Motion transfer vs face swap, and which one you need

Updated October 21, 2026 · Reviewed by The Rift team

Short answer

Face swap pastes a new face onto the person already in the video, so the body, hair and clothes stay theirs. Motion transfer takes the movement from the video and puts it on a whole new person from a photo, so everything matches. For dances, outfits and full-body trends, motion transfer looks more like you. Rift, an iPhone app, does full-person remakes with Spark.

Both put you in a video you didn’t film. They get there differently, and the difference shows.

Face swap

Replaces only the face.
Keeps the original person’s body, hair, skin and clothes.
Works for close-ups where you only see a face.
Falls apart in full-body shots: the head says one person, the body says another.

Motion transfer

Takes the movement, camera and timing from the video.
Puts a whole new person from your photo through it: face, body, hair, clothes.
Looks like you from head to toe.
Suits dances, walks, outfits and sports.

Which to use

You want	Use
A dance or walk-in trend	Motion transfer
You in someone’s outfit	Motion transfer, “in her outfit”
A quick talking-head joke	Face swap, if your app does it
Your pet doing the moves	Motion transfer

In Rift

Rift remakes the whole person. Share the video, add your photo and say “same moves, it’s me”. Want to keep the original outfit? Say so. Check the Draft, then tap Make for a video up to 15 seconds. To try it, see copy the moves in a video on iPhone or swap a person in a video.

Questions people ask

Why do face swaps look off?

The head is yours but the body, skin tone, hair and build are someone else's, and people notice.

Is motion transfer harder?

Not for you. You share the video and add a photo; Spark handles the rest.

Which one is better for a dance trend?

Motion transfer, because the whole body that moves is you.

Can I keep the original person's outfit?

Yes. Say "me, but in her outfit".