Friday, March 27th, 2020 Posted by Jim Thacker

Red Giant Complete is now free to students and teachers


Originally posted on 26 November 2019. Scroll down for news of the free academic subscriptions.

Red Giant has launched Red Giant Complete, a new $599/year subscription package providing access to its Trapcode Suite, Magic Bullet Suite, VFX Suite and Shooter Suite toolsets, plus its Universe library of effects.

Perpetual licences for the individual versions of the products are still available alongside software rental.

A single annual subscription to all of Red Giants VFX and motion graphics add-ons
Red Giant Complete is a super-bundle of four other product bundles – After Effects motion graphics toolset Trapcode Suite and VFX toolset VFX Suite, multi-host colour-correction and looks toolkit Magic Bullet Suite, and standalone on-set tools Shooter Suite – plus Universe, Red Giant’s subscription-only effects library.

An individual subscription costs $599/year, compared to $3,495 for new perpetual licences of the four bundles plus a one-year subscription to Universe.

By the standards of the VFX tools market, that’s a pretty competitive price ratio between subscriptions and perpetual licences, although unusually – and unlike Universe – there is no pay-per-month option.

Updated 27 March 2020: Red Giant has now introduced a montly payment plan. Details below.

It’s also worth noting that in the past, Red Giant hasn’t always raised its subscription prices in line with inflation: the cost of an annual subscription to Universe doubled with the Universe 3.0 update this January.

However, perpetual licences haven’t gone away – according to Red Giant’s blog: “Nothing has changed. We’re still selling traditional perpetual licenses at the usual prices” – so pick the option that suits you.


Updated 27 March 2020: Red Giant has now made academic subscriptions to Red Giant Complete, previously priced at $299/year, available free.

On providing proof that they are enrolled or employed by a university, college or high school, students and faculty members can now claim free 180-day subscriptions.

The subscriptions can be renewed on expiry, though you have to provide proof of elibiblity again.


Pricing and Availability
An individual Red Giant Complete subscription costs $599/year, or $79/month. There are separate prices for businesses wanting volume licensing and more support.

You can check which host applications are compatible with each of the tools included here.


Read more about Red Giant Complete subscriptions on Red Giant’s blog

Find out how to claim a free academic subscription to Red Giant Complete on Red Giant’s blog

Find a full list of tools included in Red Giant Complete subscriptions on the product website