Rokoko vs DeepMotion for free AI motion capture
Short answer: if you will sell your game, use Rokoko. Its free plan turns 30 seconds of ordinary video a month into 3D animation, and Rokoko says that motion can be used commercially. Use DeepMotion to practice: its free plan gives 25 seconds a month, retargets the motion onto your own character and exports GLB, but it is for personal, non-commercial use only. Both turn a phone video of a person into an animation, no suit or markers needed. Every fact below comes from Rokoko's and DeepMotion's own pages, checked October 31, 2026. We focus on free plans only.
Quick verdict
| If you want to... | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Free mocap clips for a game you will sell | Rokoko | Rokoko Create's FAQ says all video-to-motion data can be used commercially |
| The most free seconds each month | Rokoko | 30 seconds a month vs DeepMotion's 25 |
| See the motion on your own character for free | DeepMotion | Up to 3 custom FBX, GLB or VRM characters on Freemium. Rokoko charges for custom characters |
| A GLB file for Godot or three.js | DeepMotion | GLB export on Freemium, with a custom character |
| Face and finger motion from video | DeepMotion | Body, face and hand tracking on every plan, at 0.5 extra credit per second each |
| Simple moves from a text prompt | Rokoko | Unlimited text-to-motion clips on the free plan, 5 Studio imports a month |
Side by side
| Free plan | Rokoko (Starter) | DeepMotion (Freemium) |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Rokoko Vision 3.0, AI motion capture from one video, inside the web app Rokoko Create, with Rokoko Studio for editing and export. | Animate 3D, browser AI motion capture from video, with retargeting onto default or custom characters. |
| Price | Free forever. Basic, the AI mocap plan, is $10 a month billed yearly or $12 month to month. | Free, no credit card. Starter is $9 a month billed yearly or $15 month to month. |
| Free video capture | 30 seconds of Vision AI video processing a month. | 25 credits a month. 1 credit is 1 second. Clips up to 20 seconds. Credits do not roll over. |
| Text to motion | Unlimited text-to-motion clips, 5 imports into Studio a month. | A separate product, SayMotion, with 3 credits and 1 download a month on its free plan, also non-commercial. |
| Your own character | Not on the free plan. Import and retarget custom characters starts on Basic. | Up to 3 custom characters. Upload a rigged humanoid FBX or GLB in a T-pose. |
| Export | FBX, with skeleton presets including Mixamo, HumanIK and Unreal Engine Manny. BVH and advanced options are paid. | FBX, BVH, GLB (custom characters only) and MP4, plus JPG, PNG and GIF. |
| Tracking | Body. Finger tracking is unverified for the free plan. | Body, face and hand, 2 people at once, physics filter and auto foot locking. Slow motion handling and motion smoothing are paid. |
| Input limits | Not published for the free plan (unverified). | MP4, MOV or AVI, up to 100 MB, 1080p and 30 FPS, 1 free rerun. |
| Install | Vision runs in the browser. Rokoko Studio is a free desktop app for Windows 10 64-bit or Apple silicon Macs. | Nothing to install. Runs in the browser. |
| Commercial use | Yes. Rokoko Create's FAQ says all video-to-motion and text-to-motion data can be used commercially. | No. Freemium is personal, non-commercial use. Licensed animation needs a premium plan. |
Engine support
Neither tool needs a plugin for the basic workflow. You export a file and import it into your engine. Rokoko's live streaming plugins for Unity, Unreal and Blender are for paid plans, and you do not need them for video mocap.
| Engine | Rokoko | DeepMotion |
|---|---|---|
| Unity | Export FBX and import it. Unity's docs say FBX is its internal import format. Set the rig to Humanoid to reuse the clip on other humanoid characters. | Export FBX. DeepMotion says Unity and Unreal can retarget with their own auto mapping, or you can retarget onto your custom character before download. |
| Unreal Engine | Pick the Unreal Engine Manny skeleton preset when you export the FBX, which saves retargeting work. | Export FBX and retarget with Unreal's IK Retargeter. |
| Godot | FBX imports with the built-in ufbx importer in Godot 4.3 and later, per Godot's 3D formats page. | Download GLB with your custom character, Godot's preferred format, or use FBX. |
| Web (three.js) | Load the FBX with FBXLoader, or convert to GLB in Blender. | Load the GLB with GLTFLoader. |
The tools
Rokoko
Motion capture tools, including Rokoko Vision, which turns an ordinary video into 3D character animation, plus text-to-motion, inside the browser-based Rokoko Create.
