A Sapphire alternative for glow, shadows and shake
Boris FX Sapphire is the big effects suite of the industry. If what you use most is glow, drop shadows and camera shake, OTCU FX covers those for about a tenth of the yearly price.
Three effects instead of 270, at a fraction of the price
Sapphire has more than 270 effects and transitions and 3,000 presets, includes Mocha tracking, and runs in almost every editing app, on Windows, macOS and Linux. It costs $545 a year, $80 a month, or $1,865 to own.
OTCU FX has three effects (Glow, Drop Shadow and Shake), runs in After Effects and Premiere Pro on Windows, and costs $50 once with a year of updates, or $40 a year.
We make one of the two, so weigh this page with that in mind. Sapphire's figures come from Boris FX and the press, linked at the bottom.
OTCU FX and Sapphire
| OTCU FX | Boris FX Sapphire | |
|---|---|---|
| Effects | 3: Glow, Drop Shadow, Shake | 270+ effects and transitions, 3,000+ presets |
| Price | $50 once (12 months of updates) or $40 a year | $545 a year, $80 a month, or $1,865 to own |
| Runs on | Windows | Windows, macOS and Linux |
| Host apps | After Effects (GPU), Premiere Pro | After Effects, Premiere Pro, Avid, DaVinci Resolve and other OFX hosts |
| Free trial | 14 days, starts by itself, no account | Yes |
When Sapphire is the better choice
- You need more than glow, shadows and shake: Sapphire's transitions, lens flares, blurs, distortions and its hundreds of other effects have no match here.
- You work on a Mac or Linux, or in DaVinci Resolve, Avid or another OFX host.
- You track with Mocha inside the effects (Sapphire includes it; we don't).
- Your studio already runs on Sapphire and its presets.
When ours is the better buy
- Glow is what you use most. OTCU Glow has the controls of Sapphire's UltraGlow (threshold, separate widths for red, green and blue, after glow, streaks) in a glow computed in linear light. Mocha tracking is not included.
- Speed. Measured at 1080p on an RTX 5070 Ti: Glow 0.35 to 0.7 ms, Drop Shadow 0.24 to 0.8 ms, Shake 0.14 ms per frame on the GPU.
- You'd rather own it. $50 once and that version is yours to keep, with 12 months of updates; or $40 a year with the same keep-your-version fallback.
- Every new effect is included in your updates.
Questions
Is OTCU FX a full replacement for Sapphire?
No. It replaces Sapphire for glow, drop shadows and camera shake. For Sapphire's other effects there is no match here yet.
Can I try both?
Yes. Ours has a 14-day trial that starts by itself when you install it, without an account. Boris FX offers a Sapphire trial too.
Does OTCU FX run on a Mac?
Not yet. It is for Windows 10 and 11; a macOS version is planned.
Where these facts come from
Checked on October 18, 2026. Prices change: check borisfx.com before you buy.
- Sapphire: Boris FX's Sapphire page (270+ effects and transitions, 3,000+ presets, Mocha tracking included; After Effects, Premiere Pro, Avid, DaVinci Resolve and other OFX hosts; Windows, macOS and Linux; Adobe / OFX: $80 a month, $545 a year, $1,865 perpetual; free trial), and Boris FX, "Sapphire 2026".
- Ours: the OTCU FX page. Render times are our own measurements: 1080p, Intel i9-12900KF, NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti.