Comparison
Updated
Ultramock vs After Effects
Ultramock is a browser-based creative tool that turns app and website screens into product videos and images on 3D devices, with the camera, lighting and timeline already set up. Here it is next to Adobe After Effects for software product videos: setup, 3D, animation, export and price.
For software product videos made from your own screens, Ultramock is the simpler alternative to After Effects: it opens on a lit 3D device, you drop in a screenshot or screen recording, set the camera moves on a timeline and export an MP4 from a browser tab.
After Effects can import 3D models now, but you still find a device model, set up its lighting and camera, and fit your screen to its display before you see a shot. Choose After Effects when motion design is the job: compositing, tracking, bespoke 2D motion graphics or a studio pipeline. Choose Ultramock when the video exists to show your product.
At a glance
Counted from the table below
After Effects’s column was last checked on against adobe.com. Products ship. If something here is out of date, tell us on X and we will correct it.
The output
A lit 3D device before you touch a setting.
Every Ultramock shot is a real 3D render: studio lighting, reflections, a contact shadow and lens blur you can focus and animate. After Effects can reach a similar look with an imported model once you have set up the lighting, materials and camera yourself.
- Real 3D device geometry
- Physically-based lighting
- Cast shadows
- True depth of field
- ACES filmic tone mapping
Where each one wins
Ultramock
- Every one of the 19 3D devices is free and already lit: drop in a screenshot or screen recording and you are looking at the shot.
- Built for product videos, with shots, transitions, text, logo shots, music and beat sync on one timeline.
- Auto-motion composes an editable camera move around the parts of your screen you mark.
- Runs in a browser and redraws the 3D shot as you adjust it, so trying an idea costs nothing.
- A free plan with the full editor and every device, and Pro at $20 a month for 4K, 60fps, motion blur and no watermark.
The video exists to show your app or website: your screens on 3D devices, lit, moving and exported from a browser.
After Effects
- Compositing, tracking, keying, rotoscoping, expressions and bespoke 2D motion graphics.
- A true 3D workspace that imports glTF and GLB models, with Substance 3D materials and dynamic shadows.
- A large ecosystem of plugins, templates and tutorials.
- Professional codecs such as ProRes, and a settled place in studio video pipelines.
Motion design is the job: compositing footage, tracking, bespoke 2D motion graphics or delivering into a studio pipeline.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Ultramock | After Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Getting to a first shot | ||
| Built for | Product videos and images from your app or website screens | Motion graphics, visual effects and compositing |
| 3D device models | Yes. Yes19 models (phones, a watch, tablets, laptops and displays), all free | Partly. Partlyimports a 3D model you supply, such as glTF or GLB |
| Lighting and camera | Yes. Yesstudio lighting, a contact shadow and a camera, set up when you open it | Partly. Partlya true 3D workspace, with the lights and camera set up by you |
| Your screen on the device | Yes. Yesdrop a screenshot or recording on it | Partly. Partlyyou place it on the model's display yourself |
| Record a browser tab | Yes. Yesthe Ultramock Chrome extension sends it to the editor | No. Nobring a recording made in another app |
| Animating it | ||
| Keyframe timeline | Yes. Yescamera and device moves, easing and a graph view | Yes. Yesevery property, with a graph editor |
| Camera moves made for you | Yes. Yesauto-motion builds an editable move around focus areas you mark | Partly. Partlyanimation presets and expressions |
| Shots, text, logo and music | Partly. Partlyup to 60 shots with transitions, text, logo shots and audio; no compositing of footage | Yes. Yeslayers, titles and audio without a fixed structure |
| Camera moves timed to music | Yes. Yesbeat sync times them to a song's strong beats | Partly. Partlyby hand, or with audio keyframes and expressions |
| Live 3D preview | Yes. Yesthe shot redraws as you adjust it | Partly. Partlypreviews play from a cache built as you play |
| Compositing, tracking and keying | No. Nonot what Ultramock is for | Yes. Yeswhat After Effects is built for |
| Export | ||
| Video | Yes. YesMP4 (H.264), up to 4K at 60fps on Pro | Yes. Yesmany formats, including ProRes |
| Motion blur | Yes. Yeson Pro video exports | Yes. Yesper layer, with shutter angle settings |
| Transparent video | Partly. PartlyWebM on Pro, in browsers that encode VP9 alpha such as Chrome; not with motion blur or inside a 3D Scene | Yes. Yesformats with an alpha channel, such as ProRes 4444 |
| Still images | Yes. YesJPG, PNG and WebP, with transparent PNG and WebP on Pro | Yes. Yesframes from any composition |
| Platform and price | ||
| Runs in | A web browser, with nothing to install | A desktop app for macOS and Windows |
| Free to start | Yes. Yesthe editor and every device; five images and one video a week, watermarked | Partly. Partlya seven-day free trial |
| Paid plan | Pro, $20 a month or $120 a year | US$22.99 a month on the annual plan, billed monthly (adobe.com, 9 November 2026) |
On this page: a simpler alternative · 3D in After Effects · making the video in Ultramock · which tool for which video · when After Effects wins · cost
What's a simpler alternative to After Effects for software product videos?
