Adobe After Effects vs Natron
Natron is a free node-based compositor that covers roto, tracking and keying, but its last stable release is from November 2022, so After Effects is the safer choice for production work.
Pick Adobe After Effects if…
Pick After Effects if you need an actively updated tool for motion graphics, with 3D, tracking and Premiere templates, and can pay about US$22.99 a month.
Pick Natron if…
Pick Natron if you want a free, open-source compositor, like node graphs, and accept that releases are rare and macOS builds are Intel-only.
Price
- Paid
- Free
- Open source
Starting price
Free plan
Open source
Works on
| Feature | Adobe's app for motion graphics, animated titles and visual effects, sold by subscription. | Free, open-source node-based compositor for visual effects, for Windows, macOS and Linux. |
|---|---|---|
| Price |
|
|
| Starting price | US$22.99/month (After Effects single app, annual plan billed monthly) | — |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Works on | Windows, macOS | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Try Adobe After Effects (opens the Adobe After Effects website in a new tab) | Try Natron (opens the Natron website in a new tab) |
After Effects is Adobe's motion design and visual effects app, priced at US$22.99/month for the single app on an annual plan billed monthly. Adobe lists AI Object Matte, a 3D workspace, motion tracking, Content-Aware Fill, keying tools and Motion Graphics templates for Premiere. There is a 7-day free trial but no free plan.
Natron is a free, open-source (GPL-2.0), node-based compositor for Windows, macOS and Linux. It includes Roto and RotoPaint nodes, a tracker, keyers, OCIO color management, OpenFX plugins and Python scripting. It is aimed at compositing rather than template-based motion graphics.
Natron's maintenance is the main caution. The latest stable release is 2.5.0 from November 2022; newer builds are pre-releases, the newest from September 2024. The repository is not archived and had commits in July 2026, but its README asks for developers and maintainers, and Qt6 is not yet supported. The stable macOS build is Intel-only and runs on Apple silicon through Rosetta 2.
For occasional compositing, learning, or Linux-based work, Natron costs nothing and is worth trying. For client work that needs regular updates, After Effects is the more dependable option.
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Last updated 16 October 2026. How we make money