Side by side

Adobe Animate vs Stretchy Studio

Both stand on 2d character animation software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Adobe Animate

Free trial MacWindows

Adobe Animate provides a broad 2D and interactive animation toolset with many export formats and Adobe workflow connections. Its maintenance-mode status and desktop system requirements are important considerations before choosing it.

Visit Adobe Animate

Stretchy Studio

Free plan Web

Stretchy Studio brings PSD rigging, mesh animation, and Spine JSON export together in a free, open-source tool. Its stated art-style limitation is worth considering before using it for non-anime illustrations.

Visit Stretchy Studio

The facts

	Adobe Animate	Stretchy Studio
Free plan	A free trial	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Mac, Windows	Web
Lowest paid plan	Adobe Animate: $22.99 a month	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	adobe.com	stretchy.studio
On 2d character animation software	#29 of 48	#25 of 48

Adobe Animate: what it does well

Supports frame-by-frame animation and character rigging
Creates interactive banners responding to input
Exports to many web, image, video, and audio formats
Works with Creative Cloud and Adobe applications
Seven-day downloadable trial available

What to know first

Maintenance mode means no new features
Requires internet connection and registration
No free plan
Available only on Windows and macOS

Stretchy Studio: what it does well

Imports PSD, PNG, and .stretch projects
Rigging via DWPose detection or heuristics
Timeline keyframes transforms and mesh vertices
Exports rigs and animations as Spine JSON
Free, open source, and self-hostable

What to know first

Realistic and non-anime styles may not decompose correctly
Help and feature suggestions are directed to Discord

Alternatives to Adobe Animate Alternatives to Stretchy Studio The whole list