Chalkboard vs IDA Pro
Chalkboard
github.comIDA Pro
hex-rays.comSide by side
| Figure | Chalkboard | IDA Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $91.58/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 7 |
| Spec score · Reverse Engineering Tools | 7.7 (#21) | 8.2 (#11) |
| Purpose | Chalkboard turns a prompt into a narrated, whiteboard-style explainer video exported as an MP4. | IDA Pro is a disassembler, decompiler and debugger for analyzing processors, file formats and software. |
Plans
IDA Pro
- IDA FreeFree
- IDA Pro Essential$1,099 a year
- IDA Pro Expert 2$2,999 a year
- IDA Pro Expert 4$4,999 a year
- IDA Pro Expert 6$6,899 a year
- IDA Pro Ultimate$8,599 a year
- IDA Pro OEMPriced on request
In their own words
Chalkboard
Chalkboard is free, MIT-licensed software that turns a prompt into a narrated explainer video and exports an MP4. It supports 16:9 explainers, vertical short-form reels, and cinematic documentaries. Cinematic mode researches a topic and places cited sources in the script. Productions can be dubbed into multiple languages in one run, with subtitles set independently from narration language. Script generation works with Anthropic, OpenAI, or local Ollama; narration can use Piper, OpenAI, or ElevenLabs. Chalkboard creates hand-drawn diagrams, supports SVG artwork, and can generate images through OpenAI’s gpt-image-2. Subtitles and mood-matched music are enabled by default, with Jamendo or user-supplied tracks available. The project provides a command-line interface, library, HTTP API, and web studio, and runs self-hosted. Ollama and Piper support local generation at zero marginal cost per video. Generated images require an OpenAI API key and may incur costs.
IDA Pro
IDA Pro is a disassembler, decompiler and debugger for analyzing processors, file formats and software. It supports disassembly for more than 60 processor families, and its debugger works with multiple targets, including remote applications. The bundled gooMBA plug-in uses algebraic and program-synthesis techniques, heuristics and an SMT solver to simplify obfuscated binaries. Automation options include the IDA C++ SDK, IDAPython API, IDAT command-line functions and the idalib headless library. Teams can work with GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Gitea or another Git remote, with Git LFS support for large IDB files. Private Lumina is a self-hosted add-on that restricts a knowledge base to authorized users; it exchanges function hashes and metadata rather than entire byte patterns. IDA Pro runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. The IDA Pro Essential plan costs $1,099 a year, with a one-year minimum commitment and no monthly payments. Hex-Rays states that there is no free trial and points users to IDA Free for checking basic capabilities.