A 
Adobe After Effects
Motion graphics survived; "make this thing move" did not.
KINDA
why this verdict
Downgrade — pay for the workflow, not the AI
Rive covers the headline feature free, so the $23/mo is now paying for the workflow around it.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- Text-to-video models produce motion that used to need keyframes. Google, May 20, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers headline only editorial call
- The headline feature, but not the workflow, data or integrations around it.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 1 of 2 listed replacements have a usable free tier: Rive.
- What the call is worth $276/yr
- $23/mo at the entry paid tier — $276 a year per seat.
Reason composed from the fields above missing: announcement linked recorded: free replacement listed recorded: two or more escape hatches
- Threatened by
- Since
- May 20, 2025
- List price
- $23/mo
- Per year
- $276
The backstory
After Effects is compositing and motion design at a level generative video cannot approach — precise, repeatable, integrated with a broader pipeline. But a large share of its casual use was producing short animated segments that Veo, Sora and Runway now generate from a sentence. Wounded at the edges, intact at the core.
Escape hatches
switching could free up $276/yr R 
Runway Generative video and rotoscoping.
runwayml.com open_in_new R 
Rive Interactive motion for product UI.
rive.app open_in_new1 of 2 replacements have a usable free tier.