The chances are high that you have Toonly by Facebook or Google. Where they promise lifetime subscription at $67, before writing this article, I personally invested my money into Toonly as you can see in the screenshot.
Before writing about its alternatives. I have several reasons to not use it. That I have found after using Toonly
- Can’t import own Videos
- Lag while creating long videos
- Need Decent internet connection
- Average Quality of Characters & Other assets.
- New Software is better and costs almost the same.
1. Createstudio: Best Alternative
Createstudio will cost you $67 but in features, it’s much better than Toonly.
Here are its best features
- Allows you to import your own Videos
- It can create 3D videos
- More and Better Assets.
- From the Instagram promotional story ad to youtube cartoon animation video. It allows you to create everything easily.
Check the following image. One side is Toonly and another side is Createstudio. Can you see the difference in how much it’s better than Toonly?
Createstudio also comes with built-in templates that can be customized according to needs.
Similar to Toonly it comes with 30 DAYS risk-free money-back guarantee.
When I heard about createstudio that it contains so many features I thought it will be diffcult to use.
But I was wrong. The best that I like about it easiness.
Last but not least It’s motion tab saves so much of time. As you can see in the screenshot motion contain a certain type of animations that can be applied to any character, object, video or photos, etc.
I mean anything whatever can be imported inside createstudio.
2. Powtoon: Better But More expensive
Powtoon is one of the oldest cloud-based solutions that is existing from the year 2011.
Similar to createstudio it is all in one software. You can video ad from build-in templates or scratch or animation video.
Powtoon also allows you to create doodle videos. While creating videos I found that in powtoon you can do a lot of things that are not possible in the Toonly.
For example changing character clothes, shoes, skin, etc. On top of that, it can be saved that means you can use in the future rather than customizing everything again from the scratch
In the number of characters and assets, powtoon is much bigger. It also comes with stock media.
The downside of the powtoon is that it’s more expensive.
Its free plan mainly for testing its features. Here are the difference cons of free plan
- Watermark over videos
- Limited character & assets
- Max 3 minutes video
- 100 Mb storage limit
Its paid are designed in such a way that you have to go with an annual subscription.
Because Pro plan which will cost you $87 monthly but on an annual subscription, it will cost you 228 ($19 monthly)
The same is true for other subscriptions. If you are making your mind then I will suggest going with Pro+ where you have an unlimited export option with the access of more premium assets.
It will cost you $468. The renew cost is $708. That’s why I recommend Creatstudio as the best alternative. It has all the necessary features with one-time fees of $67.
3. Animaker: Similar to Powtoon
Another Cloud-based solution to make animation videos. That is used by Nokia, HP, and other bigger brands.
If you go with monthly subscription then it’s you cost you a lot less than powtoon.
By the way, Animaker also offer free plan to test its features. Here are limitations of free subscription
- SD video quality
- Videos up to 2 mins in length
- Export to youtube only
- 5 Exports Per month
- Last but not least WATERMARK
Its starter plan cost is $35/monthly or $19 when you build annually.
Similar to the powtoon Pro plan you have exporting limits. Only 6 exports/month.
The additional download will cost you $6 each video. The beauty of Animaker is that you can control the emotions while doing other tasks.
For example, using laptop but said then using a laptop but happy. Characters in numbers and actions are much bigger than Toonly.
The downside of Animaker is it doesn’t allow you to import own videos. The website is also bit slow.
4. Hiring a Freelancer
On the Fiverr or any other freelance website, you can hire a specialist animation video maker.
See that person is much more experienced and probably he already has all tools. Maybe he can pick the best one for your video.
But if you videos demand is regular then it’s will cost a lot of money.
I will recommend hiring freelancers in case you need only 1-2 videos every month.
5. Blender: Free But Time-consuming
Believe me, learning Blender is a skill that means you can make a side income with it.
But
- It will take time to learn new stuff
- Creating simple videos take a longer time.
Blender is used for creating 3D videos. Where you have to create video from scratch. You can even create a character as you want.
I’ll only recommend blender if you are seeking a future in 3D videos or movies.
Otherwise, you are going to waste a lot of time where you can definitely make more money to buy the above listed products or hiring a special animation video maker for you.
Conclusion
If you have realized that I not only provided the alternatives list. I listed the pros and cons. Once again my recommendation is Createstudio.
Maybe I’m just being biased towards it. But it definitely can do the things a lot better than Toonly. If you have a question, then let me know by the comment section.
In case I haven’t listed a product that I should list, then through in the comment box. I’ll check and update the article.