Adobe Character Animator vs Animation Desk
Adobe Character Animator
adobe.com
Animation Desk
kdan.comSide by side
| Figure | Adobe Character Animator | Animation Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $2.49/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 9 | 6 |
| Spec score · 2D Character Animation Software | 9.2 (#3) | 9.3 (#2) |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 9.1 (#8) | 9.1 (#10) |
| Spec score · Cartoon Maker Software | 9.1 (#3) | 9.3 (#1) |
| Company headquarters | Adobe's LinkedIn profile lists San Jose, California as headquarters. | KDAN’s LinkedIn profile lists Irvine, California as headquarters, while its About page describes the company as founded in Taiwan and operating from Tainan. |
| Company size | Adobe's LinkedIn profile lists company size as 10,001+ employees. | LinkedIn lists KDAN at 201–500 employees. |
| Documentation | The help center covers setup, projects, puppet creation, rigging, behaviors, recording, keyframes, export and streaming, plus known issues and release notes. | KDAN provides tutorials for frame control, colors, selection tools, live-action video, layers, onion skin and export, plus a support knowledge base. |
| Export formats | Exports include H.264 video, Adobe Media Encoder output, PNG sequences and WAV audio. | Supported exports listed by the maker include video, images, GIF, Photoshop PSD, PDF and ad.package. |
| Founded | 1982 | 2009 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA | Tainan City, Taiwan |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 33 reviews | 4.6 out of 5 from 11 reviews |
| What it does | Adobe Character Animator is a performance-based 2D animation application that brings layered characters to life in real time. | Animation Desk is 2D software for frame-by-frame animation, cartoons and animatics. |
Plans
Adobe Character Animator
- Character Animator StarterPrice not published
- Character Animator StarterPriced on request
- Creative Cloud Pro for students and teachersPriced on request
- Creative Cloud Pro for students and teachersPrice not published
- Creative Cloud Pro for teamsPrice not published
- Creative Cloud Pro for teamsPriced on request
- StarterFree
- Creative Cloud Pro annual billed monthly$34.99 a month
- Creative Cloud Pro$69.99 a month
Animation Desk
- Animation Desk Pro iOS$2.49 a month
- Creativity 365 for Individuals$4.99 a month
- Animation Desk iOS BasicFree
- Animation Desk iOS - Basic PlanFree
- Animation Desk Pro iOS$2.49 a month
- Creativity 365 for Individuals$4.99 a month
In their own words
Adobe Character Animator
Adobe Character Animator has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Animation Desk
Animation Desk is software for creating animations, cartoons, and animatics on Android, iOS, and Windows. Its tools include paint brushes, layers, onion skinning, sound effects, and frame-rate settings. Work can begin with video clips, photos, or pre-built animation templates, with stock collections, batch frame pasting, and effects for video and images available for editing; some features depend on app version. The product is aimed at beginners, students, learners, and professional animators making rough animation, animatic sketches, or storyboards. Finished work can be exported as video, GIF, PDF, PSD, or image sequences, and editable projects can be exchanged among the Android, iOS, and Windows apps. The iOS listing also describes export to Photoshop for further editing. Animation Desk is free to download, and a free plan is listed. Animation Desk Pro for iOS is $2.49 a month, billed annually at $29.99. Creativity 365 for Individuals is $4.99 a month, billed annually at $59.99. KDAN says the product will remain available under existing paid plans but will not receive proactive new feature development or routine version maintenance updates.