Toon Boom Harmony vs Rive

Toon Boom Harmony9.3Visit Rive8.5Visit

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

Rive #9 in Animation Software 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Rive

• Toon Boom Harmony fits best

  Professional hand-drawn and rigged 2D animation

• Rive fits best

  Interactive vector animation for apps and games

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Side by side

Feature	Toon Boom Harmony 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Rive 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	8.5
Ranking	#1 in Animation Software	#9 in Animation Software
Best for	Professional hand-drawn and rigged 2D animation	Interactive vector animation for apps and games
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$55.50/user/yr	$9/seat/mo
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	14 days	—
Deployment	Desktop	Cloud, Desktop
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
Support	Community, Docs, Tickets · 24/7	Community, Docs
Integrations	4 integrations	11 integrations
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Toon Boom Harmony 2/5 · Rive 4/5
2D animation tools	✓	✓
3D modeling	—	Not checked yet
Character rigging	✓	✓
Motion graphics	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Cloud collaboration	—	✓ (best)
Specs
Supported platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	web, windows, macos, linux, ios, android
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	RIV, REV, MP4, GIF, PNG sequence, WebM
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	Visual state machines, responsive layouts, and data binding Open-source runtimes for web, mobile, and game engines Free plan plus collaboration, libraries, and cloud rendering
Cons	No free plan is available The three editions offer different capability levels More specialized than tools aimed at general-purpose animation	The product is centered on interactive animation rather than broad motion graphics Free is limited to 3 collaborative files Cadet supports a maximum of 3 seats
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 →	Rive brings vector design, timeline animation, state machines, responsive layouts, and data binding into one workspace. It is aimed at designers, animators, and developers creating interactive graphics for websites, mobile applications,… 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

• Rive — where it wins

  • Visual state machines, responsive layouts, and data binding
  • Open-source runtimes for web, mobile, and game engines
  • Free plan plus collaboration, libraries, and cloud rendering

  Where it doesn't

  • The product is centered on interactive animation rather than broad motion graphics
  • Free is limited to 3 collaborative files
  • Cadet supports a maximum of 3 seats

• 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 →
• Rive8.5/10 · Free plan

  A focused toolkit for building interactive animations with design, state logic, and runtimes.

  Visit RiveFull verdict →