Adobe After Effects vs Cinema 4D
Adobe After Effects
adobe.com
Cinema 4D
maxon.netSide by side
| Figure | Adobe After Effects | Cinema 4D |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $19.99/mo | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 0 |
| Spec score · Vfx Tools | 8.3 (#3) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Spec score · Motion graphics software | 8.4 (#4) | 8.0 (#9) |
| Spec score · Motion Tracking Software | 8.4 (#10) | 8.1 (#17) |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 8.3 (#31) | 8.3 (#28) |
| Spec score · Multimedia Software | 8.3 (#12) | 7.8 (#21) |
| Founded | 1982 | 1986 |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA | Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany |
| Motion graphics | It animates still images, illustrations, and text for motion graphics, including title sequences and credits. | Its MoGraph tools include cloners, effectors, fields, and distributions for procedural motion design. |
| Purpose | After Effects is motion design and visual effects software for animating text, graphics, and illustrations and compositing effects for film, TV, video, and the web. | Cinema 4D combines 3D modeling, animation, simulation, and rendering in one application. |
| Rendering | Projects can be rendered in the app with Render Queue or outside it with Adobe Media Encoder. | Every Cinema 4D subscription includes GPU-accelerated Redshift rendering. |
| System requirements | The current requirements page lists Windows and macOS and says internet access and registration are required for activation, subscription validation, and online services. | The system requirements page says Cinema 4D needs an online connection for licensing and online content access. |
Plans
Adobe After Effects
- Creative Cloud Pro for students and teachers$19.99 a month
- After Effects$22.99 a month
- Creative Cloud Pro$34.99 a month
- After Effects for teams$37.99 a month
- Creative Cloud Pro for teams$99.99 a month
In their own words
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is motion design and visual effects software for animating text, illustrations, and graphics and compositing effects for film, TV, video, and the web. It can animate still images for title sequences and credits, and its 3D workspace combines animated 3D shapes with 2D graphics. AI Object Matte isolates a moving subject, with refinement brushes for stray pixels; object tracking and Content-Aware Fill can remove unwanted elements across frames. Compositions can move into Premiere through Adobe Dynamic Link without intermediate rendering, and layered Photoshop files keep their layers on import. Render projects in the app’s Render Queue or with Adobe Media Encoder. Adobe recommends a dedicated video editor such as Premiere for editing clips. The software runs on macOS and Windows; activation, subscription validation, and online services require internet access and registration. A seven-day trial is available, but there is no free plan. Adobe also provides free training guides and instructor-led video courses.
Cinema 4D
Cinema 4D combines 3D modeling, animation, simulation, and rendering in a desktop application. Modeling options include parametric and polygonal workflows, sculpting, generators, deformers, and spline-based tools. MoGraph provides cloners, effectors, fields, and distributions for procedural motion design. Its simulation system supports cloth, rigid and soft bodies, particles, hair, smoke, flames, and liquids. Animation features include keyframes, character rigging templates, motion tracking, and motion capture support. Every subscription includes GPU-accelerated Redshift rendering, and Cineware supports workflows with Adobe After Effects and Unreal Engine. Listed formats include OBJ, FBX, Alembic, USD, glTF, STEP, CATIA, and Solidworks. The application supports 3D print export and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. Cinema 4D was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany. There is no free plan, but a 14-day Maxon One trial includes Cinema 4D and Redshift; only the latest releases are available for trial. A CPU with AVX2 support is required for Cinema 4D 2025 and newer.