Pixelpart vs Rive

Pixelpart is an application for making 2D and 3D visual effects for games, with a particle-based workflow. It provides particle emitters, force fields, colliders, light sources, and group nodes, alongside keyframe animations and motion paths. Effects can be exported as videos, sprite sheets, image sequences, or animated images. Inputs and triggers allow its game-engine plugins to respond to game-state changes, and runtime plugins are listed for Unity, Godot, and GameMaker. The maker describes those plugins as free and open-source; they work with effect files from Pixelpart 1.9.x. Documented engine requirements are Unity 2021.3 or later, Godot 4.3 or later, and GameMaker 2024 or later. The application runs on Linux and Windows; its listed minimums are Ubuntu 20.04 x64 with X11 or Windows 10 x64. Plugin documentation also names macOS, iOS, Android, and Web/HTML5 runtime targets. A free Demo is available for simple effects. Professional costs $24.99, paid once purchase and includes all features, unlimited nodes and particle types, unlimited inputs and triggers, and unrestricted video and sprite export.

Rive is a tool for designing 2D animations, motion graphics, and rigged characters, with an editor for building animated content. The editor is available as a desktop app, and command-line support is listed for macOS, Linux, and Windows. Rive content can run natively on mobile, desktop, web, consoles, TVs, and vehicles; integrations include Web, iOS, macOS, Android, Flutter, React, React Native, Unity, and Unreal. Export formats are RIV, REV, MP4, GIF, PNG sequence, and WebM. The Editor can be used free to explore, learn, and build. The Free plan is $0 per seat per month and includes three collaborative files, one project, and a 10 MB imported-asset limit. Cadet is $9 a month in the annual view, with up to three seats and unlimited files. Voyager is $32 a month in the annual view, with up to 25 seats and an Agent with advanced models. Free and Cadet include an Agent with limits. Enterprise includes SSO, SOC2 Type II, dedicated support, onboarding, training, custom storage, and custom runtime options.