10 Free Plugins for After Effects

 Looking to give a professional and creative touch to your videos with Adobe After Effects? Discover our selection of 10 free plug-ins for this essential post-production software.

These plug-ins will enrich your arsenal of visual effects and boost your creativity. If you are looking for a freelance graphic designer to support you in your projects, do not hesitate to call on a video professional on Graphic Designer Blog .

In this article, we show you the best free plugins for After Effects and how to install them.

Our selection of plug-ins for Adobe After Effects

1. ObviousFX Copy-Image

ObviousFX Copy-Image is a very easy to use plugin, but one that will save you valuable time. This plug-in adds only one command to your After Effects editing menu, the “Copy Image” command.

With this plug-in, you will be able to copy the entire current composition in one click at the moment you click on the option. You can then take this image and paste it into other programs. This way, you avoid the hassle of making a time-consuming render and can use your image more quickly.

2. Saber

Saber is also one of the essential plug-ins for After Effects. This plug-in designed by Video Copilot offers a wide range of stunning lighting effects. In particular, you can create light trails, laser beams or lightsabers to bring your visual compositions to life.

Saber lets you instantly add dynamic lighting effects to your videos. You can therefore give a futuristic touch to your titles, animate logos with flashes of light or create striking special effects. This versatile plug-in gives you almost endless creative possibilities.

This plug-in also benefits from an intuitive interface, which facilitates the customization of lighting effects. You can easily adjust colors, speeds and styles to achieve the look you want. Plus, real-time effects let you preview your edits instantly, simplifying your creative process. 

3. Orb

Orb is another plugin developed by Video Copilot and designed specifically for After Effects. This powerful tool lets you bring impressive visual effects to life and create realistic 3D animations in no time.

With this plugin, you will have access to endless possibilities for managing spheres, planets, asteroids and much more. These various elements also demonstrate exceptional visual quality. You can control their textures, but also their lights, reflections and shadows in order to obtain renderings worthy of cinematic productions.

4. Duik Angela

If you want to create character animations, the Duik Ángela plugin allows you to achieve this goal with realism and fluidity. Designed by Duduf, this powerful open source tool offers advanced rigging (creating skeletons and controllers to animate characters or objects) and animation features to bring your creations to life.

Thanks to this plug-in, you can easily create articulations, control character movements and create natural and expressive animations. This plug-in can also be used for different types of production: videos, illustrations or multimedia projects.

5. AEFlame

AEFlame is a great plugin for After Effects if you're looking to create psychedelic and hypnotic animation effects. Designed by Andrew Davidson, this plugin generates fractals in real time, which provides a variety of captivating visual effects.

With AEFlame, you can add intricate and colorful patterns to your designs. You can also create constantly changing abstract shapes as well as unique animated backgrounds and original transitions to energize your projects.

6. Ease and Wizz

Ease and Wizz is a great free plugin that lets you add smooth, natural animations to your After Effects compositions. Developed by Ian Haigh, it facilitates the animation process by applying smooth movements with custom interpolation curves.

With Ease and Wizz, you can make your animations more dynamic and realistic. With this plug-in, you can easily control the speed and acceleration of your movements. This results in fluid and professional renderings.

7. Buttcapper

Designed by Zack Lovatt, Buttcapper is a plug-in for After Effects users who want to improve the design of their shapes and lines. This plug-in offers advanced customization options for the ends of your paths. 

Buttcapper is very easy to use to create more aesthetic and professional shapes. With this free plugin, you can easily round, taper, or add pointed ends to your lines and shapes. This brings a touch of originality to your projects.

8. Normality

Normality is a plugin intended to revolutionize your visual creations. Developed by 3DCG, this plug-in for After Effects integrates advanced depth management and 3D lighting features and makes it easy to bring your projects to life.

Normality lets you add bump effects, textures, and shine to your layers. This way, you can create striking animations to captivate your audience. This plug-in also offers unparalleled creative freedom by giving you precise control over shadows, highlights, and lighting effects. This makes your scenes even more realistic.

With Normality, you can also create parallax effects, adjust viewing angles, and create smooth transitions between your shots. You thus improve the depth and dynamics of your compositions.

9. Sure Target 2

With Sure Target 2 , you will be able to bring a new dimension to your animations in After Effects. This Video Copilot plugin aims to simplify the process of creating complex animations with its advanced features, while providing full control over the camera and the movement of your layers.

Sure Target 2, for example, allows you to create fluid and precise camera movements in just a few steps. You will no longer need to manually go through your sequences frame by frame on each layer since the plug-in allows you to define specific targets and easily adjust camera parameters. This gives you cinematic and professional movements. 

Finally, like the previous plug-in, Sure Target 2 also allows you to create parallax effects by playing on the composition of your shots. This brings realistic depth as well as a touch of elegance and sophistication to your animations.

10. Coremelt Free

To conclude our list of the best free plugins for After Effects, let us tell you about Coremelt Free . This plug-in is certainly only available on Mac, but it is so complete that it deserved its place on this list. Thanks to Coremelt Free, you will have advanced features to bring your artistic ideas to life.

Coremelt Free is actually a body of plugins, including 44 distinct plugins as well as 10 active text effects. They are completely free and have no time limit. With this all-in-one package, you can create stunning visual effects and dynamic transitions in record time. You will also be able to create superb animations, without any creative limits.

Coremelt Free does not only specialize in special effects. Indeed, this plug-in also offers advanced motion tracking tools. They facilitate the process of tracking objects and elements in your videos. You can integrate graphic elements, text or effects into moving objects, which provides an immersive visual experience when viewing.