Animation Desk vs Powtoon
Animation Desk
kdan.comPowtoon
powtoon.comSide by side
| Figure | Animation Desk | Powtoon |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.49/mo | $8/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 6 | 10 |
| Spec score · Cartoon Maker Software | 9.3 (#1) | 8.8 (#9) |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 9.1 (#10) | 9.2 (#6) |
| Compliance | KDAN’s trust center states GDPR compliance plus ISO 27001, ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 compliance or certification. | Powtoon states that it is ISO 27001:2022 certified, GDPR compliant, Privacy Shield framework compliant, and SOC 2 aligned. |
| Export formats | Supported exports listed by the maker include video, images, GIF, Photoshop PSD, PDF and ad.package. | MP4,GIF,PPT,PDF,image |
| Founded | 2009 | 2012 |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Tainan City, Taiwan | London, United Kingdom |
| Integrations | GetApp records iMovie as a user-mentioned integration, rated 5.0 from one integration review. | Powtoon lists integrations including Salesforce, Articulate 360, Google Drive, Zapier, Google Slides, Figma, HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Canva, and LMS platforms. |
| Support | KDAN lists Animation Desk support for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows and gives [email protected] as a contact address. | All paid plans include 24/7 priority support, while Enterprise includes VIP support and onboarding. |
| What it does | Animation Desk is 2D software for frame-by-frame animation, cartoons and animatics. | Powtoon is a browser-based creation platform built around Powtoon Studio for making animated videos and visual presentations. |
Plans
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
Powtoon
- FreeFree
- Lite$15 a month
- Professional$40 a month
- Advanced$125 a month
- Education$8 a month
- 125 AI credits$49, paid once
- 300 AI credits$99, paid once
- 450 AI credits$149, paid once
- EnterprisePriced on request
- Institutions & DistrictsPriced on request
In their own words
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.
Powtoon
Powtoon is a browser-based platform for creating animated videos and visual presentations in Powtoon Studio. Its editor brings together scene trimming and merging, captions, transitions, animations, brand assets, stock footage, voiceovers and soundtracks. AI tools can turn documents or text into video and support scriptwriting, speech, avatars, captions, translations and image creation. The platform also lists a stock media library of more than four million items and a character builder for changing appearance and gestures. Powtoon Capture records a screen, webcam or both; recordings can run up to 70 minutes and are deleted automatically after three months. It supports web and Chrome extension access, works in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari, and has a free iOS and Android companion app for uploading media, recording voiceovers, and playing or sharing Powtoons. Plans include a free option and paid plans from $15/mo billed annually. Free videos are limited to three minutes at 720p and carry a Powtoon watermark.