OpenToonz vs Adobe Animate

OpenToonz8.9Visit Adobe Animate8.6Visit

Higher score OpenToonz #5 in Animation Software 8.9/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 5 features Visit OpenToonz

vs

Adobe Animate #8 in Animation Software 8.6/10 7-day trial Free trial✓ 3 of 5 features Visit Adobe Animate

• OpenToonz fits best

  Free, capable 2D animation production

• Adobe Animate fits best

  2D web and interactive content animation

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Side by side

Feature	OpenToonz 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Adobe Animate 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.6
Ranking	#5 in Animation Software	#8 in Animation Software
Best for	Free, capable 2D animation production	2D web and interactive content animation
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	—
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	7 days
Deployment	Desktop	Cloud, Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS
Support	Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features OpenToonz 2/5 · Adobe Animate 3/5
2D animation tools	✓	✓
3D modeling	—	Not checked yet
Character rigging	✓	✓
Motion graphics	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Cloud collaboration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	windows, macos, linux	windows, macos
Export formats	3GP, AVI, BMP, GIF, JPG, MOV, MP4, PNG, RGB, SGI, Spritesheet, TGA, TIF, TIFF, WebM	HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, Flash/Adobe AIR, SVG, GIF, BMP, SWF, JPG, PICT, PNG, MOV, WAV, AVI
Our review
Pros	Free and open source across Windows, macOS, and Linux Covers drawing, scanning, compositing, rigging, and rendering Supports batch rendering and network render farms	Frame-by-frame animation, motion tweens, and shape tweens HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, SVG, and other publishing formats Creative Cloud integration with Photoshop and Illustrator
Cons	MP4 and WebM output require FFmpeg MOV support requires 32-bit QuickTime Listed Windows and macOS requirements are older versions	No free plan Available only on Windows and macOS Maintenance mode means no new feature development
Our verdict	OpenToonz is open-source 2D animation software published by DWANGO Co., Ltd. It is designed for commercial and non-commercial projects, with tools spanning drawing, frame-by-frame animation, digital painting, scanning, compositing,… Read the review →	Adobe Animate is a desktop application for creating vector animations, cartoons, banner ads, games, interactive web content, educational material, and multimedia experiences. Its timeline-based workflow combines vector drawing and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• OpenToonz — where it wins

  • Free and open source across Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Covers drawing, scanning, compositing, rigging, and rendering
  • Supports batch rendering and network render farms

  Where it doesn't

  • MP4 and WebM output require FFmpeg
  • MOV support requires 32-bit QuickTime
  • Listed Windows and macOS requirements are older versions

• Adobe Animate — where it wins

  • Frame-by-frame animation, motion tweens, and shape tweens
  • HTML5 Canvas, WebGL, SVG, and other publishing formats
  • Creative Cloud integration with Photoshop and Illustrator

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Available only on Windows and macOS
  • Maintenance mode means no new feature development

• OpenToonz8.9/10 · Free plan

  A free, broad 2D animation suite for production workflows across three desktop platforms.

  Visit OpenToonzFull verdict →
• Adobe Animate8.6/10 · 7-day trial

  A capable 2D desktop animator for web and interactive content, now in maintenance mode.

  Visit Adobe AnimateFull verdict →