Skip to content

13 Best Adobe Animate Alternatives for Creative Animation

Adobe Animate, formerly known as Flash, has dominated the 2D animation landscape for decades. With features like vector animations, interactivity support, and seamless integration across the Adobe suite, it‘s easy to see why Animate became an industry standard.

However, Animate isn‘t for everyone. Between its high costs, steep learning curve, and missing features, many animators are looking for alternatives that better fit their needs and budgets.

In this guide, we‘ll explore the top 13 Adobe Animate alternatives for 2D animation. For each option, we‘ll cover key capabilities, advantages, pricing, and ideal users so you can find your perfect fit. Let‘s dive in!

Why Consider Alternatives to Adobe Animate?

Before reviewing individual tools, let’s look at some of the common reasons animators seek alternatives:

Cost – Animate sits within Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite. That carries a monthly or annual payment, often too expensive for freelancers and small studios. Alternatives can provide lower cost options.

Features – While capable for vector 2D animation, Animate lacks more advanced tools like bone rigging, cutout animation, 3D capabilities that some alternatives specialize in.

Platform Support – Many alternatives support Windows, Mac, and Linux. Animate works only on Windows and Mac.

Learning Curve – Animate has a steep learning curve. Alternatives aimed at beginners offer shallower paths to get up and running.

Now let’s look at key capabilities to evaluate in any Animate alternative.

Key Animation Capabilities to Look For

When researching alternatives, keep these animation and workflow features in mind:

Vector and Raster Support – Vector makes for clean scalable graphics but raster brings a more natural, hand-drawn look. Having both creates flexibility.

Intuitive Interface – Well-designed tools, minimal clutter, and easy workflows let creativity shine rather than fight software.

2D Animation Rigging – Rigging tools like bones, pivot points, mesh deformation help greatly when animating characters or objects.

Interactive Content – Support for HTML5, JavaScript and libraries like CreateJS help build interactive animations, games and more.

Cross-Platform Support – Software working across Windows, Mac, and Linux prevent platform locking and expand access.

Pricing Options – Options range from free open-source to paid one-time licenses to cloud-based subscriptions. Budget and access help guide choices.

Now let’s explore 13 leading alternatives that stand out across these dimensions.

1. Synfig Studio – Powerful Open-Source Solution

Synfig Studio is an impressive open-source 2D animation tool. Completely free and backed by an active community, it’s packed with pro animation features.

Why Choose Synfig Studio?

  • Extensive 2D animation toolset – Synfig offers layers, curves, filters, gradients, distortion tools, transformations and more for intricate animation capabilities rivalling premium tools.

  • Open source – Freely available under GPL, you get full usage and access without any subscription or licensing fees.

  • Active community – Backed by an enthusiastic community of contributors providing support, tutorials, brushes and other resources.

For animators on a budget looking for pro 2D tools without compromise, Synfig Studio is a stellar choice. The open-source access delivers immense value not matched elsewhere.

2. Blender – Go-To for 3D Animation

While mainly known as a 3D software, Blender also brings sophisticated 2D animation tools as well. With a focus on cutout and hand-drawn styles, it’s great for anime, cartoons and sprite-based projects.

Key 2D Animation Features in Blender:

  • Character animation – Robust suite for animating 3D and 2D characters via meshes, rigging, armature deformation, shape keys and more.

  • Grease Pencil – Blender’s 2D animation system supporting hand-drawn frame-by-frame rotoscoping animation styles. Offers layers, onion skinning, and conversion to meshes.

  • Integrated workflows – Easily blend 2D, 3D and composting into consistent pipelines within Blender vs. moving across tools.

As an integrated animation package for both 2D and 3D, Blender delivers outstanding value. With Grease Pencil and full 2D pipelines improving steadily, it’s a rising go-to for budget-conscious animators and studios.

3. Anime Studio – Feature-Rich Toon Creation

Anime Studio by Smith Micro targets anime and cartoon styles via bone rigging, specialized tools and integration benefits with the Moho brand.

Key Differentiators for Anime Studio:

  • Character rigging – Robust bone, weighting, mesh tools for animating cutout anime/cartoon characters. Far easier than frame-by-frame.

  • Specialized features – Unique tools like motion tracking, physics simulations tailored for common anime actions like hair, cloth movements.

  • Pipeline integration – Sister software Moho offers advanced illustration tools that integrate cleanly with Anime Studio animation.

For those focused on anime and cartoon animation, Anime Studio delivers an unrivaled feature set. The bone rigging and profile-based tools are perfect for animating expressive characters efficiently.

