When comparing Adobe After Effects CC vs Origami, the Slant community recommends Origami for most people. In the question“What are the best tools for prototyping mobile interactions/animations?” Origami is ranked 3rd while Adobe After Effects CC is ranked 14th. The most important reason people chose Origami is:
Origami is offered to the public completely free, no monthly plans, no upfront cost whatsoever.
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Pros
Pro Great for motion graphics compositing
Ae is the de facto standard for motion graphic design.
Pro Huge amount of resources
Because of the popularity of Ae, there are a plethora of tutorials, presets, plug-ins, etc that can be used.
Pro Extensive plug-in support
After Effects has extensive plug-in support. A broad range of third party plug-ins are available including solutions for particle systems, 3D environments and grading.
Pro C4D Lite & Cineware integration
After Effects CC includes a Lite version of MAXON CINEMA 4D, a 3D modeling, animation and rendering application.
Pro 3D camera tracker
Pro Speedy and comfortable UI
After grasping what panels do what, the workspace feels safe and comfortable. And the timeline moves and shows things how you would expect it to.
Pro Works well with other Adobe software
This program is made to interact very well with the other Adobe production apps like Premiere Pro, Soundbooth, Photoshop and others. You can dynamically link with a set list of Adobe software so when you update something in Ae it will update in other software accordingly.
Pro Subscription / cloud-based model
Ensures you always have the latest version of the software. Allows saving preferences in the cloud, so you can load them on a different machine. You can even sync setting from a different user.
Pro Subscription based model
You constantly have the latest software that is updated regularly.
Pro Ray-traced and extruded text and shapes
Pro Completely free
Origami is offered to the public completely free, no monthly plans, no upfront cost whatsoever.
Pro Powerful animations and interactions
Origami was actually built to help Facebook designers work on Paper, one of Facebook's latest apps. Every animation that is coded into Origami was first made for Paper. It uses powerful 3D effects and some of the most advanced features for scrolling, tapping and swiping to create a faithful and interactive prototype.
Pro Native testing
Developers can develop their prototypes with origami through their desktops, but the testing itself is done on the native devices.
Pro No code required
Origami is built by designers for designers. As such, it allows for quick prototyping without writing a single line of code.
Pro Open source
Origami is free and open source and it is hosted on GitHub.
Pro Like only-Mac-integration! Great app! Thank you.
Cons
Con No true 3D environment for compositing
Con No real-time features
Con Costly
The Adobe subscription costs are quite steep for anybody on a shoestring budget.
Con No stereoscopic editing support
Con Steep learning curve
Origami is a toolkit for Quartz Composer, and unfortunately the learning curve for it is quite steep. Especially for beginners.
Con Mac only
Since Origami is not an app in and on itself, but a plugin for Quartz Composer, which is built by Apple. Therefore, Origami is only available for Mac and for a developer to download and use it, they need to register as an Apple Developer.
Con Mouse driven interactions
There's no way to directly test the tactile interface.