Does After Effects work on MacBook? [Best Guide]

Adobe After Effects is one of the most popular applications for designers, especially those with a preference for motion graphics.

The program has evolved into the industry standard for making movies, animations, titles for cinematic films, and incorporating visual effects to television production and video games.

If you are looking to master and utilize After Effects efficiently, you must purchase the right laptop or desktop computer to run Adobe software.

After Effects has demanding system requirements, meaning that it can not run on any other device. This raises the question: can After Effects work on MacBook?

Table of Contents

Features of Adobe After Effects 2020 v17.1.4 for Mac OS X

Professional software for editing the videos professionally
Lets you bring your dreams to life
The latest and most innovative video editing tools
Provides quick and non-destructive video editing
It has a clean and user-friendly interface
The ability to meet the demands of the multimedia industry

Technical Details of Adobe After Effects 2020 v17.1.4 for macOS

Software Name: After Effects 2020
Software File Name: Adobe-After-Effects-2020-v17.1.4.dmg
File Size: 2.69 GB
Developer: Adobe

System Requirements for Adobe After Effects 2020 v17.1.4 for Mac

macOS 10.13 or later
5 GB of free HDD
8 GB RAM
Intel Core 2 Duo or higher

Adobe After Effects 2020 for Mac Free Download

Click the button here and download After Effects 2020 for Mac’s latest version free of charge. It’s a complete offline installation that includes After Effects 2020 macOS with just one click to download.

Can MacBook run After Effects?

MacBook is indeed able to run After Effects as well as other programs within Adobe’s Creative Cloud. However, your Mac must satisfy the minimum system specifications needed for Adobe programs such as After Effects to work efficiently.

Below is an overview of the minimum system requirements required to allow After Effects to work on your MacBook.

Multicore 64-bit Intel processor

8GB RAM

Graphics card that is Adobe-certified

Storage space of 6GB and 10GB of cache for disks

1440×900 display

Internet connectivity is required for the activation of the software.

Best MacBooks for After Effects

Since MacBook is compatible with After Effects and other Adobe Creative Cloud applications, many artists are adopting the laptops. In any event, Macs are cheaper and more reliable over the long run.

Additionally, they are much easier to upgrade, so you shouldn’t have a problem with updating the software on your MacBook so that it meets the requirements required by After Effects.

If the thought of working using After Effects in a Mac environment entices you and you are looking for a suitable laptop, here are three MacBook laptops to think about.

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch

Specifications in an enumeration

Processor – Intel Core i9
RAM – 16GB
SSD – 512GB (expandable to 8TB)
Graphics – Intel UHD 630
Display – 16″ Retina display

The Apple MacBook Pro is arguably one of the top laptops to use with After Effects. The Mac is quick, sleek and slim, and provides a high-quality performance each time.

With this MacBook available, it is possible to lag while working on complex motion designs.

The Mac is powered by the most recent 9th-generation eight-core Intel Core i9 processor with Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz.

The 16GB RAM that can be expanded to 64GB means that the Mac can handle many tasks at the same time easily.

It also has an upgraded Intel UHD 630 graphics card that provides better performance when using After Effects.

The storage capacity is strong, starting at 512GB. You can expand it up to 8TB if your available space is not enough to hold your project’s documents.

The only minor issue that this MacBook is its cost, but be sure that it is worth every cent you pay.

MacBook Air (M1 2020)

Specifications in an overview

Processor – M1 8-core CPU
RAM – 8GB
SSD – 512GB (expandable to 2TB)
Graphics – Integrated 7-core GPU
Display – 13.3″ Retina display

MacBook Air MacBook Air (M1 2020) is a powerful machine perfect for professional artists and motion designers.

The latest model comes with the well-known M1 chipset, which was the first ARM-based device.

Because After Effects mainly relies on processor speed rather than RAM, In this case, the M1 chip can be a boon to Mac users.

The chip can support 3.5x and 6x speedier performance of GPU and CPU, respectively. This makes it ideal for graphic design software in general.

Although it has only 8GB of RAM, there is a possibility to upgrade to 16GB. Additionally, it has the most significant 521GB SSD hard disk that will be more than enough to store all your data.

Another appealing aspect that is unique to this MacBook Air is its light slim, ultra-slim design. With a weight of only 2.8 pounds, you’ll be able to take it to art shows and galleries to display your artwork to art enthusiasts.

