Top 19 Best Animation Software (Free & Paid)

Designers, rejoice! There are a plethora of animation software options to create stunning animations. Whether you are a seasoned animator or just starting out, there is an animation software out there that will suit your needs. In this roundup, we’ve compiled the 19 best animation software programs for you to explore. Check them out and find the one that works best for you!

 

 

GreenSock

Platform independent, GreenSock is supported on Microsoft and Apple OS and will run on all web browsers. One feature that gives the GreenSock team a considerable advantage is it is designed on top of a set of small JavaScript files. GreenSock can animate any 2D or 3D that can be manipulated by JavaScript.

GreenSock fully supports Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and object-oriented programming. GreenSock gives the user the ability to animate virtually any image because you can modularize an image and migrate each image node to a separate timeline, making animation considerably easy and powerful. GreenSock is a favorite among professionals and students and is highly recommended. GreenSock is packed with libraries that give users access to a smorgasbord of resources, including SVG animations and WebGL.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7 64 bit or higher

4GB RAM (8GB recommend)

Intel Pentium i5 (i7 recommended)

 

Cinema 4D

Cinema 4D is a potent software tool, and it seems the developers added everything professional animation user could want. The rendering capabilities are fairly sophisticated as the developers created seamless interphase between Cinema 4D and Adobes After Effect. With powerful integrated resources and tools such as dynamics behavior, cloth simulation, realistic hair, and fur capabilities, Cinema 4D seems to have most bases covered. The user has the freedom to write customized python scripts for specific functionality to suit your needs. Cinema 4D allows you to create customized plugins and has a solution solver feature. The solution solver converts aspects of your animation are nodes that are easily manipulated to understand breakdowns in logic and cohesiveness.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7 64 bit or higher

macOS 10.11.6 or 10.12.4 64 bit or higher

4GB RAM (8GB recommend)

OpenGL 4.1

 

Harmony

Harmony’s most appealing fundamental feature is its ability to bridge traditional animation functions with bells and whistles of installable software tools. Harmony supports cut-out, paperless, and 3D animation aspects. Harmony flexes its power by creating the perfect environment to complete animation projects in one area, as you can add sound effects and add finalized finishing touches to your projects using this single tool. The stylus stabilizer makes freehand drawing a cinch with support for real-time tilt and angle support. The stay on-point ruler tool helps with drawing preciseness. The deformers and master controllers allow users to utilize existing tools but also customize newly created ones as well.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7, 8.1, 10 64 bit

macOS 10.10.5, 10.11.6, 10.12.6 or higher

Intel Pentium i5 (i7 recommended)

8GB RAM

1280X800 resolution

Intel HD 4000 video card

 

Blender

Blender is an open-source 3D pipeline creation software tool that includes a full suite of software features for the spectrum of animation disciplines. Blender consists of a robust set of features ideal for animation, powerful rendering tools, rigging, motion tracking, and game creation. Being an open-source software suite, Blender includes all aspects of its feature updates, including plugins and updated versions, as part of the software updates. Boosted as one of the more user-friendly tools, Blender’s interphase is not overwhelming, as is the case with most of the instruments on this list initially.

Blender shines regarding its sculpting and freehand drawing capabilities. File support is another of Blender’s strong points as it supports importing and integration with a vast array of file sources. File supported by Blender includes STL, 3MF, and OBJ files.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7,8 and 10

macOS 10.12 and higher

Linux

64 bit CPU

4GB RAM

1280X768 resolution

Video card 1GB RAM

OpenGL 3.3

 

Keyshot

Keyshot is a powerful 3D illustration software tool that includes real-time ray tracing capabilities. Designed to allow users to create realistic projects without the need for a special graphics card. A very user-friendly device includes many easy to use features including drag and drop support, Keyshot also makes available interactive labeling, texture maps, lighting options, and much more. Keyshot is designed for still animations and includes one of the more robust texture features available. Keyshot currently supports upwards of 20 file types and has an easy to learn set of editing software.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 8 or 10

macOS 10.13 or higher

2GB RAM

2GB Hard Drive

Dual-Core CPU

OpenGL 2.0

1024X768 resolution

 

Animation Master

Hash.com’s Animation Master offers the highest value for the price on this list. Animation Master is another desktop-based software package for 3D projects. The Hash developers are seasoned veterans as they have been around since the late 80s. Animation Master is effortless to use and is comprised of three major components: the modeling window, the action window, and the choreography window. The modeling window is designated for the creation of objects and is where you add textures, colors, and other details. The action window is where the action is applied, while the choreography window is for angle or orientation specifics.

