Kitsu

What Kitsu is

Kitsu is a collaboration platform and production tracker for animation, visual effects, and game studios. Teams can schedule work, assign tasks to artists, and balance workloads. They can dispatch tasks, set statuses, and discuss production work together. For review, Kitsu organizes shots and assets into playlists, collects feedback, and keeps preview versions available for comparison. Dashboards give teams a way to report production progress to partners. The platform also lists production scheduling, budget tracking, and crew and cast management. Kitsu works on the web and offers Linux, macOS, Windows, API, and self-hosted options. Named integrations include Blender, Harmony, Unreal Engine, Slack, Mattermost, Discord, Python, and JavaScript. Subscriptions provide REST routes, an event stream, and full-text search through the API. Kitsu is free and open-source software that users can install and run at no cost; the maker describes self-hosting as suitable for freelancers, small studios, and non-profit projects with limited budgets. Cloud subscriptions include user support, with training sessions and a dedicated Discord channel available from the maker. Each plan includes a two-week trial with all features and unlimited user access. The trial runs on low-end hardware by default. Enterprise lists on-premise installation and media encryption for large companies or TPN compliance.

Who it suits

Kitsu suits animation, VFX, and game production teams that need to plan and assign work, track progress, and review shots or assets. Its free, open-source self-hosted option is described as suitable for freelancers, small studios, and non-profit projects with limited budgets; cloud plans serve teams seeking included support.

Limits

The listed Agency, Production, and Studio plans include 100GB, 3TB, and 10TB of storage, respectively. Their listed user ranges are 1–20, 1–100, and 1–300. All plans include a two-week trial; the trial runs on low-end hardware by default.

Getting started

1. Visit kitsu.cloud/kitsu/.
2. Choose the web service or a listed Linux, macOS, or Windows option.
3. For self-hosting, install the free and open-source software.
4. For a cloud plan, start the two-week trial with all features and unlimited user access.
5. Set up tasks, assignments, reviews, or production dashboards for your team.

Verdict

Choose Kitsu if your studio needs production scheduling, task tracking, and review tools, or wants to self-host free and open-source software. The cloud plans add support and storage allowances that vary by plan. Large organizations seeking on-premise installation and media encryption can consider Enterprise.