Toon Boom Harmony vs Blender

Toon Boom Harmony9.3Visit Blender9.2Visit

Higher score Toon Boom Harmony #1 in Animation Software 9.3/10 14-day trial Free trial✓ 2 of 5 features Visit Toon Boom

vs

Blender #2 in Animation Software 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Blender

• Toon Boom Harmony fits best

  Professional hand-drawn and rigged 2D animation

• Blender fits best

  Broad, professional 3D animation on a free budget

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Side by side

Feature	Toon Boom Harmony 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Blender 9.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	9.2
Ranking	#1 in Animation Software	#2 in Animation Software
Best for	Professional hand-drawn and rigged 2D animation	Broad, professional 3D animation on a free budget
Pricing model	Paid	Free
Starting price	$55.50/user/yr	Free plan
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Community, Docs, Tickets · 24/7	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business
Features Toon Boom Harmony 2/5 · Blender 0/5
2D animation tools	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
3D modeling	—	Not checked yet
Character rigging	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Motion graphics	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Cloud collaboration	—	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Not checked yet
Export formats	MOV, WMV, BMP, DPX, DTEX, JPG, EXR, PAL, PSD, PDF, PNG, SGI, SVG, TIFF, OPT, SCAN, VAR, TGA, YUV, GIF, SWF, JSX, WAV, XML, JSON, ATOM, USDA, USDZ	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports hand-drawn, paperless, and cut-out 2D animation workflows Includes character rigging, compositing, painting, and effects tools Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with multiple export formats	Modeling, sculpting, rigging, animation, and rendering in one suite Free and open-source across Windows, macOS, and Linux Python API, scripting, and STL export support extended workflows
Cons	No free plan is available The three editions offer different capability levels More specialized than tools aimed at general-purpose animation	Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of animation-only users Desktop access can limit teams seeking a browser-based workflow Print utilities are provided through an extension rather than the core suite
Our verdict	Toon Boom Harmony is a desktop animation suite for professional studios, freelancers, students, and enthusiasts. Its focus is hand-drawn and paperless 2D animation, with character rigging, cut-out animation, drawing, painting, compositing,… Read the review →	Blender is a free, open-source 3D creation suite for artists, hobbyists, professionals, and studios. It covers modeling, sculpting, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, motion tracking, video editing, visual effects,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Toon Boom Harmony — where it wins

  • Supports hand-drawn, paperless, and cut-out 2D animation workflows
  • Includes character rigging, compositing, painting, and effects tools
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with multiple export formats

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan is available
  • The three editions offer different capability levels
  • More specialized than tools aimed at general-purpose animation

• Blender — where it wins

  • Modeling, sculpting, rigging, animation, and rendering in one suite
  • Free and open-source across Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Python API, scripting, and STL export support extended workflows

  Where it doesn't

  • Its broad feature set may exceed the needs of animation-only users
  • Desktop access can limit teams seeking a browser-based workflow
  • Print utilities are provided through an extension rather than the core suite

• Toon Boom Harmony9.3/10 · 14-day trial

  A focused 2D suite for hand-drawn, rigged, composited, and effects-driven animation.

  Visit Toon BoomFull verdict →
• Blender9.2/10 · Free plan

  A broad 3D suite for professional animation without software licensing costs.

  Visit BlenderFull verdict →