 

System Requirements:

Windows Vista – Windows 10

macOS X 10.13.6

Intel Pentium 4 2.0 GHz / AMD Athlon XP

2GB RAM

Any mid-range graphics card

250 MB Hard Drive

 

Mari

Mari is a 3D animation tool with a substantial inference on freedom and flexibility. Most of the nodes and machines as part of the Mari application are designed to be as efficient as possible, as is the case with the material system and its UDMI workflow support. The material systems allow users to create objects and preset them in one area. With UDMI support, designers have the power to manage multiple texture maps on one user interphase. Mari is compelling as each UDMI can handle 32,000 X 32,000-pixel density and is scalable to create complex structures easily. FBX, Alembic, and OBJ formats are supported for virtual plug and play data exchange. More efficiency is added with OpenColorIO, which allows users to configure colors once and project those changes throughout complex animation projects.

 

System Requirements:

Quad-core processor

10 GB Hard Disk

4GB RAM

1680X1050 resolution

NVIDIA or AMD video card with at least 1 GB

OpenGL 3.2 or higher

 

Cheetah3D

Cheetah3D is an animation maker for creating 3D modeling, specifically on Macs. Cheetah3D is intended for iPhone graphic interfaces and other projects for mac operating systems. Modeling is comprised of a full set of polygon shapes making 3D object creation very simple. Object motion is implemented comparably easy as the object modeling features, neatly tucked, are easy to learn and navigate action buttons in Cheetah3D’s animation maker node. UV editing, scripting, rendering, and file exchange round out the tools within the Cheetah3D platform.

 

System Requirements:

macOS 10.8.5 or newer

64 Bit Intel processor

1GB RAM

 

Tumult Hype

Tumult Hype is an animation software tool designed for web-based graphical user interfaces and other dynamic web content, including HTML5. Tumult Hype is an Apple-only animation maker tool that allows developers to create projects that are compatible with desktops, IPads, and smartphones. Tumult Hype does not require any coding and is made three significant areas, timelines, actions, and scenes. While coding is not a required skill, Tumult does have a JavaScript generator to create API and other user-triggered events within your project.

 

System Requirements:

Any Mac that can run macOS 10.10 or later

Windows machines are compatible

 

Maya

Maya is a 3D animation tool for modeling simulation and software rendering. Maya a professional-grade application that supports one of the more complex and sophisticated platforms on the market. Maya gives developers the power to create and manipulate motion graphics, 3D animation, and robust visual effects. Maya is relatively easy to navigate due to how everything is modularized into neat and easily accessible interfaces.

 

System Requirements:

4GB RAM (8GB recommended)

64 bit Intel or AMD multi-core processor

Three-button mouse

4GB Hard Drive space

Windows 7-10

macOS 10.8.5, 10.9.X 10.10.X

 

3Ds Max

3Ds Max is, as its name suggests, a 3D software platform that is used by civil engineers and architects. Ideal for modeling, designing, and rendering projects with extreme attention and control to detail, 3Ds Max has a tool for virtually any situation. Motion path, mesh and surface modeling, particle flow effects are a few of the tools 3Ds Max equips its user. 3Ds Max has excellent viewpoint quality, including Activeshade Viewpoint, and can simulate physical camera, which makes it ideal for VR scene layouts.

 

System Requirements:

64 bit Intel (i5 or higher) or AMD

Microsoft DirectX 11 or equal video card

8 GB RAM

4GB Hard Drive Space

Three-button mouse

 

Principle

Principle is designed to allow developers to create interactive user interfaces. A liberal environment where users are not bound by traditional options regarding the creation of unique user experiences. Principle gives the user more freedom by supporting graphic interfaces as well as actionable objects that initiate. Principle supports importing and file sharing and image important management options. With Principle you are equipped with the power to not only artistically design applications but also control actionable items, and you genuinely can shape and mold the behavior of your project.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7, 8.1, 10

Intel Core i5 or better

2GB RAM

4GB Hard drive space

1024X768

macOS 10.13 or higher

 

Adobe Character Animator

Adobe Character Animator is a 2D character animation software tool and has many resources designed to create unique characters in a relatively short time. Adobe Character Animator lets users customize individual movements and save them to a clickable button for future projects. The Character Animator tool enables the user to integrate their webcam and tracks eye and mouth movement for real-time character development.

