Premation vs Alight Motion
Alight Motion is a motion design and video app for phones and tablets on Android and iOS, with layers, keyframes, effects, cameras and masks, used widely for edits and short animated videos. It is free with a watermark, and a subscription removes it.
Across the 9 areas below, Alight Motion is ahead on 2, the two are level on 0, and Premation is ahead on 7. The 2 are listed first: a comparison you can trust is one that says where it loses.
Pick Alight Motion if
- You edit on your phone, on the bus or between classes. Alight Motion is built for a touch screen, and Premation has no phone or tablet version.
- You are on a Chromebook. Alight Motion's help centre says Chromebooks that run Android apps can use it with every feature, though the interface is not designed for them. Premation does not run on ChromeOS.
- You work from project packages other creators share. Alight Motion opens them as editable projects, and Premation does not read them.
Pick Premation if
- You want the same kind of work on a computer. Alight Motion's help centre lists Windows and macOS as not compatible; Premation is a desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux (x64 AppImage), on a big screen with a mouse, keyboard and pen.
- You want it free with no watermark. Every tool, effect and export format is in the free app; the installers use a free sign-in.
- You want to go further than an app can: a graph editor for value and speed, expressions, 3D layers with cameras and lights, bones and IK for characters, speed ramps, motion tracking and 275 effects.
Feature by feature
- On a phone or tablet
- Alight MotionAndroid phones and tablets, iPhone and iPad, made for touch
- PremationNone. Premation is a desktop app only
- Alight Motion
- If the edit has to happen on your phone, this decides it.
- Sharing projects
- Alight MotionProject packages that move between devices or go to other users as editable projects; saved favourite elements
- PremationProject files on your disk, preset bundles you can export and import, a template package and a plugin store; no way to open Alight Motion projects
- Alight Motion
- On a computer
- Alight MotionChromebooks that run Android apps, with an interface not designed for them; the help centre lists Windows and macOS as not compatible, and the app is downloaded only from Google Play and the App Store
- PremationWindows, macOS and Linux (x64 AppImage); no ChromeOS, web or phone version. It needs a GPU
- Premation
- On a Chromebook, Alight Motion's Android app is the way in; Premation does not run there.
- Keyframes and easing
- Alight MotionKeyframes on every setting; easing presets or your own timing curves
- PremationPer-keyframe interpolation, one graph editor for value and speed, modifier stacks, expressions
- Premation
- Effects
- Alight Motion160+ basic effect building blocks that combine into bigger looks; premium effects with a subscription
- Premation275 effects across twelve folders, 38 blend modes, 10 layer styles, 34 looks, plugin effects
- Premation
- Edits and timing
- Alight MotionLayers of video and audio, masks, velocity-based motion blur
- PremationSpeed ramps with Pixel Motion blending, time remapping, motion blur with shutter angle, beat markers from the music, motion tracking, a source monitor and razor
- Premation
- 3D and rigging
- Alight MotionCameras that pan and zoom with focus blur and fog; parent and child layers to rig character joints
- PremationClassic 3D with cameras, lights, shadows, imported 3D models and depth of field; bones, IK / FK, auto-rig presets and puppet meshes
- Premation
- Export
- Alight MotionMP4 (H.264 and HEVC), GIF, PNG sequences and stills
- Premation18 formats including MP4, GIF, WebM and ProRes 4444 with alpha, HDR10 / HLG, EXR sequences and Lottie
- Premation
- Price
- Alight MotionFree with basic features and a watermark (the Android listing also shows ads); a subscription removes the watermark and unlocks premium effects
- PremationFree, AGPL-3.0, no watermark. The installers use a free sign-in; the optional cloud is the only paid part
- Premation
The Premation column is checked against the editor’s source at v1.0.1. The Alight Motion column describes the product as its own site and documentation presented it on 2026-10-19; if something there has changed, tell us and this page changes.