Ultramock. Ultramock is a browser-based creative tool for product visuals: it puts your app or website screens on 3D devices, lit and framed, and animates them on a timeline into a product video. It is built for the video whose job is to show your product, such as a launch video, a feature announcement or an app promo.
Product videos come in three broad kinds, and each has a tool built for it:
- A recorded walkthrough, where someone clicks through the product and the video follows. A screen recorder with automatic zooms fits this.
- 2D interface animation, where screens and brand elements are animated flat. A motion design tool fits this.
- Your screens on 3D devices, with camera moves, the polished look of a launch video. This is what Ultramock is built for.
After Effects can make all three, because it is a general motion design and compositing application. That breadth is why it asks so much of you before the first shot. Ultramock keeps the workflow centred on presenting your product, so the device, the lighting and the camera are ready when you open it.
This comparison is based on Adobe's published documentation and on Ultramock's own editor, not on a timed build in each tool.
Can After Effects make 3D device mockups on its own?
Yes, more than it used to. Since After Effects 24.1 (December 2023, as reported by CG Channel) it imports 3D models in glTF and GLB format, and Adobe describes "a true 3D workspace" with Substance 3D materials and dynamic shadows (adobe.com, checked 9 November 2026). You no longer need a second 3D application for a device.
What After Effects leaves to you is everything around the model. You find a model of the device, set up the lights and the camera, and place your screenshot or recording on its display. Each of those is a skill in its own right, and each has to be right before the shot looks like a product photo.
Ultramock starts where that work ends. Its 19 device models (phones, a watch, tablets, laptops and displays) are all free, already lit, with a contact shadow, reflections and a camera in place. You drop your screen on the device and you are looking at the shot.
How do you make a product video in Ultramock?
- Bring in your screens. Upload, drag in or paste screenshots and screen recordings, or record a browser tab with the Ultramock Chrome extension. Each shot shows its own image or video, which you can crop and trim.
- Pick the device. Every one of the 19 devices is free, and several can share one shot on the Custom scene background.
- Move the camera. Set poses (camera stops inside a shot) and Ultramock moves between them, keyframe every move yourself, or mark focus areas on the screen and let auto-motion compose an editable move around them.
- Build the video. Add shots (up to 60 in a project) with transitions, text shots and layered text, and animated logo shots. Put music or a voiceover on the audio track, and beat sync times the camera moves to the strong beats.
- Export. Ultramock exports MP4 (H.264). Free gets five images a week with no account, and one video a week up to 12 seconds with a free account, all with an Ultramock watermark. Pro removes the watermark and adds sizes up to 4K, 60fps, motion blur and transparent WebM video (in browsers that encode VP9 alpha, such as Chrome; not with motion blur or inside a 3D Scene).
For a worked example, see how to make a launch video from one screenshot, or browse animated device mockups.
Which simpler tool fits which kind of product video?
Each tool below is built for one kind of product video. Facts are from each vendor's own site, checked on 9 November 2026.
| Kind of product video | Tool built for it | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Your app or site on 3D devices, with camera moves, text and music | Ultramock | Runs in the browser; every device free; Pro for 4K, 60fps and no watermark |
| A recorded walkthrough with automatic zooms | Screen Studio | A screen recorder for macOS that zooms in on where you clicked |
| 2D interface and brand animation | Jitter | A motion design tool on the web; exports video, GIF and Lottie |
| 3D device mockups in a desktop app | Rotato | A Mac app for macOS 11 or newer; a web version is in public beta |
| Compositing, tracking and visual effects | After Effects | A desktop app for macOS and Windows |
Rotato and Ultramock do the closest job of any two tools here. For how they differ, see Ultramock vs Rotato and the Rotato alternative page.