Pricing: Freemium, from $10/mo (billed yearly). Beginner rating: 5/5. Video mocap needs no special hardware: upload a clip in your browser. Editing, skeleton presets and export happen in the free Rokoko Studio desktop app.
The best free AI mocap for a game you will sell, and the most free seconds of the two. The catches: no custom characters on the free plan, FBX only, and you need the Rokoko Studio desktop app to edit and pick a skeleton preset.
DeepMotion
Animate 3D turns ordinary videos into 3D character animations with AI motion capture, retargeted onto default or your own uploaded characters.
Pricing: Freemium, from $9/mo (billed yearly). Beginner rating: 5/5. Upload a video and get animation.
The easiest way to see a video turned into motion on your own character, all in the browser, with GLB export and face and hand tracking. The catch: everything you make on Freemium is for personal, non-commercial use, so redo it on a paid plan before you ship.
Who each tool is best for as a beginner
Rokoko is best for you if...
- You want a few custom moves, like a wave, a sword swing or a victory dance, in a game you plan to sell.
- Your character already uses a Mixamo or Unreal Manny skeleton, so a skeleton preset is all the retargeting you need.
- You have a Windows PC or an Apple silicon Mac for Rokoko Studio.
- You want to try text-to-motion for simple moves like walking or dancing.
DeepMotion is best for you if...
- You are learning and want to see your own character move before you commit to anything.
- You need GLB for Godot or a browser game, or face and hand motion.
- You are on a Chromebook or Intel Mac and cannot run Rokoko Studio.
- You will pay for Starter, $9 a month billed yearly, before you ship anything you made.
Try both on the same clip
- Film one clip. One person, whole body in frame, steady camera, good light. Trim it to the move you need, under 20 seconds, so it fits DeepMotion's clip limit and both free allowances.
- Get a rigged character. Rig your model in Mixamo first if it has no skeleton. Our rigging guide covers models from Meshy, Tripo or Rodin.
- Run it in Rokoko. Upload the clip to Rokoko Create, open it in Rokoko Studio, and export an FBX with the skeleton preset that matches your character, such as Mixamo.
- Run it in DeepMotion. Upload your rigged character (T-pose, feet on the ground, about 1.7 m tall, unique joint names with no spaces), then upload the clip in Animate 3D and download FBX or GLB.
- Compare in your engine. Import both and watch the feet, hands and hips. Keep the Rokoko clip if you will sell the game, or upgrade DeepMotion if its result is the one you need.
Licensing gotchas
- DeepMotion Freemium clips cannot ship. Its FAQ says Freemium is for personal, non-commercial use and that a premium plan is needed for licensed animation. Earning free credits through its labeling program does not change that. Only your plan type decides the license.
- Rokoko's commercial grant is in an FAQ. Rokoko Create's FAQ says all generated data from video-to-motion and text-to-motion can be used commercially. We did not read the full Studio, Preview and Create Terms of Use, so check them before a big release.
- The person in the video matters. Film yourself or someone who agreed to it. Do not capture motion from someone else's footage, like a movie clip or another creator's video.
- Your character has its own license. Neither tool changes the license of a model you generated or downloaded. A free Meshy model, for example, is CC BY 4.0 and needs credit. See Can I sell a game made with AI art?
What we could not verify
- Whether Rokoko Vision tracks fingers on the free Starter plan, and the maximum clip length, file size and resolution it accepts.
- Whether Rokoko's free plan includes every skeleton preset. Its help center says Starter can choose a skeleton preset but not override presets.
