Live2D Cubism vs LoongBones
Live2D Cubism
live2d.comLoongBones
loongbones.comSide by side
| Figure | Live2D Cubism | LoongBones |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $5.65/mo | 16.66 CNY/mo |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 20 | 3 |
| Spec score · 2D Game Animation Software | 8.9 (#2) | 8.9 (#3) |
| Spec score · Game Animation Software | 8.8 (#4) | 8.8 (#5) |
Plans
Live2D Cubism
- Cubism PRO for indie — Monthly$13.26 a month
- Cubism PRO for indie — Annual, year one$91.02 a year
- Cubism PRO for indie — Annual, year two$74.96 a year
- Cubism PRO for indie — Annual, year three and later$68.07 a year
- Cubism PRO for indie — 3-year plan$234.05 a month
- Cubism PRO for business — Monthly$61.32 a month
- Cubism PRO for business — Annual, year one$420.68 a year
- Cubism PRO for business — Annual, year two$380.91 a year
- Cubism PRO for business — Annual, year three and later$350.32 a year
- Cubism PRO for indie Monthly Plan$13.21 a month
In their own words
Live2D Cubism
Live2D Cubism Editor turns drawn illustrations into animated 2D models, with tools for shaping expressions through mesh deformation, physics, and lip sync. Live2D says its technology is used in mobile apps, console games, VTuber streaming, and animation. The editor runs on Windows and macOS, including Apple Silicon and Intel Mac versions, and exports PNG, JPEG, GIF, MP4, WebM, MOV, MOC3, model3.json, and motion3.json files. Editor files are supported by nizima LIVE and other third-party applications; Live2D also provides an After Effects plug-in and Photoshop scripts. The PRO trial lasts 42 days, after which the Editor continues as the FREE version. FREE is limited to one 2048 px texture file, 100 ArtMesh, 30 motion parameters, 50 deformers, and 30 parts; exceeding those limits prevents saving. FREE commercial use is restricted to General Users and Small-Scale Enterprises with annual sales under 10 million yen. Cubism PRO for indie is listed at $13.26 a month.
LoongBones
LoongBones is a 2D skeletal animation solution with an online editor and a runtime player. The browser-based editor uses HTML5 and canvas, so it requires no installation, and it can create, modify, and export animation data, images, frame sequences, and other digital assets. Its tools include mesh deformation, bone binding, inverse kinematics, collision, and mesh curve deformation. Imports include PSD files, images, texture atlases, LoongBones projects and data, and supported Spine files. Exports include animation formats, images, sprite sheets, and GIFs, with plugins for additional formats. The runtime plays LoongBones animation data and supports Egret, Cocos, PixiJS, Unity, and Unreal; it is described as open source, free to download, and MIT-licensed. The product also says it supports AI-generated animation and has integrated DeepSeek. A seven-day free experience includes 100M storage and up to 10 projects. Membership costs 19.90 CNY a month or 199.90 CNY a year. The listed platforms include Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows.