17 Best Free Animation Programs for Windows and Mac (2023)

Choose one of these free animation software if you want to create a cartoon, video, infographic or 2D animation even if you don't have much experience. This list includes free animation software for beginners and professionals, as well as premium software.3D animation softwarewhich can be installed on both Windows and Mac.

  1. Adobe animated-our choice
  2. Mixer-open source program
  3. Maya-For 3D applications
  4. Storyboard Pro der Toon-Boom-a complex tool
  5. animation table-46+brushes
  6. K-3D-Polygon modeling tool
  7. daz-studio-For 3D lovers
  8. Animator-Drag-and-Drop-Builder
  9. Keyshot-Rendering-Software
  10. renderfloresta-a complete software
  11. 3D animation-The flexible tool from Google
  12. Powtoon-presentation maker
  13. Pencil 2D animation-Easy to use
  14. Synfig-Studio-for all platforms
  15. tupitube-For children and beginners
  16. OpenToonzGenericName-For 2D animation
  17. Plastic animation paper-for easy drawing

Here are 17 free programs to create animated videos in 2D or 3D format, useful for designers, photographers, marketers and brands who want to increase their exposure.

1. Animate Adobe

our choice

  • Simple Adobe style user interface
  • Lots of tutorials to master the program.
  • Works with all types of vector and bitmap photos.
  • Incredible export opportunities
  • It can be difficult for beginners.
  • Limited trial period

Verdict:Adobe Animate is free animation software included with Creative Cloud. The program has so many features that it may take you several weeks to learn them all. For example, there's a cool feature that lets you draw new frames on top of old ones.

The program offers an option to integrate with your Adobe Cloud library. With Adobe Animate, you can create Flash games, animated movies, kinetic typography, cartoons, animated GIFs, and more. Similar features are available in Character Animator, which is a serious reason for thatAdobe Animate vs. Charakter-AnimatorRivalry.

Adobe Animate is thebest photo animation softwarefor professionals and enthusiasts, as well as those who are already actively using Adobe products.

  • DiscoverHow to get adobe animate for free.

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    2. Mixer

    open source program

    • An impressive number of features and plugins
    • Powerful modeling tools
    • Easy import of external objects
    • Predefined keyboard shortcuts
    • Image-based animations can cause problems
    • Not beginner oriented

    Verdict:Blender is one of the best open source and high quality free animation programs.Motion graphics software. It is used to create 3D animations, games, motion tracking and much more. The software allows artists to turn photos into 3D animations. In addition, Blender has a rigging tool to turn 3D models into animated characters.

    Users get access to basic information, e.g. Video trimming and advanced features like color correction and video masking.

    • Check out the listbest free video editing software.

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      3. House

      For 3D applications

      • Perform complex animation tasks easily
      • Deep color management
      • Suitable for creating realistic effects.
      • Wonderful rendering technology
      • After the free trial expires, the price is $1,545/year
      • steep learning curve

      Verdict:Autodesk Maya is 3D computer graphics and animation software that is particularly useful for creating interactive 3D applications, films, video games, TV shows, and more. By the way, this program was used when working on The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, so it's definitely one of the best free animation programs.

      Together with Maya you can create animated images and video games and add 3D effects to moving images. You too can use Maya efficientlygraphical script software.

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        4. Grafikskript von Toon Boom Pro

        a complex tool

        • Fast processing and switching
        • cooperation function
        • Many import and export options
        • Video editing tools.
        • Audio cannot be recorded and edited
        • not for beginners

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        Storyboard Pro der Toon-Boom

        Verdict:Here is Primetime Emmy award winning software. This is a comprehensive storyboarding tool with features for drawing, scripting and animation, and controlling the camera and sound.

        This best free animation software allows you to create animation frame by frame and edit frames. You get a pressure-sensitive pen, texture brushes, and the Bone Deform feature. Thanks to Onion Skinning, you can control the movement and timing of each animation, making Toon Boom Storyboard Pro a great alternative forbest motion tracking software.

        • Submit your footage to ourVideo Editing Servicesand get amazing results.

        5. Animation table

        46+brushes

        • Various options for exporting data
        • intuitive interface
        • Large selection of tools
        • supports shifts
        • occasional glitches

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        animation table

        Verdict:animation tableis a creative app for creating storyboards and frame-by-frame animations. It is wonderfully responsive and unleashes the user's creative potential very quickly. It's true that the application has several tools that make it an all-in-one solution for both beginners and ambitious animators.

        No animation skills can be claimed on your behalf. Each scene has to be drawn frame by frame and later assembled by the application. You can export animations as Photoshop layers, a PDF sheet, or a large GIF. Users can edit more animation sequences on different devices like Android, iOS and Windows 10.

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        6. K-3D

        Polygon modeling tool

        • Simple undo/redo functions
        • A node-based visualization pipeline
        • interface simple
        • Handles procedural and parametric tasks with ease
        • no tutorials
        • Can be confusing for inexperienced users

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        K-3D

        Verdict:K-3D is a free 3D animation software for polygon modeling. According to this approach to digital graphics, the surface of objects is represented using polygons. The program includes a full set of tools and plugins for such a task.

        In addition to the powerful polygon modeling feature, K-3D has useful undo/redo features that combine to make it one of the best free animation software.

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        7. Studio Diaz

        For 3D lovers

        • Animation, rendering and 3D modeling tools
        • GPU accelerated real-time rendering
        • realistic characters
        • movement functions
        • resource requirements
        • For professional users

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        daz-studio

        Verdict:Daz Studio is a free tool for creating 3D animations and short videos. This good free animation software focuses on 3D effects. Create models, visualize them and create animations at skin texture level.

        Other advantages of this program are fast real-time rendering and interactive tutorials to help you become the best 3D artist.