MacBook Pro 13-Inch

Specifications in an overview

Processor – M1 8-core CPU

RAM – 16GB

SSD – 512GB (expandable to 2TB)

Graphics – Integrated 8-core GPU

Display – 13″ Retina display

If you’re comfortable using the Mac with an enlarged screen but still delivers an impressive performance, then look no further.

It’s MacBook Pro 13-inch might appear tiny at first. However, its size isn’t an issue. It has a highly acclaimed M1 chip and has a superfast unified memory capacity that can reach 16GB.

As with all Macbooks on this list, The Pro 13-inch comes with the Retina Display, which supports resolutions ranging from 1024x 640 – to 1680×1050.

The SSD hard drive has 512GB of capacity; however, as with all SSD drives, you can upgrade it to 2TB to protect your files and satisfy your storage needs.

The Mac boasts a battery run-time of 20 hours. That means that you can use it at the park or even in motion to record your thoughts quickly and finish motion design projects without interruption.

What is the cost of After Effects on Mac?

Whether you’re using the Windows laptop or Mac, the exact cost to run After Effects on your computer is the same for all platforms.

Other than the trial program that grants users a free trial for seven days, After Effects has three pricing plans available for single users.

The first choice includes a monthly subscription, which is priced at $31.49 per month. The other plan is an annual prepaid option where you pay $239.88 upfront and get unlimited access to After Effects for a whole year.

The third and best-recommended plan is an annual plan. In this plan, you pay $20.99 per month.

If you’re a professional designer, student, or art teacher, you may choose to buy a license for all of the applications included in Adobe Creative Suite. Adobe Creative Suite for just $52.99 per month.

In this package, you have access to more than 20 mobile and desktop apps, including After Effects and other popular applications like Photoshop and Illustrator.

How to get Adobe After Effects on Mac?

Installation of Adobe After Effects on your Mac is a quick and straightforward procedure. In addition, it’s free, and you receive a seven-day trial that lets you test what the application can offer. The first time you pay for the app is after the trial period of 7 days has ended.

Below are some steps to follow to install Adobe After Effects on Mac:

Visit Adobe’s official site and select After Effects on the products page.

Make your own Adobe Creative Cloud account using either your Facebook or Gmail ID.

Download the version that is the official version of After Effects to Mac on the Adobe site

Download the zip file into the folder you prefer (we recommend you to create the folder in a new location and give it the name After Effects)

Open the folder and browse the files that you extracted.

Use this setup to set up After Effects on your Mac.

Take note of the Adobe Terms and Conditions in the following dialog box.

If you’re asked for a serial number, Click “install this product as a trial”

After the installation process has been completed, visit the applications menu on your Mac.

Starting after that, the After Effects program.

Access the Internet and then activate the program by using the trial key provided within the After Effects folder.

Do you find After Effects hard to learn?

After Effects requires a bit of practice to master, it can take time to master all aspects of the program, as it is a bit fiddly.

Also, it would help if you focused on the various aspects of motion graphics like workflows, colors, design, and animation.

If you’ve got the desire to learn and the drive to learn the new aspects of design and design, it shouldn’t take time to master the basics of using Adobe After Effects.

Most designers require around eight weeks before they grasp how After Effects works and how to utilize it.

If you’re able to demonstrate the same determination, you will be able to implement the program successfully at the same time completely.

How can I start using After Effects?

If you’re looking to use 3D objects or examine different screenshots, Adobe After Effects offers many tools you can employ to get your motion-design process started.

However, working with these tools can be overwhelming, mainly if your first experience with After Effects.

As a newbie, it is essential to spend time learning the basics and discover some of the most crucial tools you’ll employ for motion design work.

Udemy and Skillshare offer several excellent classes for students who are just beginning.

The program is a long learning curve that could take eight weeks to understand everything depending on your enthusiasm and desire to learn.

It could take a shorter amount of time for certain people who are not computer savvy, primarily when they’ve previously worked with similar programs.

Final words

If you’re interested in the field of motion graphics and effects, you’ll find that Adobe After Effects is a program you should consider checking out.

After Effects has grown in leaps and bounds to become an industry-standard software for animations, and creating visually exquisite artwork for film and television production.

It is no surprise that many graphic designers use this fantastic software to create their most artistic designs.

The fact that you have the MacBook isn’t a barrier to using After Effects for your motion graphics. The program After Effects can be used with MacBook, and you need to ensure your device has the minimum requirements for a system to run the application.