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A more portable engine than Plainly for automated video

Plainly renders your existing After Effects templates at scale through an API. Rendley is a web-native engine — an in-browser editing SDK, a REST API, and a hosted MCP server — so you build once in JavaScript instead of maintaining an After Effects pipeline.

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Unlimited exportsFree planBrowser-based

Plainly’s edge is unique: it ingests After Effects projects and renders them with dynamic data, so motion-design teams can reuse assets they already own. Rendley takes a different route — a browser-native editing engine plus a REST API and MCP server — which means no After Effects dependency, live in-browser editing, and agent tooling, at the cost of not reusing existing AE compositions.

One platform, three surfaces

Everything ships in code.

SDK
npm i @rendley/sdk import { Engine } from '@rendley/sdk'const engine = await Engine.create()await engine.addClip('intro.mp4')await engine.export() // WebCodecs

A real editing engine that renders in the browser.

REST API
curl api.rendley.com/v1/agent/sessions \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KEY" \  -d '{ "prompt": "30s launch promo" }' # poll the job, then pull a signed URL

Prompt to video from one deterministic endpoint.

MCP
# mcp.rendley.com — Apache-2.0claude mcp add rendley \  https://mcp.rendley.com "Cut a 15s teaser from these clips"

Hosted server, 18 tools, open source.

3
Surfaces in one platform: SDK, API, MCP
25+
AI models built in, added as they launch
18
Tools in the hosted MCP server
EU
Assets stored in Germany (Hetzner)
How they compare

Where Rendley Studio pulls ahead.

After Effects pipeline vs web-native engine

This is the core difference. Plainly is built around After Effects: you bring .aep templates and it renders them. Rendley’s engine is JavaScript and runs in the browser with no AE in the loop.

Rendley Studio
  • @rendley/sdk is a JS/TS editing engine that runs in the browser
  • Renders client-side with WebCodecs and WebGL, FFmpeg (WASM) fallback
  • No After Effects, plugins, or render farm to maintain
  • Same engine powers app.rendley.com and the REST API
Plainly
  • Ingests After Effects (.aep) templates and renders them
  • Dynamic layer and data replacement, plus layer scripting
  • Reuses existing motion-design assets — its standout strength

The render API

Both expose a REST API that returns a finished file. Plainly’s renders AE compositions and bills per render-minute; Rendley’s renders a deterministic edit spec with jobs and signed URLs.

Rendley Studio
  • REST API at api.rendley.com/v1 with an OpenAPI schema
  • Deterministic edit spec — same request, same edit
  • Long renders run as jobs; poll to done, then pull a signed URL
  • Cloud render on GPU workers, or render client-side in the browser
Plainly
  • REST API that renders AE templates with your data
  • Custom output formats, thumbnails, and up to 4K
  • 19+ integrations for connecting data sources and delivery

Editing in the browser and MCP

Plainly is a render service with no embeddable editor and no MCP. Rendley ships a live in-browser editor plus a hosted MCP server for agents.

Rendley Studio
  • @rendley/sdk embeds a full editing UI in your own app
  • Hosted MCP server at mcp.rendley.com with 18 tools
  • Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex; requires a paid plan
  • /agent/sessions turns a prompt and footage into a finished cut
Plainly
  • No in-browser editing SDK for end users
  • No official MCP server or prompt-to-video agent

AI generation models

Plainly focuses on rendering AE compositions, not aggregating generative models. Rendley pulls 25+ models into one project.

Rendley Studio
  • 25+ models: Veo, Kling, Seedance, Sora, Flux, DALL-E, Nano Banana
  • Voice and audio via ElevenLabs and more
  • Every AI call has a matching /cost endpoint for predictable billing
  • B-roll, captions, translation, and background removal built in
Plainly
  • Centered on AE template rendering, not model aggregation
  • AI media would come from your own assets or external tools
The details

Rendley Studio vs Plainly, side by side.

Rendley StudioPlainly
Engine modelWeb-native JS engine (@rendley/sdk), no AE dependencyRenders After Effects (.aep) templates
In-browser editing SDKYes — renders client-side (WebCodecs/WebGL)No — server-side AE render service
Render REST APIYes — api.rendley.com/v1, OpenAPI, jobs + signed URLsYes — renders AE templates, custom formats, thumbnails
Official MCP serverYes — hosted, 18 toolsNo
AI generation models25+ aggregated (Veo, Kling, Seedance, Sora, Flux, DALL-E…)Not a model aggregator
Max export resolution4K target (Pro and Business plans)Up to 4K
Object storage regionEU — Hetzner, Nuremberg (Germany)Check vendor docs
Free tierFree plan (720p, watermark)14-day trial, no free tier
Pricing modelPlans + credits: Free, $15, $30, $70/mo (1 credit = $0.01)Render-minute subs: $69 (50 min) → $649/mo (600 min)

Competitor details are from public pricing and documentation and can change. Verify current specifics on the vendor’s own site.

Credit where due

Where Plainly is the stronger choice

  • If your team already lives in After Effects, Plainly is uniquely valuable: it renders the .aep compositions your motion designers built, so you reuse existing assets instead of rebuilding them in code.
  • Designer-driven quality. Anything an animator can do in AE — expressions, plugins, complex compositing — flows straight through Plainly’s pipeline, which a browser engine cannot always match.
  • With dynamic layer replacement and layer scripting, data-driven personalization of an existing AE template is Plainly’s home turf.
  • Its 19+ integrations make it easy to wire an AE template up to a spreadsheet or CRM and mass-produce variations without writing much glue code.
Best-in-class AI models, built in

Generate clips, images, and voiceovers without leaving the editor. New models are added as they launch.

KlingVeoSoraSeedanceNano BananaElevenLabs
FAQ

Asked. Answered.

No. Rendley is a web-native engine: @rendley/sdk is a JavaScript editing engine that runs in the browser and renders with WebCodecs and WebGL, and the REST API renders a deterministic edit spec. There is no After Effects in the loop. Plainly is the better fit if your value is locked up in existing .aep compositions; Rendley is the better fit if you want a portable, code-first engine and live in-browser editing.

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