        • If you want to be more productive, choose theBest graphics card for video editing.

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          8. Animator

          Drag-and-Drop-Builder

          • Drag-and-Drop-Mechanismus
          • Huge library of animated models
          • 6 different animation video styles
          • Compatible with multiple devices
          • Preview causes delays
          • Limited number of animated characters in the library.

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          Animator

          Verdict:Animaker is a free online program to create animations of various types: 2D, infographics, crafts, whiteboard, 2.5D, typography. You can also work with audio: convert text to audio, add background music, sound effects and speech.

          I liked the drag and drop feature that helps create animations on the fly.

          • See morefree audio editing software.

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            9. Keyshot

            Rendering-Software

            • understandable interface
            • Quickly switch between different template sets
            • You can see changes in real time.
            • Can be legally used on multiple computers
            • Rendering could be faster
            • occasional glitches

            Verdict:KeyShot is useful free animation software for beginners with 3D rendering capabilities. The developers added the physically correct rendering engine to the program to accurately copy real world materials and create photorealistic visualizations.

            I liked the rendering quality and a simple user interface. As for the cons, the process takes a little longer compared to other programs.

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              10. Render forest

              a complete software

              • intuitive user interface
              • Create animations with just a few clicks
              • Premium graphics and logos.
              • Advanced AI Technologies
              • 3 minutes free video limit
              • Added watermark to all outputs

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              renderfloresta

              Verdict:Renderforest is a universal online video, animation, logo and website maker. Choose from over 50,000 unique graphic files and over 100 mobile-friendly templates to easily create animations.

              Hundreds of animated video templates are available here to meet your needs, including slideshows, splash screens, explainer videos, logo screens, company presentations, and animated infographics.

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                11. Toontástico 3D

                The flexible tool from Google

                • Compatible with multiple platforms.
                • easily exportable
                • no ads
                • work online
                • Limited settings and characters
                • Available on mobile devices only

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                3D animation

                Verdict:Toontastic 3D is a free mobile application from Google, originally designed for children, but the functionality is also enough to create 3D animated corporate videos. A nice bonus, this free animation software for beginners also works offline, so you can create videos on the go or when your Wi-Fi is down.

                According to Google developers, you can create a one-minute, six-scene video in just one minute, not counting character creation time.

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                  12. Potato

                  presentation maker

                  • Variety of styles and designs.
                  • Flexible adjustment of text layers
                  • Lots of templates ready to use
                  • There is a function to share the presentation.
                  • A 3 minute video limit
                  • Watermarked presentations

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                  Powtoon

                  Verdict:Powtoon online app is mainly used for creating short videos and dynamic video slideshows. The free plan has some limitations: you can create HD videos up to 3 minutes long and the storage capacity is limited to 100 MB.

                  In Powtoon you can choose your own style, change aspect ratios and animation sizes, export videos to YouTube, Facebook, Wistia and Vimeo. There are also handy Powtoon tutorials to help you master the app even faster.

                  • go to uscorporate video editingfor fast and professional services.

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                    13. 2D-Stiftanimation

                    Easy to use

                    • easy reset
                    • Multiplatform program
                    • Smooth switching between raster and vector files
                    • Step by step instructions
                    • Configuration settings are not saved between sessions
                    • The program does not support video export.

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                    Pencil 2D animation

                    Verdict:Free Pencil2D animation software is used to create 2D animated videos. It allows users to create more traditional hand-drawn scenes.

                    Animators will appreciate a clean and organized timeline where it's very easy to add new frames on different layers, duplicate them, change the frame rate and create animations quickly and with minimal effort.

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                      14. Synfig-Studio

                      for all platforms

                      • Timeline style interface
                      • Bones system for complex processing of bitmap images
                      • Many first-class technical features
                      • shift support
                      • easy to learn
                      • Some standard features are missing

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                      Synfig-Studio

                      Verdict:Synfig Studio is another free online 2D drawing animation software. Here he uses vector graphics to create timeline animations.

                      In order to make the movements of the drawn characters more natural, the developers have integrated a bone system. Thanks to layer parameters, you can create dynamic characters.

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                        15. TupiTube

                        For children and beginners

                        • clean user interface
                        • Free open source program
                        • Supports vector graphics
                        • Compatible with many file formats
                        • For 2D animation only
                        • limited functionality

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                        tupitube

                        Verdict:TupuTube is a free 2D animation program. You can use a mobile app or a desktop version.

                        The program supports vector graphics. You can add rectangles, lines, polygons and other shapes. You can also import bitmap images and export finished images in various file formats.

                        • Read more about himBest Video Format.

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                          16. Open Toonz

                          For 2D animation

                          • Open-Source-Animationssoftware
                          • GTS-Scan-Tool
                          • Unique spreadsheet and timeline features
                          • Audio/Soundtrack-Implementierer
                          • Limited plugin effects
                          • Learning the program takes some time.

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                          OpenToonzGenericName

                          Verdict:OpenToonz is open source 2D animation software. Users can enjoy raster and vector drawing tools, quick color and color changes, blur, lighting, keys, masks, distortions and over 100 other effects. You can also combine animation with video, create frame-by-frame animation, motion tweening, and bone character animation.

                          • check theBest Free Drawing Software.

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                            17. Plastic animation paper

                            for easy drawing

                            • friendly interface
                            • Draw and flip quickly
                            • Easy import of video stacks and frames
                            • Full screen reference on second monitor
                            • For 2D animation only
                            • Limited functionality of a free version

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                            Plastic animation paper

                            Verdict:Plastic Animation Paper is one of the best 2D animation software that allows you to create black and white drawings and create them in color.

                            You can quickly switch from one screen to another and review the drawing that has been created. The advantage of PAP is that the program works well with frames of any size.

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