Pencil2D
Focus: hand-drawn. Shares 2d animation and open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.2 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.2Visit
Desktop App
OpenToonz
Free, open-source 2D animation software based on the Toonz used by Studio Ghibli.
Rating
4.3 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
Windows, macOS
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What is OpenToonz?
OpenToonz is free, open-source 2D animation software based on Toonz, developed by Digital Video in Italy and customised and used for years by Studio Ghibli. It can be used free of charge for commercial and non-commercial projects, with source code under the New BSD licence. It runs on Windows and macOS; the latest release is OpenToonz 1.8.0 (June 2026).
Pros: what OpenToonz does well
- Professional studio pedigree
- Free for commercial work (BSD licence)
- Strong tools for traditional and scanned animation
Cons: where it falls short
- Steep learning curve
- No official Linux build
Who OpenToonz is for
Serious 2D animators who want studio-grade tools for free.
Who can skip it
Beginners who want something simple.
OpenToonz alternatives
Not sold on OpenToonz? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Synfig
Focus: vector animation. Shares 2d animation and open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.2 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.2Visit
Ghostty
Focus: terminal, emulator and gpu. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.9 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.9Visit
Blender
Focus: 3d, animation and vfx. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.8Visit
fzf
Focus: fuzzy finder, command line and shell. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux and Offline. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
lazygit
Focus: git client, terminal ui and developer tool. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux and Offline. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
Free alternatives to OpenToonz
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
navi
Focus: terminal, cli and cheatsheet. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
ripgrep
Focus: search tool, command line and developer tool. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux and Offline. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
Upscayl
Focus: image upscaling, ai and electron. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeLinux, macOS
4.8Visit
VLC media player
Focus: media player, video player and codecs. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux, iOS and Android. Rated 4.8 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.8Visit
Atuin
Focus: shell history, terminal and command line. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Linux. Rated 4.7 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit
AutoHotkey
Focus: hotkeys, macros and scripting. Shares open source with OpenToonz. Adds Offline. Rated 4.7 (OpenToonz: 4.3).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, Offline
4.7Visit
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