- The full wording of Rokoko's Studio, Preview and Create Terms of Use.
- DeepMotion's monthly free allowance in seconds. Its pricing table says 25 credits, while an older FAQ answer says up to 60 seconds. We went with the pricing table.
- Output quality. We did not run test clips for this comparison, so we do not rank the two on accuracy.
Sources, checked October 31, 2026: Rokoko pricing and FAQ, Rokoko Create and FAQ, Rokoko Vision, Rokoko plans explained, Rokoko Studio requirements, Rokoko export options, DeepMotion pricing (Animate 3D and SayMotion tables), DeepMotion Animate 3D FAQ, DeepMotion custom characters, Animate 3D, Godot 3D formats, Unity model formats, Unreal IK Retargeter.
Related
For the whole free animation pipeline, from Mixamo clips to Blender and your engine, read How to animate a 3D character for free. Need a skeleton first? See How to rig an AI-generated 3D model for free and Mixamo vs AccuRIG. Want to hand animate instead? Compare Mixamo vs Cascadeur. Need a character? Try the best free AI 3D model generators. Browse every animation tool, or see all guides.
FAQ
Is Rokoko or DeepMotion better for a beginner?
For a game you plan to sell, start with Rokoko. Its free Starter plan gives 30 seconds of Vision AI video processing a month, and Rokoko Create's FAQ says all video-to-motion and text-to-motion data can be used commercially. DeepMotion's free Freemium plan is better for practice: it gives 25 seconds a month and retargets the motion onto up to 3 of your own characters, but it is for personal, non-commercial use only.
Can I sell a game with animations from the free plans?
Rokoko, yes: Rokoko Create's FAQ says all generated data from video-to-motion and text-to-motion can be used commercially, and its pricing page does not limit that to paid plans. DeepMotion, no: its pricing page shows no commercial license on Freemium, and its FAQ says Freemium accounts are for personal, non-commercial use and you need a premium plan to have licensed animation. Starter, the cheapest premium plan, is $9 a month billed yearly or $15 month to month (checked October 31, 2026).
How many seconds of free AI motion capture do I get?
Rokoko Starter: 30 seconds of Vision AI video processing a month. DeepMotion Freemium: 25 animation credits a month, where 1 credit is 1 second of animation, with clips up to 20 seconds. Face and hand tracking on DeepMotion cost an extra 0.5 credit per second each. An older answer in DeepMotion's FAQ still says 60 seconds a month, but its pricing table says 25 credits, so plan on 25.
Can I put the motion on my own character for free?
On DeepMotion, yes. Freemium lets you upload up to 3 custom characters as rigged, humanoid FBX or GLB files, and the animation comes back retargeted onto them. On Rokoko, importing and retargeting custom characters starts on the paid Basic plan. On the free plan you export an FBX with a skeleton preset such as Mixamo, HumanIK or Unreal Engine Manny, then retarget it in your engine or in Blender.
Which one exports GLB for Godot or the web?
DeepMotion exports FBX, BVH, GLB and MP4 on Freemium, but its FAQ says GLB only works with custom characters. Rokoko's free plan exports FBX only. BVH, CSV and advanced export options need a paid plan. Godot 4.3 and later import FBX with the built-in ufbx importer, so both work in Godot, and you can convert either to GLB in Blender for three.js.
Do I need to install anything?
DeepMotion Animate 3D runs in your browser. Rokoko Vision runs in your browser too, and Rokoko's pricing FAQ says it can generate an FBX there. To edit, loop, pick a skeleton preset or export with options, you use Rokoko Studio, a free desktop app for Windows 10 64-bit or an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or newer). Rokoko says Intel Macs are not supported.
What kind of video works best?
Both tools capture human motion from a single camera. Film one person with the whole body in frame, in good light, and keep the clip short so you do not burn free seconds on standing still. DeepMotion's Freemium plan accepts MP4, MOV and AVI uploads up to 100 MB, 1080p and 30 FPS.
