How is this motion graphics ranking decided?

Mechanically. The 3 approved motion graphics listings on this page are sorted by their published rating, highest first, with the number of ratings behind each score as the tie-break and the product name as a final tie-break so the order is stable. Those ratings are aggregated from public sources, not collected from Softwr readers, this site hosts no reviews, so the order is a summary of what is already published elsewhere, not a verdict of our own. Nothing on this page is paid placement.

Is this list re-ordered for startups?

No, and it would be dishonest to imply otherwise. The catalogue records no data about which team sizes or roles each tool suits, so the ranking is the same published-rating order as the unsegmented list. What the startups framing changes is which of the figures below matter most. Startups are buying for a headcount they do not have yet, which makes the second and third tier of each ladder more important than the first. Check what the price becomes at ten people.

Is there free motion graphics software?

Not in this set. None of the 3 motion graphics tools listed here publishes a $0 plan. Some vendors offer time-limited trials, which are listed on each product page rather than here.

How is motion graphics software usually billed?

subscription (2), freemium (1), counted across the 3 listings on this page. The distinction that costs money is per-seat versus flat: a per-user plan at the same headline price scales with your headcount and a flat subscription does not.

How many motion graphics tools are listed on Softwr?

3 approved motion graphics listings appear on this page, including Cavalry, Cinema 4D, Mocha Pro. Each links to a full breakdown with its pricing tiers and plan detail, and the category can be filtered by price and sorted by rating above. You can also read the shortlist view at /best/motion-graphics, which ranks the same set by published rating.

Motion Graphics · ranked shortlist

Best Motion Graphics software for Startups in 2026

3 approved motion graphics listings, ordered by published rating with the method stated below rather than assumed. Startups are buying for a headcount they do not have yet, which makes the second and third tier of each ladder more important than the first. Check what the price becomes at ten people.

Tools ranked: 3
Publish a $0 plan: 0 of 3

How this ranking is derived

The sort key

Published rating, highest first. Ties break on the number of ratings behind the score, then on product name so the order never depends on what the API happened to return first. That is the whole rule, there is no weighting, no score of our own, and nothing paid: no sponsored slot runs on these pages.

Where the ratings come from

No listing in this set carries a rating, so the order falls back to name. Those scores are aggregated from public sources rather than collected here, Softwr hosts no reviews of its own, which is also why no rating on this page is marked up as ours in structured data.

What the pool is

Approved motion graphics listings, capped at 20 per page; 3 came back for this one. It is not the whole market, and a tool being absent means we hold no record of it rather than that it failed a test. The unranked full set is on the motion graphics category page.

The ranking

Each entry lists why it sits where it sits, drawn from its own published rating and pricing.

#1
Cavalry
Highest rated here
Real-time 2D animation and motion graphics software
- No rating on record, so it ranks below everything that has one.
Billing
freemium
Cavalry breakdown Compare with Cinema 4D
#2
Cinema 4D
Professional 3D modeling, animation and rendering software
- No rating on record, so it ranks below everything that has one.
Billing
subscription
Tags
3d animation, cinema 4d, motion-graphics, maxon
Cinema 4D breakdown Compare with Mocha Pro
#3
Mocha Pro
Planar motion tracking and rotoscoping plugin
- No rating on record, so it ranks below everything that has one.
Billing
subscription
Mocha Pro breakdown

What motion graphics software costs

Counted from the published pricing of the 3 listings on this page. A tool counts as free only where it publishes a $0 plan, an open-source licence or a starting price of zero.

Nothing in this category publishes a $0 plan, all 3 listings are paid from the first day.

How these vendors bill

The billing model each of the 3 motion graphics listings publishes, counted. Two tools at the same headline price are not the same purchase if one of them charges per seat.

subscription: 2
freemium: 1

How to choose between them

Four things the numbers above should change about your shortlist.

Budget for day one, because nothing here is free

No listing in this category publishes a $0 plan. That changes how you evaluate: ask for a trial in writing before you shortlist, and treat any tool you cannot try as a tool you cannot verify.

The billing model matters more than the headline number

This category splits across 2 billing models: subscription on 2 listings, freemium on 1, and nothing else. A per-user price and a flat subscription at the same headline figure are not the same purchase, the first one grows with headcount and the second does not. Multiply by your real team size before you compare two numbers side by side.

Compare motion graphics tools directly

Every pairing below is a full comparison: the same checklist applied to both, so a gap in one is a gap in the other.

Go straight to the numbers

Build your own comparison See the shortlist instead

Questions people ask about motion graphics software

Answered from the listings on this page, and nowhere else.

How is this motion graphics ranking decided?: Mechanically. The 3 approved motion graphics listings on this page are sorted by their published rating, highest first, with the number of ratings behind each score as the tie-break and the product name as a final tie-break so the order is stable. Those ratings are aggregated from public sources, not collected from Softwr readers, this site hosts no reviews, so the order is a summary of what is already published elsewhere, not a verdict of our own. Nothing on this page is paid placement.
Is this list re-ordered for startups?: No, and it would be dishonest to imply otherwise. The catalogue records no data about which team sizes or roles each tool suits, so the ranking is the same published-rating order as the unsegmented list. What the startups framing changes is which of the figures below matter most. Startups are buying for a headcount they do not have yet, which makes the second and third tier of each ladder more important than the first. Check what the price becomes at ten people.
Is there free motion graphics software?: Not in this set. None of the 3 motion graphics tools listed here publishes a $0 plan. Some vendors offer time-limited trials, which are listed on each product page rather than here.
How is motion graphics software usually billed?: subscription (2), freemium (1), counted across the 3 listings on this page. The distinction that costs money is per-seat versus flat: a per-user plan at the same headline price scales with your headcount and a flat subscription does not.
How many motion graphics tools are listed on Softwr?: 3 approved motion graphics listings appear on this page, including Cavalry, Cinema 4D, Mocha Pro. Each links to a full breakdown with its pricing tiers and plan detail, and the category can be filtered by price and sorted by rating above. You can also read the shortlist view at /best/motion-graphics, which ranks the same set by published rating.

Keep reading

Neighbouring categories

Adjacent in the same taxonomy, not a ranking.