A good alternative to AE, especially for simpler stuff, is Apple Motion. It works in real time, unlike AE.

I’ve chosen it over AE for all the animated titles I’ve worked on for the past 8 or so years and have had no issues.

Opening AE to update old projects is a chore, never enjoyable. Motion is actually fun to use. I paid once, and they’ve been updating it for free since 2011.