Best 2D Character Animation Software in 2026
Updated
48ranked
3free plans on this page
$0.58/molowest paid tier
9 Oct 2026last checked
Input list 2D Character Animation Software 23 channels on this page · 83 of 184 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromAnimation workflowBone riggingMesh deformationLip syncSupported platformsExport formats Spec sheet Score
26 SpineBones Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsnot statedExport formatsnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.6
27 Adobe Character Animator Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOSExport formatsH.264 video, PNG sequence, WAV audio, PNG still image 3/8spec lines stated 6.5
28 CACANi Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowframe-by-frameBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformswindowsExport formatsimage sequences, GIF, AVI, MP4, MOV 4/8spec lines stated 6.5
29 Cartoon Animator Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformswindowsExport formatsMOV, WMV, AVI, MP4, MPG, MPEG, popVideo, JPG, PNG, BMP, TGA, GIF, SWF, ProRes 4444 3/8spec lines stated 6.5
30 Creature Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsnot statedExport formatsnot stated 2/8spec lines stated 6.5
31 Toon Boom Harmony Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, LinuxExport formatsMOV, 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 3/8spec lines stated 6.4
32 Animation Paper Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, LinuxExport formatsMP4, GIF, ProRes MOV, PNG, OpenEXR, OCA 2/8spec lines stated 6.3
33 Stretchy Studio Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsnot statedExport formatsSpine JSON 2/8spec lines stated 6.3
34 TupiTube Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, Linux, AndroidExport formatsvideo files; specific formats not stated on the opened documentation page 3/8spec lines stated 6.3
35 CelAction2D Free planNoPaid from$70/moAnimation workflowriggedBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows 10/11; macOS via Boot Camp or ParallelsExport formatsnot stated 6/8spec lines stated 6.2
36 SpriteForge Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsnot statedExport formatsnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 6.2
37 TVPaint Animation Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, LinuxExport formatsBMP, GIF, JPG, PNG, PSD, TGA, TIFF, AVI, MKV, MOV, MP4, WebM, OGG, JSON, CSV, FLI 3/8spec lines stated 6.2
38 Umamo Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, LinuxExport formats.uma, .cmo3, .moc3 3/8spec lines stated 6.2
39 Adobe Animate Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformswindows, macosExport formatsHTML5 Canvas, WebGL, Flash/Adobe AIR, SVG, GIF, BMP, SWF, JPG, PICT, PNG, MOV, WAV, AVI 3/8spec lines stated 6.0
40 DragonBones Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowriggedBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, MacExport formatsJSON (DragonBones and Egret MovieClip data) 6/8spec lines stated 6.0
41 Kage Studio Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowhybridBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOS, GNU/LinuxExport formatsHTML5 canvas, PNG sequence, spritesheet, SVG, MP4, MKV, OGV, AVI, MOV, KonsolScript 4/8spec lines stated 6.0
42 ToonSquid Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowhybridBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncYesSupported platformsiosExport formatsMP4, MOV, GIF, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, TGA, PSD, TSProj 7/8spec lines stated 6.0
43 DigiCel FlipBook Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowframe-by-frameBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, macOSExport formatsnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 5.9
44 Enve Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowhybridBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformsWindows, LinuxExport formatsnot stated 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
45 Pivot Animator Free planYesPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowriggedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformswindowsExport formatsGIF, APNG, WMV, WEBM, MP4, FFV1, AVI, PNG, JPEG, SVG 4/8spec lines stated 5.8
46 Stickman & Elemento Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowhybridBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncYesSupported platformsWindowsExport formatsMP4, MOV, MPEG, FLV, ASF, M4V, VCD, VOB, SWF, PNG sequence, sprite sheet, animation data 7/8spec lines stated 5.8
47 Procreate Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflownot statedBone riggingnot statedMesh deformationnot statedLip syncnot statedSupported platformsnot statedExport formatsnot stated 1/8spec lines stated 5.7
48 Marionette Studio Free planNoPaid fromnot statedAnimation workflowriggedBone riggingYesMesh deformationYesLip syncnot statedSupported platformswebExport formatsPNG, GIF, sprite sheet, CSS3/web, video, JSON sprite atlas, game-engine formats 6/8spec lines stated 5.6
Compare all 23 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Animation workflow | Bone rigging |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | SpineBones | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 27 | Adobe Character Animator | 6.5 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 28 | CACANi | 6.5 | No | — | No | — | frame-by-frame | — |
| 29 | Cartoon Animator | 6.5 | No | $149/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 30 | Creature | 6.5 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 31 | Toon Boom Harmony | 6.4 | No | $6.75/mo | No | — | — | — |
| 32 | Animation Paper | 6.3 | No | $79/mo | — | — | — | — |
| 33 | Stretchy Studio | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 34 | TupiTube | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 35 | CelAction2D | 6.2 | No | $11.67/mo | No | 70 /mo | rigged | Yes |
| 36 | SpriteForge | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | — | — |
| 37 | TVPaint Animation | 6.2 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 38 | Umamo | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 39 | Adobe Animate | 6.0 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 40 | DragonBones | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | rigged | Yes |
| 41 | Kage Studio | 6.0 | No | — | Yes | — | hybrid | — |
| 42 | ToonSquid | 6.0 | No | — | No | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 43 | DigiCel FlipBook | 5.9 | No | — | No | — | frame-by-frame | — |
| 44 | Enve | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 45 | Pivot Animator | 5.8 | No | — | Yes | — | rigged | — |
| 46 | Stickman & Elemento | 5.8 | No | — | No | — | hybrid | Yes |
| 47 | Procreate | 5.7 | No | — | No | — | — | — |
| 48 | Marionette Studio | 5.6 | No | $0.58/mo | No | — | rigged | Yes |
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