Adobe After Effects Free Trial
While you won't get it free forever, Adobe offers a free 7-day trial for new users. You also get 14 days after your free trial ends to cancel and get a full refund. Adding it all up, you could potentially earn up to 28 days of Adobe After Effects completely free.
You can easily sign up for the free trial by:
- 1 Go to the Adobe website and select "Start free trial"
- 2 Use a new email to create an Adobe account
- 3 Enjoy using Adobe After Effects for free
If you are not a new user, unfortunately this probably won't work. Unless you create a seperate account, however that may mean you lose all of your presets and saved information from your previous account.
Reduced Costs for Students
If you are a student, you are eligible for a discount on the Creative Cloud All Apps plan. Speak with your professor or TA to ask if the university offers a qualified discount on Adobe. Usually the answer is yes. If so, you can use Adobe After Effects for a much more reduced cost than average.
A majority of institutions offer Adobe fo rless than $20 a month, and depending on where you are studying, it could be for completely free. Make sure to reach out and see what options your university or institute offers, as Adobe After Effects could be essential for learning particular skills.
There are many ways to get other platforms for free as well, and even earn money as a student.
Open-Source Alternatives
If you still can't afford Adobe, there are other open-source alternatives that could be just as promising, such as Blender, Natron, or HitFilm Express. There are other platforms too like PowerDirector, which offers free video editing with special effects tools.
Here is a small breakdown of each alternative:
- Blender: Free 3D creation suit including video editor tools. Allows for motion graphics, green screen keying, tracking and visual effects.
- Natron: Designed for FVX professionals, offering node-based workflow similar to After Effects' expressions and layer based approach.
- HitFilm (Free Version): Combines video editing and VFX capabilities, including features like green screen keying, particle effects, motion tracking, and transitions.
- PowerDirector (Free Version): A beginner-friendly video editor with basic effects and transtitions
- DaVinci Resolve (Free Version): A professional grade video editor with Fusion, a node-based VFX tool similar to After Effects
While these may not completely replace Adobe After Effects, they provide free trials and cheaper alternatives to achieve similar results for motion graphics. A rather reasonable way to still learn new skills without spending a penny. Who knows, maybe soon you will get paid for watching videos and editing them, and you learned everything for free.