 

System Requirements:

Intel Processors (64 bit)

Windows 10

Windows Server 2016

8GB RAM (16 GB recommended)

3GB Hard Disk

1280X1080 resolution (1920X1080 recommended)

macOS 10.13 or higher, 10.14.0 is NOT supported

 

 

Pencil2D

Pencil2D allows users to create dynamic two-dimensional objects using freehand drawing and supports vector graphics and bitmap formats. Pencil2D can bridge the gap of the freedom animators have with paper and pencil and today's blazing processor speeds. Pencil2D has a simple interface and is easy to learn. Pencil2D feels like a work in progress because it doesn’t have a text tool, shape tool, nor does it allow importing video.

 

System Requirements:

1Ghz processor speed

1GB RAM

2183 MB Hard Drive space

Windows XP-8.1

macOS

Linux

 

Artlantis

Artlantis is a software tool ideal for architects, designers as it renders 3D projects with very high resolution. Artlantis is an expert level software platform that includes an integrated media catalog with the latest tools for a wide variety of functions and scenarios. Artlantis is laden with tools like their Portals that optimizes light management capabilities, improves brightness, and reduces image noise.

 

System Requirements:

Intel Core i3 (i7 recommended)

8GB of RAM (16GB recommended)

1GB video card (2GB recommended)

1280X800 display(1920X800 recommended)

 

OpenToonz

OpenToonz is an open-source 2D software package that is used by professional developers on Windows and iOS operating systems. The opensource nature of OpenToons pushes the platform to develop and evolve.

The GTS scanning tool allows developers to utilize sequence numbering and is compatible with four scanning types, black and white, color with binarization and without. A relatively simple application to learn, OpenToonz allows developers to change picture styles, wavy distortion, and manipulate incident lighting.

 

System Requirements:

Intel Core processor

Windows XP to 7

Minimum 1 GB of Ram (2GB optimal)

40 MB Hard drive space

1024X768 screen resolution

Mac OS X 10.5 or later

 

Adobe Animate

Adobe Animate allows developers to create custom animations for television, games, and websites. Adobe Animate gives users the ability to build complex environments with asset designs and in-app coding support. Adobe Fresco Live Brushed gives you the freedom to create life-like and unique characters with various attributes such as blinking, walking, and breathing. The ability to publish your finished project to any platform adds to the value-packed in Adobe Animate. Additional features like onion layering, infographics, layer parenting, and fluid brushing will take you project creation to the next level.

 

System Requirements:

Intel Pentium 4, Intel Centrino, Xeon, Intel Core Duo (2GHZ or faster)

Windows 7 (64 bit)

Windows 8.1 (64 bit)

Windows 10 (64 bit)

2GB of Ram minimum (8GB optimal)

4GB hard drive space

 

MotionBuilder

MotionBuilder is another 3D software platform with professional-grade capabilities. MotionBuilder is a complex piece of software that allows developers to edit, playback, and capture objects, rendering, and refine as necessary in interactive virtual environments. With a complex set of motion building capabilities, MotionBuilder has a real-time 3D engine that creates realistic human movements. MotionBuilder also supports, with its motion capture editing and smooth interoperability. MotionBuilder is centered around creating a fluid and realistic movements by seamlessly integrating various motion rendering tools.

 

System Requirements:

Windows 7 and 8.1

Red Hat Linux 6.5

CentOS 6.5 Linux Operating System

 

LightWave

The developers at NewTek brings us Lightwave 3D, a complete easy to use and learn software system. LightWave 3D boosts about its affordability and simplistic user interface that was designed to allow almost anyone to become a 3D animator. LightWave’s Unreal Engine allows interaction between developers by having the capability of integrating other users to the same editor in real-time.

There is a specific module for game development that contains enhanced UV and UDMI mapping workflows. Other modules that make up the LightWave platform are FBX interchange, openVDB creation, and shader model customization tools.

 

System Requirements:

Windows (64 bit) 7 through 10 (64 bit)

Intel Core II

AMD Athlon II or higher

4GB of Ram