Best animation tool for startups

There are roughly 40-60 dedicated animation tools competing in this space, but the market splits into three broken tiers: expensive enterprise suites (Adobe, Cinema 4D), no-code generalists (Figma, Webflow), and niche players (Lottie, Rive, Framer). The core pain point is context-switching—founders prototype in Figma, then export to code or hire animators because the tool doesn't bridge design-to-deployment. Most startups default to gifted employees or outsource entirely because existing tools either over-serve (bloated, expensive) or under-serve (too simple, no export). The real opportunity is a tool that lives in the startup workflow: quick iteration in design, one-click asset export (JSON, video, sprite), and integrations with Figma and common dev stacks. A new entrant should focus on speed (animations in minutes, not hours), affordability ($20-50/month, not $600), and building for non-animators—the 90% of founders and product designers who just need functional motion without being motion designers. The winner here isn't the fanciest tool; it's the fastest and cheapest one that ships with Figma plugins and Next.js templates.