4. Pencil2D – Simple Yet Powerful Speed-Based Tool

Pencil2D takes a minimalist approach while still supporting raster and vector workflows. Made for quick animation sketching rather than fully-featured production, it hits a nice balance.

Where Pencil2D Shines:

  • Speed – Simple uncluttered interface focused on fast workflow rather than tools. Great for animatics, storyboarding, prototyping phases.

  • Open source – Free and open source, working across Linux, Mac, Windows. Ongoing community development keeps progress steady.

  • Beginner friendly – Clean UI and uncomplicated toolset make getting up and running far easier for animation newcomers.

For those wanting a fast, free way to kickstart 2D animations, Pencil2D is quite capable. Don’t expect a huge feature set, but its simplicity does encourage creativity. Easier than most for first-time animators to pick up.

5. Opentoonz – Studio Ghibli Pedigree

Opentoonz carries the pedigree of animation legends Studio Ghibli behind it. Originally a commercial solution, it was later open sourced to bring professional 2D animation tools to the masses.

Why Opentoonz Stands Out:

  • Advanced toolset – Full suite tackling scanning, illustration, animation, production management based on the creators of famed classics like Spirited Away.

  • Traditional techniques – Specialized tools mirror real-world animation processes. Unique solutions hard to find elsewhere.

  • Free (open source) – Originally a commercial system costing thousands, open sourcing expanded access greatly. Ongoing community development.

For animators looking to learn tools and techniques straight from legendary 2D masters, Opentoonz delivers something truly special. Paired with its open source licensing, it provides immense educational value.

6. Toon Boom Harmony – Industry Leader for Studios

Developed by animators for animators, Toon Boom Harmony stands as a premier premium 2D solution. Used across indie studios and major players like Disney and Netflix, it sits atop the professional animation world.

Why Harmony Leads in Studios:

  • Production pipeline features – Asset management, integration support, multi-user tools tailored for larger studio environments and flows.

  • Advanced animation toolset – Layers, deformers, control curves, inverse kinematics, realistic motion effects leverage deep animation expertise.

  • Industry adoption – Trusted by leading studios and brands because it reliably handles end-to-end animation pipelines at scale.

As the choice for major animation studios and films, Harmony delivers a polished, battle-hardened set catering to intense production demands. For independent animators it may prove overpowered, but startups scaling up find immense value going pro with Harmony.

7. TVPaint – Specialized Hand-Drawn Animation

French software TVPaint focuses squarely on traditional frame-by-frame and rotoscoping techniques. Offering advanced hand-drawn tools unmatched elsewhere, it occupies a comfortable niche.

TVPaint’s Sweet Spot:

  • Real media integration – Pulls in video, image sequences, audio files to rotoscope over. Lets you leverage real-world assets in drawn work.

  • Advanced drawing tools – Specialized brushes, color palettes, raster/vector flexibility makes digital drawing feel natural and fluid. Mimics real media feel.

  • Light tablets – Onion skinning, overlay views keep previous frames visible so hand-drawn animations stay smooth and consistent during drafting.

For those who love traditional drawing and rotoscoping tactics, TVPaint simply has no rival. Its specialized toolset makes the software almost disappear, enabling artists to focus completely on creative flow.

8. Krita – Free Digital Painting Software

Krita is a full-featured digital painting solution loved by concept artists, illustrators and texture artists. With recent animation updates, it now brings those realistic brushes into basic 2D workflows.

Krita’s Animation Strengths:

  • Natural media brushes – Leverages unique brush engine for wonderfully realistic oils, pencils, chalk brushes responding to pressure, tilt for natural feel.

  • Concept art integration – Deep suite for illustration, textures makes it easy to integrate digital concept art assets into animation.

  • Free and open source – User community sponsored model funds ongoing robust development and product support.

For indie animators already comfortable concepting in Krita who want to extend into basic animation, it offers a great bridge through familiar tools. Budget users get immense value from a pro-grade digital painting suite at the unmatched price of $0.

9. DigiCel Flipbook – Traditional Hand-Drawn Animation

DigiCel Flipbook targets the traditional animation crowd using old-school hand-drawn approaches. Its streamlined interface stays out of the way to keep artists in their creative flow.

Where Flipbook Wins for Traditionalists:

  • Pure focus on hand-drawn – Sticks to the basics (pencils, onionskinning) without distractions of vectors, rigging, effects. Just draw.

  • Great natural media feel – Accuracy of lines, software disappearing during work makes it feel like analog drawing.

  • Cost – At $50 for a perpetual license it removes ongoing costs barriers to just animate.

