After Effects target version
Downgrade your project to After Effects 2021
Turn a newer .aep into a file After Effects 2021 opens directly. The conversion runs in your browser, so the file never touches a server. The last AE to use 18.x numbering before Adobe aligned version numbers with the year.
- Target version
- After Effects 2021
- Adobe version number
- 18.0
- Stability
- Experimental
- Source versions that can come down
- 5 (AE 2022 and newer)
- Where the file goes
- Nowhere — it stays in your browser
- Cost
- Free
Which versions can be downgraded to AE 2021
Any AE project newer than 2021 can come down to it.
- AE 2022
- AE 2023
- AE 2024
- AE 2025
- AE 2026
What changes after downgrading to AE 2021
Anything 2021 cannot read is cleared out, which is what lets it open the project. That is the nature of downgrading, not a conversion error. Layers, effects and expressions are kept wherever possible.
- 1
Open the After Effects downgrader and drop in your .aep.
- 2
Pick “AE 2021” as the target version.
- 3
Download the converted file from the browser; your original project stays as it is.
Questions about this page
Can I downgrade a project from the newest AE to 2021?
Yes. 2021 is one of 9 target versions available here.
Is my project uploaded during conversion?
No. After Effects conversion runs entirely inside your browser. The file is never sent to a server, and your original project is never modified.
The result will not open — how do I check?
Confirm the AE you have installed is at least version 18.0. If it is lower, the target you picked is newer than your install.