How to get After Effects free for 7 days (official trial)
Open Adobe After Effects on adobe.com
Go to Adobe’s After Effects page and choose Free trial. Trials usually last 7 days and give you the full, current version.
Choose what to try
Pick the After Effects single-app plan or an all-apps plan. Both trials include After Effects, and the all-apps trial adds the rest of Adobe’s catalog.
Sign in and add a payment method
Create a free Adobe account or sign in. Adobe usually asks for a payment method up front, but you aren’t charged until the trial ends.
Install After Effects with Creative Cloud
Download the Creative Cloud desktop app from Adobe and install After Effects from its Apps tab. Our step-by-step After Effects guide covers every screen.
Set a reminder to cancel
If you don’t want to keep it, cancel from the Plans section of your Adobe account before the trial ends and you won’t be charged.
Need every install screen explained? Follow our After Effects free download guide.
What’s free from Adobe for After Effects?
After Effects has no free version. Adobe usually offers new customers a free trial (typically 7 days), then a paid plan is required.
“Free” or cracked copies from third-party sites are unsafe: they often contain malware and can't be updated or activated legitimately.
After Effects free download for Windows PC, Mac and mobile
After Effects for Windows PC
After Effects’s free trial runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 through the Creative Cloud app. There’s no separate “PC version” to download: the trial is the full Windows app.
After Effects for Mac
The same trial works on Mac, and After Effects runs natively on Apple silicon (M-series) Macs as well as supported Intel Macs.
Best free After Effects alternatives
Free apps that cover most of what people use After Effects for, with no trial clock and no subscription.
1. Blender
FreeWindows, Mac, Linux
Best for: 3D animation, motion graphics and compositing
Free and open source and extremely powerful, with a steep learning curve.
2. DaVinci Resolve (Fusion)
FreeWindows, Mac, Linux
Best for: Node-based compositing and VFX
The free version includes Fusion, a professional compositing and motion graphics tool.
3. Adobe Express (free plan)
FreeWeb, iOS, Android
Best for: Simple animated social posts
Adds basic text and element animations to designs, with no timeline to learn.
Is a After Effects crack or “free full version” download safe?
Searches for a “After Effects free download full version” mostly lead to cracked, “pre-activated” or “portable” copies. They look free, but they cost far more in the end:
Malware
Cracked installers are a leading way to spread info-stealers that harvest saved passwords, banking sessions and crypto wallets.
No security updates
Pirated copies can’t be updated, so known security holes stay open.
Broken features
Cloud features, generative AI tools, Adobe Fonts and syncing all need a genuine license, so they fail in cracked copies.
Legal risk
Unlicensed software breaks Adobe’s license terms and copyright law, and businesses can face audits and fines.
Wasted time
“Portable” and “pre-activated” versions often crash, or stop working after the next system update.
Use Adobe’s official free trial, the free Adobe apps above, a free alternative, or Adobe’s student and teacher discount. Many schools also give students Creative Cloud at no cost.
Next step
Ready to install the real After Effects?
Our After Effects download guide walks you through the Creative Cloud app, system requirements and the fixes for common install errors.
After Effects free download FAQ
After Effects isn’t free, but Adobe’s official trial lets you use the full version for about 7 days. For free motion graphics and visual effects, Blender and the Fusion page in DaVinci Resolve are the most capable options.
Yes, through Adobe’s official free trial. It runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11 and usually lasts 7 days. After that, the full desktop version needs a paid plan.
Adobe’s free trial works on Mac too, and After Effects runs natively on Apple silicon. After the trial, a paid plan is required for the full desktop app.
Unless you cancel before it ends, the trial converts to the paid plan you chose and Adobe charges the payment method on file. Cancel from the Plans section of your Adobe account to avoid charges.
Adobe offers discounted student and teacher pricing rather than free licenses, but many schools and universities give students Creative Cloud at no cost. Ask your school’s IT department.
Blender is a strong choice for 3d animation, motion graphics and compositing. Free and open source and extremely powerful, with a steep learning curve.
No. “Free full version”, “pre-activated” and cracked After Effects downloads are a common source of malware, can’t be updated, and break Adobe’s license terms. Use Adobe’s free trial or a free alternative instead.