15 Best Animation Software to Become Expert in 2023

If your dream is to become a creator and want to create something that fills like real then, animation software will help you to create a creation.

This animation software is very popular and by using this you can create your own world of imagination in reality and show it to the world.

Here the animation software is both for beginners and even for professionals so anyone can prefer it for creating something.

There is a variety of different animation makers and here I have gathered the 15 best animation software for you that is highly popular.

1. Adobe Animate

Adobe will never fail when it comes to creating something even its design or animation and Adobe Animate is also highly anticipated software for creating animations.

This video animation maker software is preferred by all professionals and experts to create animation and it is very simple to use.

It includes so many different features like rich text, audio-video embedding, and even 3.0 scripting support.

Adobe Animate Features:

• Popular Adobe product
• Audio video embedding
• 3.0 scripting support
• Rich text
• It has raster support
• You can create video games and even television shows
• Wide range of export formats

Price: $20.99 per month

2. Autodesk Maya

If you are looking for 3D animation software through which you can easily create 3D animations then, Autodesk Maya is for you.

By using the best animation tools and pretty cool software you can easily create video games, television shows, animated movies, and visual effects.

It uses Node graph architecture through which you can create customized elements and choose every object the way you want.

Autodesk Maya Features:

• Create video games and television shows
•  Node graph architecture 
• Ideal for 3D animations
• Customized elements
• Powerful
• You can add scripts
• Collaborate with other designers

Price: $1,700/year

3. Adobe Character Animator

When it comes to animation and character design then Adobe Character Animator is the best animation software out there.

It offers you a wide variety of features through which you can easily create your own favorite characters with ease.

This character animation maker software helps you to import files so you can create puppies and even create behavior expressions.

Adobe Character Animator Features:

• Ideal for character design
• Import layered files
• You can create behavioral expressions
• Face tracking features
• Free different character templates
• Easy to use
• Intuitive design

Price: $52.99

4. Blender 

Blender is the free animation software out there that helps you to create animation for free so beginners can try out this software.

This animation software for free is an ideal choice for beginners and by using it you can learn animations and 3D modeling with ease.

This free animation software for 3D is capable of creating 3D models, raster graphics, texturing, animations, and body animations too.

Blender Features:

• Free to use
• 3D animation software
• Beginner friendly
• You can create soft body animations
• Texturing is available
• Ideal for 3D models creations
• Easy to use
• Open source tools

Price: Free

5. Moho Pro 

If you are looking for an art tool with a combination of creating animations then you can prefer Moho Pro for creating art.

This animation maker software is very rare the others because here you can create art easily and some intuitive rigging systems.

Best 2D animation software that lets you create things from scratch but the software is a bit confusing in UI that is hard for beginners to understand.

Moho Pro Features:

• Art creations
• Intuitive rigging systems
• Build from scratch
• Ideal for 2D animations
• Complex animations can easily create here
• Big library of assets

Price:  $399

6. Houdini 

If you are looking for industry-based animation software through which you can create films then, Houdini is a great choice for you.

This animation character software is already used in some of the big animation movies like Zootopia, Frozen, Rio, and many more.

Here you can easily create big animations and render great 3D animations with ease and create visual dynamics too.

Houdini Features:

• Industry based
• Used by Zootopia, Frozen, Rio, and more films
• Ideal for large content
• Render 3D animations easily
• Create particles
• Hollywood-level animations can create through this
• Pixer used it

Price: $1995 per year

7. Cinema 4D 

Cinema 4D  is a powerful animation software that is used by many professionals because of its ease to use.

Here it provides a lot of tools for creating animations and 3D modeling and by using this you can manage everything in one place.

If you want to perform VFX, motion graphics, and even animation then everything you can perform only with this animation software.

Cinema 4D Features:

• Powerful tools
• Create animations easily
• 3D modeling animation
• Motion graphics
• Perform VFX
• Games development
• Easy to navigate

Price: $99.91 per month

8. Pencil 2D

Pencil 2D is an open-source animation tool out there that offers you to create your art for free by using the free software

The free animation software is beginner friendly and you can easily create 2D animations but not for creating some big animations.

