Autodesk MotionBuilder vs OpenToonz
Autodesk MotionBuilder
autodesk.comOpenToonz
opentoonz.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Autodesk MotionBuilder | OpenToonz |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 8 | 1 |
| Spec score · Animation Software | 9.1 (#9) | 8.3 (#29) |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Integrations | MotionBuilder is designed to complement Maya and 3ds Max and exchanges data through Autodesk FBX with applications that support FBX. | GTS is compatible with TWAIN scanners and is available for Windows only. |
| Purpose | MotionBuilder is 3D character animation software for capturing, editing, and playing back complex animations. | OpenToonz is software for producing 2D animation. |
| Support | Autodesk lists 24x7 online support options and resources. | The official site directs users to a Google Group for troubleshooting, improvement requests, and bug reports, and to a GitHub forum for development topics. |
Plans
Autodesk MotionBuilder
- Annual subscriptionPriced on request
- Annual subscriptionPrice not published
- 3-year subscriptionPriced on request
- 3-year subscriptionPrice not published
- MotionBuilder free trialFree
- MotionBuilder 2025$2,145 a year
- Media & Entertainment Collection$2,790 a year
- MotionBuilder subscriptionPrice not published
In their own words
Autodesk MotionBuilder
Autodesk MotionBuilder is 3D character animation software for capturing, editing, and playing back complex animations. Its real-time character engine automatically creates movements for biped or human skeletons, while manipulation tools let users alter a character’s position and orientation. The listed capabilities include motion capture, motion retargeting, facial animation, animation retargeting, and character retargeting. Autodesk says professional animation and game studios use MotionBuilder to produce animations. It is designed to complement Maya and 3ds Max and exchanges data through Autodesk FBX with applications that support FBX. MotionBuilder is available for Linux and Windows. The stated minimum hardware includes a 64-bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor, 8 GB RAM, 4 GB of free disk space, and a three-button mouse. Autodesk offers a free 30-day trial, but no free plan. A subscription covers installation on up to three devices for one named user, with use limited to one computer at a time, and includes the current version plus three previous versions.
OpenToonz
OpenToonz is 2D animation software for professional and amateur production, as well as school education. It runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and exports formats including AVI, GIF, MP4, PNG, Spritesheet, and WebM. Its tools cover scanning, digital painting, and compositing: the GTS scanner supports four scanning types and saves settings, while painting supports anti-aliased lines and keeps painting data separate from palette data. Compositing offers xsheet and timeline interfaces and combines effects through a node tree. The software supports raster and vector images, and can convert between colored binarized TGA sequence images and OpenToonz format. An effects SDK allows image-processing plug-ins. GTS is TWAIN-compatible but available only on Windows. OpenToonz is based on Toonz, which Studio Ghibli customized and used for many years. Its source code is available under the New BSD License. OpenToonz is free for commercial and non-commercial projects, with no free trial listed.