Alternatives to Pencil2D

A small, approachable program for traditional hand-drawn 2D animation, mixing bitmap and vector layers. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Pencil2D.

  • OpenToonz

    Professional 2D animation software, based on the Toonz version used by Studio Ghibli.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    OpenToonz adds production features like an exposure sheet, scan and cleanup tools and plugin effects under BSD-3-Clause, but it is hard to learn.

  • Synfig Studio

    Vector 2D animation software that tweens between keyframes instead of making you draw every frame.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    Synfig Studio adds keyframe tweening and bones for cutout animation, but has a steep learning curve and is not built mainly for frame-by-frame drawing.

  • Clip Studio Paint

    A commercial drawing and painting app for illustration, comics and animation across desktop and mobile.

    PaidProprietaryWindowsmacOSAndroidiOS

    Clip Studio Paint is a paid, closed-source illustration and comics app with animation tools, running on desktop, tablets and phones.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Pencil2D as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Procreate Dreams

    iPad app for 2D animation, combining frame-by-frame flipbook drawing with keyframes and video editing.

    PaidProprietaryiOS

    Pencil2D is free and open source for Windows, macOS and Linux with frame-by-frame drawing and onion skinning, but it lacks keyframe tweening and has basic export options.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.