It is ideal for learning perspective because it uses old-fashioned ways so you can create designs and drawings.

Pencil 2D Features:

• Free to use
• Open source
• Customizable
• Make drawing easily
• Ideal for 2D animations
• GNU software
• Export formats

Price: Free

9. CelAction 2D 

CelAction 2D  is a very simple but popular animation software that lets you create tv shows, games, and movies.

This animation maker is very powerful when it comes to creating commercials so if you want to create commercials then you can prefer it.

It used bitmaps and vectors and most of the things are reusable here so create once then use it again and again.

CelAction 2D  Feature:

• Simple to use
• Create commercials
• Bitmaps and vectors
• Reusable
• Import assets easily
• Hand-drawn 2D animation
• Animation can be altered easily

Price: $759

10. Cartoon Animator 4 

If you are a content creator and looking for cartoon creation software then, Cartoon Animator 4 is for you.

Ideal for creating full movies or even for short ads you can use it in both scenarios and it has an eye-catching interface.

The best part about this avatar animation maker software is that it is customizable and offers you keyframe animations and bone rigging.

Cartoon Animator 4 Features:

• Full movies or short ads can be created using this software
• Keyframe animations
• Highly customizable
• Great user interface
• Smart inverse kinematics
• Easy to use
• Create cartoons easily

Price: $159

11. Crello 

If you searching for graphic design software that helps you to create motion graphics then, Crello is for you.

By using this animation maker you can easily create your own eye-catching posts for your social media handles.

The animation maker video comes with  8,000+ predesigned animations, objects, and even backgrounds so you can use them easily.

Crello Features:

• Ideal for motion graphics
• Eye-catching posts
• Ideal for social media
• Comes with  8,000+ predesigned animations, 
• The background is also available
• Easy to use
• You can use predefined objects

Price: $7.99/month

12.  Procreate

If you are an iPad user and looking for the best drawing and animation software then no one can match Procreate as the best drawing app.

This 3D animation maker is very powerful but only available for iPad users and very simple and easy to use with a great interface.

By using this 3D animation software on your iPad you can create beautiful designs, animations, and even great GIFs without using your PC.

Procreate Features:

• Ideal for iPad users
• Ideal for beautiful designs
• You can create GIFs
• 3D tools
• Beginners can prefer it easily
• illustrate easily
• Loves by many

Price: $9.99

13. Clip Studio Paint

Clip Studio Paint is another cartoon and animation software that is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

Ideal for everyone even if you are a beginner, hobbyist, and professional so anyone can prefer this animation maker.

It offers you a variety of different drawing tools it is a kind of all-in-one drawing tool with powerful rigging software.

Clip Studio Paint Features:

• Available in Windows, Mac, iOS, Android
• Ideal for professionals
• Different drawing tools
• Powerful rigging software
• Multiple exports
• Drawing tools
• Frame-by-frame animations

Price: $219 or 2.29/month

14. Synfig Studio

Here is another free and open-source animation software Synfig Studio that has all features that should be present in animation software.

Free to use so for the first you can try out this software but it is only meant for beginners, not for experts.

So if you are looking for an animation tool to create something complex then you should use another one.

Synfig Studio Features:

• Free to use
• Open source animations
• Beginner friendly
• Vector support
• Easy to use
• Digital tweening
• Filters are available

Price: Free

15. Open Toonz

Last but not least the free-to-use animation software and available for everyone like Beginners, hobbyists, and professionals can use it.

It offers you so many different plugins to use and you can use this software at a professional level for creating mind-blowing things.

It is also open source so you can also contribute to it and safe to use and believe me it is very easy to learn.

Open Toonz Features:

• Free to use
• Open source
• Easy to learn
• Ideal for classrooms
• Used by professionals
• Plugins to install

Price: Free