After Effects plugin downloads are a great way to save time and energy editing. Unlike templates that offer customization over a premade After Effects project, plugins let you build animated elements from scratch.
Plugins add tools and functions to the backend of After Effects, making them as simple to use as the built-in effects so you can get on with animating straight away! Motion Array has put together a helpful list of the best free and paid After Effects plugins to get you started — plus 4 bonus Adobe After Effects packs that produce similar effects to plugins for you to try out.
Summary
Part 1: 18 top Adobe After Effects packs for video editors
1. Motion Array Adobe Integrations
The Motion Array Adobe Integrations plugin lets you access Motion Array’s complete stock library within After Effects. You’ll no longer have to download your video, music, or template assets from the website. Instead, the Motion Array plugin gives you a control panel to drag and drop directly to your timeline.
Download Motion Array Adobe Integrations Now
2. Displacer Pro
Easily create cool displacement effects that rotate and scale to give your video a professional look. This After Effects free plugin’s powerful map adjustments — such as gamma, softness, and easing — make it a terrific addition to your arsenal.
3. Superluminal Stardust 1.5.0 (Free Trial)
Superluminal | Stardust is a 3D particle creator for After Effects that lets you create stunning 3D particle elements and combine 3D models, particles, and effects, all in the same shared space. With this plugin, you can create beautiful fluid 3D animations and motion graphics.
Download Superluminal | Stardust 1.5.0 Now
4. DeLayer
You can now quickly generate a random delay with any size comp and frame rate for free! Cool video effects are just a download away with DeLayer. Once you install it, pick a corner from which you want the delay to start and let this After Effects free plugin do its work. The sky’s the limit with this tool.
5. Hi-Tech HUD Builder from Motion Factory
Hi-Tech HUD Builder is a smart After Effects free plugin that easily creates heads-up display graphics, transitions, overlays, intros, and game effects. This plugin is a must-have if you want to create a sci-fi film or cool effects that work well in promotional videos, events, films, or anything you want to give a high-tech feel. It’s an integrated part of the free Motion Factory suite, which is well worth exploring.
Download Hi-Tech HUD From Motion Factory Now
6. Reflection
Reflection is a free After Effects plugin from Video Copilot that gives you control over 2D shape reflections in 3D space. It’s perfect for using in product videos, presentations, and slideshows, especially because you have tremendous control over the reflection, including the blur, skew, tint, and blend style.
7. Thicc Stoke
If you’re wanting to create amazing animated titles in your next project, look no further than this free stroke plugin. Thicc Stroke features creative editing capabilities, such as creating gradients along the path, adjusting the thickness and roundness of the stroke, and adding neon-style bright colors. Download it today.
8. Free Hologram Generator Script
This After Effects plugin download boasts amazing design and detail, letting you create hologram effects with just a few clicks. You can adjust the direction and size of the scan lines and the amount of interference, flicker, color, and glow — and that’s only a taste of the functionality it offers. Grab this one and play around!
Download Free Hologram Generator Script Now
9. Animation Composer 3
If you’re animating icons, text, or graphics, this After Effects free plugin by Mister Horse is for you. You can save hundreds of hours keyframing your compositions, plus you get access to a range of prebuilt in and out effects. Mister Horse also sells additional animation presets in packages for everything from iconography to typography.
Download Animation Composer 3 Now
10. Saber Plugin
Saber is a must-have for any animator. This simple After Effects plugin download allows you to create gorgeous light effects based on strokes. You can create neon text effects, lightning, laser gunfire, and lightsaber effects. The Saber plugin also offers a range of styles, such as lava, electric, and energy, offering you complete control over color and intensity. It’s super cool and surprisingly simple to use.
Download Free Saber Plugin Now
11. Normality
Normality is a plugin created for motion graphics artists that provides a simple and intuitive way to light objects and scenes in a 3D space. The plugin works directly in After Effects, making it a good way to learn how to edit in After Effects 3D.
12. Ease and Wizz
Ease and Wizz is a handy little After Effects free plugin for animators who work with iconography, typography, or infographics. It gives you a new After Effects panel to control the In and Out animation presets, including Quart, Sine, Bounce, and Elastic.
