Thus, the right software choice depends on requirements such as timeline, budget, animator expertise, and scalability. To choose which is the best software for you, you must take care of these points:
- Machine’s Hardware Resources
- Knowledge Of An Animator
- Type Of Video And Its Scalability
- Freedom Of Customization Required
- Content Creation Timelines
Conclusion
Many more tools are available in the market than the ones on the list. After going through more than 55 tools on the web, these are our top 5 choices with varied features and requirements.
If you are a professional, you know what works best for you but If you are a beginner or want to do it yourself, choose tools with pre-saved templates, effects, and SFX to make your work easier and aligned with your timeline.
Still, if you have any doubt, MotionGility is the Best Motion Graphics Video Company that can help you choose the right software for your business.
Contact us today.
