Plainly automates After Effects video creation from CSV, API and integrations. Plans from $48/month billed yearly, with a 14-day free trial.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated October 26, 2026
Plainly is a video automation platform from Plainly LTD, a London based company. It takes templates built in Adobe After Effects, connects them to a data source, and renders many video variations in the cloud. The product is aimed at teams that need the same video produced repeatedly with different text, images, audio or footage.
The company says its core idea is that much video content does not need to be unique. A template with a few changed elements is often enough, especially when a business needs many videos or needs them continuously. Plainly lists versioning, localization, personalized videos, dynamic ads, news, sports, digital signage and broadcast graphics among its uses.
The workflow has three steps. First, a designer creates a template in After Effects and uploads it to Plainly, either through the web app or with the free After Effects plugin. Second, dynamic elements such as text, images, videos, animations and audio are marked, and Plainly scans the project to detect parameters automatically.
Third, data is linked through a CSV file, the API or a native integration. Plainly renders each variant on a cloud-based After Effects infrastructure, can render several videos at once depending on the plan, and can send finished files to connected tools. Previews can be generated first to check inputs and design before the final render.
Beyond text swapping, Plainly can change images, audio, videos and colors. Layer scripting adds conditional rendering, time-based rules, and changes to properties such as font, duration and start time, which allows videos of dynamic length. Custom output formats with custom encoding cover different platform requirements, and thumbnails can be exported automatically.
Captions can be added automatically to rendered videos. The web app handles project and team management, and team members are not charged extra. A REST video editing API supports custom workflows or embedding video creation in another product, and the company also lists a Plainly Videos MCP so agents can trigger renders. It states ISO 27001 certification and GDPR compliance.
Plainly is a video automation platform that renders videos from Adobe After Effects templates using data from CSV files, an API or native integrations. Rendering happens in the cloud, and finished videos can be distributed automatically to connected tools.
Billed yearly, plans run from Starter at $48/month for 50 minutes to Pro at $455/month for 600 minutes. Unlimited starts from $1,350/month and Enterprise is custom. Monthly billing is higher, starting at $69/month for Starter.
Yes. Plainly offers a 14-day free trial, and the pricing page describes it as no strings attached. The sources do not list a permanent free plan.
Technically no, but you or someone on your team must create the video template in After Effects first. Once the template is uploaded, variations can be generated from it. Plainly's creative team can also build custom templates.
Native integrations include Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable, Typeform, Jotform, RSS, Google Drive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, YouTube, Vimeo, Slack, Zapier and more. Webhooks and the API support other connections.
There is no limit on the number of videos, but each plan includes a set number of rendering minutes. Minutes are counted from the seconds of exported video, not rendering time. The Unlimited plan removes the minute cap.
Yes. The video editing API can automate data input, video generation, rendering and file delivery, and can embed video creation into another app. API documentation is available on the Plainly website.
It suits in-house creative teams, agencies and software companies that produce repetitive, data-driven or personalized video and already use After Effects. It fits less well for people who want to edit a single video from scratch.