LottieFiles vs Powtoon Comparison 2026
Both cover motion graphics & animation. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
At a glance
- Powtoon starts cheaper, at $15.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
LottieFiles | Powtoon | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $19.99 | From $15 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Annual only |
| Free trial | Not stated | None |
| API | Yes | Not stated |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
LottieFiles
Lottie animations, from library to production
LottieFiles is everything that grew around a file format: a library of ready animations, tools to edit and optimise them, and the players that put them into a site or an app. A Lottie is vector, so it scales and stays small, which is why it ended up in most modern interfaces rather than a GIF. Designers hand off to developers here without a video file in between. It is not where the animation gets made from scratch.
Our note
Most people need the free tier and a player, not a subscription, so start there and only pay when the editing or the private hosting becomes the blocker. The paid plans are aimed at teams producing animations rather than at people using them.
Only on this side
- Covers design & graphics
Powtoon
Animated explainers from templates
Powtoon builds the whiteboard and cartoon explainer style that training departments have used for a decade, and it has since bolted on avatars, dubbing and text to speech from other vendors. Templates carry most of the work. The house style is recognisable enough that a viewer who has seen one Powtoon will know they are watching another.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.