Traditionalists wanting to ditch paper without ditching technique find the perfect companion in Flipbook. It brings back the joy to just grab a pencil and draw minus paper cuts. Streamlined simplicity at a great one-time price.

10. MonkingMe – Beginner Friendly Web Solution

Cloud platform MonkingMe makes online animation creation super simple. Using basic drag and drop actions to manipulate pre-made content, it offers beginners instant gratification.

MonkingMe Benefits:

  • Instant start – Pick objects, characters, write dialog. Make a scene. Drag and drop actions require no animation skills.

  • Web-based – Cloud delivery works anywhere. No download installs or complex desktop software to manage.

  • Developer integrations – API and source code access encourage building plugins, importing assets and extending possibilities.

For total newcomers just dipping toes in animation waters, MonkingMe lets instant scene creation go straight online. Its friendly tools won’t take you far into advanced techniques but do let you quickly share basic animated stories. Great to inspire future exploration after that first positive experience.

11. CelAction 2D – Made for Game Animators

CelAction 2D tailors 2D animation needs towards game development. With specialized tools for sprite sheets, tilesets and palette management, it streamlines asset animation workflows.

Why CelAction 2D Stands Out for Game Devs:

  • Sprite sheet animation – Tailored tools for animating, arranging and exporting packs of character poses, sequences, objects specifically formatted for game engines.

  • Pixel precision – Retains exact pixel data critical for maintaining precision of sprites mapped to game worlds and mechanics without artifacts.

  • Palette management – Great color palette tools enforce consistency across all frames/assets sharing limited in-game color ranges.

For indie devs working solo or small teams covering both art and coding, CelAction 2D provides an efficient animation bridge into targeted sprite-based game asset production.

12. RoughAnimator – Capturing Rough Sketches

RoughAnimator takes rough hand-drawn animation sketches and converts vector lines into smoothly animated clips. It saves tons of drawing cleanup time.

RoughAnimator Advantages:

  • Maintains original sketch – Converts rough scanned sketches without losing raw pencil vibes that make traditional fun. Doesn’t over-polish.

  • Cleans up lines – Takes rough waves and odd shapes, smooths lines into cleaner versions ready to hold shapes consistently across frames.

  • Saves cleanup time – Rather than manually redrawing to fix every frame, software handles fixing sketch variance saving massive effort.

For traditional animators, RoughAnimator perfectly bridges the analog to digital divide. It eliminates tedious clean up tasks so artists spend less time erasing and more time creating.

13. moho Anime & Cartoon Studio – Perfect for Beginners

Part of Smith Micro’s animation suite, Moho Anime Studio (formerly Anime Studio Debut) distills advanced tools down to basics perfect for hobbyists.

Ideal for First-Timers:

  • Straightforward interface – Comprised of simple elements like a timeline, stage, layer manager and color swatches without visual overload.

  • Great included assets – Comes loaded with backgrounds, pre-made characters, props. Just drag, drop and animate.

  • Affordable cost – Very budget friendly at $80 for perpetual license. One easy payment unlocks ongoing access.

For animation beginners, Moho offers an easy path to start seeing fun results fast without cost or complexity barriers. Great inspiration to keep pushing the craft further.

Key Differences Compared to Adobe Animate

Now that we’ve explored individual options, let’s compare them to Adobe Animate across a few key dimensions:

Cost – Beyond open source options, all alternatives have lower license prices than Animate (part of $20+/month Creative Cloud). One year of Animate matches multi-year access costs elsewhere.

Features – Animate focused mainly on vector 2D animation and web interactivity. Alternatives like Toon Boom, Blender, Synfig offer richer rigging, raster capabilities. Some specialize uniquely in hand-drawn (TVPaint) or game dev (CelAction).

Platforms – Animate runs on Windows and Mac. Most leading alternatives work across Windows, Mac AND Linux for maximal flexibility.

Learning curves – Many alternatives have shallower onramps for beginners vs Animate’s steeper curve. But advanced production-ready tools pack complexity. Need aligns choice to skill levels.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Adobe Animate cast a long shadow across animation for good reason. Its web strengths resonated strongly with many creators. But limitations left opportunity for alternatives to address specialized areas Animate missed.

For beginners, Pencil2D, MonkingMe and Moho make animation far more approachable. Traditionalists have unmatched hand-drawn tools in TVPaint and Flipbook. Studios needing scalable pipelines turn to ToonBoom Harmony. And nearly everyone benefits from open-source powerhouses Synfig Studio, Blender and Opentoonz.

No tool ranks best across all criteria. Choose based on your budget, style and goals to find just the right environment where creativity flows free. Then animate happily ever after!

Tags: