How to Animate Text in Figma (Without After Effects)
· 4 min read · by the ProFigma team
Your headline looks perfect, and then someone asks, "can it move?" You do not have to leave Figma and learn a motion app to answer. There are three practical ways to animate text inside Figma. This guide walks through each one, so you can pick the right one for the job.
Option 1: Smart Animate in a prototype
Smart Animate is built into Figma. It animates the differences between two frames. For text, that works well for simple moves.
- Duplicate your frame and move or fade the text in the second one.
- Switch to the Prototype tab and connect the two frames.
- Set the action to After delay or On click, and the animation to Smart animate.
- Pick an easing and a duration, then press play.
It is great for a quick slide-in or fade. The limits: it is a prototype, so you can't easily export it as a GIF, and letter-by-letter or looping effects take a lot of duplicate frames.
Option 2: Figma Motion
Figma Motion adds a real timeline to Figma, with keyframes for position, rotation, scale and opacity. It is the right tool when you want precise control. The trade-off is time: animating every letter by hand takes patience.
Option 3: A text animation plugin
If you want polished text effects in minutes, a plugin does the heavy lifting. Our free MotionShot Text plugin lets you type a headline or import your existing text layers, pick one of 41 ready-made presets and export.
- Presets: complete in, loop and out animations for text and for logos.
- Drag-and-drop effects: typewriter, word swap, counters, glitch, mask reveals and more.
- Styling: gradient and outline fills, shadows, glow, curved text and any Google font.
- Export: GIF, video, PNG, a web embed, or real Figma Motion layers with keyframes (Pro).
Which one should you use?
| You want | Use |
|---|---|
| A quick slide or fade in a prototype | Smart Animate |
| Full control with a timeline | Figma Motion |
| A finished animated headline fast, exported as GIF or video | A text animation plugin |
Tips for animation that feels good
- Keep it short. Most text animations should last under a second.
- Use easing. Motion that eases in and out feels natural. Straight linear motion feels robotic.
- Animate one thing at a time. If everything moves, nothing stands out.
- Check readability. Let the final frame rest long enough to read.
- Loop only when it helps. A looping headline can distract from the content around it.
Three small recipes
A headline reveal. Start the text slightly lower and invisible, then ease it up while it fades in over about 0.5 seconds. Reveal it line by line with a short delay between lines. This suits a hero section or a product launch card.
A counter. For a number like "10,000 users", count up from zero over one or two seconds, with easing so it slows near the end. It works well in stats sections and case studies.
A logo sting. Fade the logo in, add a small scale from 90 to 100 percent, then rest for a moment before it ends. Keep it under two seconds so it never feels like waiting.
Pick the export for where it will be used
| Where it goes | Best format | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Email, docs, chat | GIF | GIFs use at most 256 colors, so gradients can band, and long ones get big |
| Social media, presentations | Video (MP4) | Needs a player, but the quality is far better |
| A website | Web embed or video | Test it on mobile before you publish |
| Further editing in Figma | Figma Motion layers | Requires Pro in MotionShot Text |
What these methods cannot do
- Smart Animate only plays inside Figma, in prototype or present mode. It has no export to a video or a GIF.
- A GIF cannot hold sound. If you need audio, export a video.
- Very long text animations make large files. Keep GIFs short, and compress them afterwards if needed.
A calm checklist
- Decide what the viewer should read first, and animate that first.
- Pick a preset, then lower the speed a little. The default is often too eager.
- Watch it twice with sound off, as most people will see it.
- Export at the size you will use, not larger.
Frequently asked questions
Can Figma animate text without a plugin?
Yes, with Smart Animate in a prototype or with Figma Motion. A plugin is faster for ready-made effects.
How do I export a text animation from Figma as a GIF?
Prototypes can't be exported directly as GIFs. A plugin like MotionShot Text can export a GIF or a video straight from Figma.
Is MotionShot Text free?
There is a free plan with GIF and PNG export. Pro adds video, Figma Motion and web embed export.
Try it: see MotionShot Text. Landing pages next? Our Landing Page Animator plugin brings 150+ animated sections to Figma.
