【2026】How to get After Effects for free, 2 official ways

After Effects is a video editing tool for creating motion graphics and visual effects (VFX).

It supports both 2D and 3D spaces, allowing you to animate text and logos, and create effects commonly used in films and music videos.

There are two ways to use Adobe After Effects for free :

Let’s take a closer look at each of these options.

You can use After Effects for free for the first 7 days with Adobe’s official free trial.

There are three subscription plans available for using Adobe After Effects.

A free trial is available with every plan.

To start your free trial, simply select a plan by clicking the “Free Trial” button.

Even during the trial, you’ll have full access to all the features of the full version.

As shown above, you can cancel within 14 days after starting a plan and receive a full refund, meaning you can effectively use After Effects for free for up to 21 days.

About three weeks should be enough time to try out the main features of After Effects and get a feel for how it works.

If you want to keep using After Effects for free, consider becoming a contributor (content seller) on Adobe Stock.

By reaching a certain number of sales within a year, you can qualify for the bonus program, which grants you a free 1-year license for the After Effects Single App plan.

Anyone with an Adobe account can become a contributor for free and sell their work created with After Effects or other tools.

Here are the requirements to qualify for the bonus program:

Once you meet the requirement, it becomes easier to qualify again in the following years –  allowing you to continue using After Effects for free.

An active contributor is defined as a user who submits and gets approval for more than 150 new assets per year.

The threshold isn’t too high, so it could be a good opportunity to give it a try.

Learn more about the bonus program here.

You can find the special offers such as latest deals, promotions, and discounted plans on Adobe’s official website.

It’s worth checking out if you’re interested.

We’ve explained how you can use After Effects for free.

Start by taking advantage of the free trial. 

Becoming a contributor on Adobe Stock could open the door to continued free access down the line.