When is After Effects still the better choice?
When motion design is the job. Multi-layer edits, titles over footage and bespoke 2D motion graphics are what After Effects is for, and what Ultramock is not.
When you are working with real footage. Camera tracking, rotoscoping and keying are After Effects work, and Ultramock does none of them.
When you need a device Ultramock does not have. After Effects imports a glTF or GLB model, so a device of your own can go into its 3D workspace.
When you deliver into a professional pipeline. ProRes, image sequences and a studio's project structure are what a professional compositor serves.
When is Ultramock the better choice?
When the video exists to show your product. A lit 3D device with your screen on it, moving, with text and music, made in one focused tool.
When you want to start in a browser. Ultramock is a web page, so there is nothing to install, and you can try the whole editor before making an account.
When you want to see each change as you make it. The 3D shot redraws as you move the camera, change the lighting or adjust the focus, so trying a second idea costs nothing.
When you want to try it for free. The free plan has the full editor and every device, with no trial clock.
What does each cost?
After Effects: US$22.99 a month for the single app on the annual plan, billed monthly, with a seven-day free trial (adobe.com, checked 9 November 2026).
Ultramock: the editor and every device are free. Free gets five images a week with no account, and one video a week up to 12 seconds with a free account, all with an Ultramock watermark. Pro is $20 a month or $120 a year, cancel any time, with nothing else to buy. Prices are in US dollars, with sales tax or VAT added at checkout where it applies. See pricing for the full Free and Pro table.
Can you use both?
Yes. Make the device shots in Ultramock and finish the video in After Effects: an Ultramock MP4 imports as footage, and transparent PNG images (Pro) keep their transparency as layers in a composition.
Start creating in Ultramock: the editor opens in your browser.
Common questions
What's a simpler alternative to After Effects for making software product videos?
If the video exists to show your app or website, Ultramock is built for it. Ultramock is a browser-based tool that puts your screenshots or screen recordings on 3D devices, with lighting and a camera already set up, and animates them on a timeline you export as an MP4. For a recorded walkthrough a screen recorder fits better, and for 2D interface animation a motion design tool does.
Can After Effects import 3D device models?
Yes. Since version 24.1 (December 2023) After Effects imports 3D models in glTF and GLB format into its 3D workspace. You still need a model of the device, and you set up the lighting and camera and fit your screen to the display yourself. Ultramock includes 19 device models, all free and already lit.
Can I turn a screen recording into a product video in Ultramock?
Yes. Upload a recording, or record a browser tab with the Ultramock Chrome extension, and it plays on the device's screen. Trim it, add camera moves, text and music, and export the video.
How does Rotato compare to After Effects for device mockup animations?
Rotato is a Mac app built for 3D device mockups, with a web version in public beta, so it starts from a ready device rather than an empty composition. After Effects is a general motion design tool that imports a 3D model you bring and leaves the lighting, camera and screen fitting to you. Ultramock is built for the same job as Rotato and runs in a web browser, with 19 devices, all free.
Is Ultramock free?
The editor and all 19 devices are free. Free gets five images a week with no account, and one video a week up to 12 seconds with a free account, all with an Ultramock watermark. Pro is $20 a month or $120 a year for unlimited exports up to 4K without a watermark.
Which is cheaper, Ultramock or After Effects?
On adobe.com on 9 November 2026, After Effects as a single app cost US$22.99 a month on the annual plan, billed monthly, with a seven-day free trial. Ultramock has a free plan with the full editor and every device, and Pro costs $20 a month or $120 a year, with nothing else to buy and no device packs.
Can I see the result before I export?
In Ultramock, yes: the 3D shot redraws in the browser as you change the camera, lighting or effects, and the timeline plays back in the editor. Exporting then renders the MP4. In After Effects, previews play from a cache built as you play, and the final file is rendered as a separate step.
When should I still use After Effects?
When motion design is the job: compositing footage, tracking, rotoscoping, keying, expressions, bespoke 2D motion graphics or delivering into a studio pipeline. Ultramock does none of that, and does not try to.
Can I use both?
Yes. Make the device shots in Ultramock and finish the video in After Effects: an Ultramock MP4 imports as footage, and transparent PNG images (Pro) keep their transparency as layers in a composition.
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