13. Duik
If you want to create 2D character animation, this is the plugin for you. Duik is a complex piece of kit and has a bit of a learning curve, but once you’re up and running, it makes 2D animation and camera work a breeze.
14. Plexus 3
The Plexus 3 plugin offers advanced animated styles. The composer allows you to create 3D Plexus shapes, generate particles, and create relationships between them so they move as a flexible shape. You’re only limited by your creativity.
15. Flow
Flow is the After Effects free plugin you didn’t know you needed. If you spend your time keyframing animations, you’ll probably be familiar with the frustrations of the After Effects Graph Editor. Flow replaces the Graph with an intuitive and easy-to-use panel, preset animation settings, and handles to tune your animation.
16. Parrot
Copying and pasting keyframes is a thing of the past with this awesome plugin. Parrot enables you to create a master animated element and assign other elements to repeat it. Unlike null layers, which tie all elements to a singular animation, Parrot lets you stagger the animation points of each element independently. This will save vast amounts of time on complex and repetitive tasks.
17. Deep Glow
Deep Glow is an excellent free After Effects plugin that offers a ton of new styles. Deep Glow gives you full control over glow elements and how they affect the space by replacing the lackluster built-in glow effects. With this plugin, you can create shape and text-based glow effects as well as use it to help with compositing digital effects.
18. Light Sampler
Light Sampler is an ideal plugin for your next gaming project. Easily apply amazing light effects to mystical objects, weapons, or the magic powers of your characters. Try it out with a muzzle flash explosion or sparkly graphics effect.
Bonus: 4 Adobe After Effects packs without plugins
While After Effects plugin downloads greatly enhance the program, there are also effect packs to enjoy. These offer many of the same things without you needing to do much. Here are some fun Adobe After Effects packs you can grab from Motion Array to level up your editing.
1. Motion Particles
Motion Particles is an animated After Effects effects pack with 10 pre-rendered background animations and 20 text placeholders. Try it out as an introduction to your films, movies, trailers, teasers, and anything else.
2. Action VFX Pack
Action VFX Pack is a striking and creatively animated motion graphics template. Enjoy 12 explosive animations that are easy to use. Each element comes with its own custom controller.
3. Mini Glitch Pack Free
Mini Glitch Pack is a fantastic After Effects effect pack with everything you need to create eye-catching animated videos. Explore 8 sound effects, 6 transitions, 3 logo reveals, 3 title animations, and 21 elements. If you like using this pack, there’s an extended version and one for Premiere Pro, too.
Download Mini Glitch Pack Free Now
4. Random Titles
Random Titles is an awesome After Effects effect pack with 19 unique animated full-screen titles. To use it, edit the text and drag and drop it into your media. It’s simple, quick, and remarkably effective. Add this to your tool kit today if you want to jazz up your titles.
Part 2: Understanding After Effects plugins downloads
After Effects plugin downloads are a big time saver and can help you advance your work, but you’ll need to install them correctly first. Luckily, it isn’t challenging to install these plugins, and most will come with instructions. Motion Array also has a handy video to help.
Here are our top 3 tips for working with plugins.
Keep your projects organized
Some plugins can take a lot of rendering power, so you must keep your projects organized. That goes for within After Effects and on your hard drive. Regularly back up your work and try creating effects-heavy sequences in their own project. Then you can import them into your main project when complete.
Check for updates
You should get notifications if an update is available for your plugins. Try to keep them all updated. Some outdated plugins won’t work at all, and some can even cause corruption to your projects if you try. Similarly, an update to After Effects can cause some plugins to stop working. If this happens, check with the developer for news of fixes or bug issues.
Build your own After Effects plugins
Plugins give you the ability to build your own version of After Effects that will have different capabilities from other animators. Using plugins, you can improve your skills and find new, creative ways to produce your compositions. Don’t be shy about creating a collection of plugins specific to your needs.
After Effects plugin downloads are a great way of saving time and energy rather than creating keyframe animations or effects from scratch. More than that, they can help you make new effects you’d never even have considered and introduce you to new working methods.
Now that you know where you can find excellent Adobe After Effects plugins, you only need to download your favorites. Have fun!
