# Pencil2D vs Synfig Studio

| Attribute | Pencil2D | Synfig Studio |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 43.8 (24% (low)) | 41.9 (24% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 1 | 12 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 0 | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | 1,791 | 2,282 |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Pencil2D is a free, open-source animation tool that lets you draw traditional 2D cartoons frame-by-frame using both raster and vector graphics. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD. | A free, open-source 2D animation program that uses mathematical formulas to automatically calculate motion sequences instead of requiring manual frame-by-frame creation. It supports vector and bitmap artwork with command-line rendering capabilities and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. |
| language.primary | C++ | C++ |
| license.spdx | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| platform.support | `{"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Completely free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.pencil2d.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-17T21:35:03.185Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open-source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.synfig.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-17T21:32:40.948Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | commercial |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | 136 | 76 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.2","date":"2026-03-13T01:14:21Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.1","date":"2026-03-07T02:58:56Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.1-rc2","date":"2026-02-24T12:35:30Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.7.1-rc2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.1-rc1","date":"2025-06-18T15:04:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.7.1-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.0","date":"2024-07-12T08:36:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.7.0-rc1","date":"2024-06-18T17:23:27Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.7.0-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.6","date":"2021-02-17T04:53:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.5","date":"2020-07-31T16:02:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.4","date":"2019-06-03T04:44:18Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.3","date":"2019-03-17T14:02:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.2","date":"2018-09-26T00:14:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.2-rc1","date":"2018-09-17T07:11:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.6.2-rc1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.1.1","date":"2018-04-16T02:52:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/v0.6.1","date":"2018-04-15T10:39:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.6.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/0.6.0","date":"2017-11-30T09:33:18Z","type":"stable","version":"0.6.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pencil2d/pencil/releases/tag/0.6-rc","date":"2017-11-15T05:23:44Z","type":"prerelease","version":"0.6-rc"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.5","date":"2026-03-16T08:26:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.4","date":"2026-01-18T11:18:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.3","date":"2024-08-23T05:14:36Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.2","date":"2024-08-04T07:06:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.5","date":"2024-05-19T13:00:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.4","date":"2022-12-28T16:05:30Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.3","date":"2022-10-25T09:51:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.1","date":"2021-10-30T10:06:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.5.0","date":"2021-08-16T16:05:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.5.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.2","date":"2021-07-29T06:04:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.1","date":"2021-05-09T04:51:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.4.0","date":"2020-11-14T13:49:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.4.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.16","date":"2020-08-06T16:22:13Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.15","date":"2020-08-01T13:18:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.14","date":"2020-05-07T14:53:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.13","date":"2020-03-17T11:23:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.12","date":"2020-02-01T15:13:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.11","date":"2019-02-16T00:48:51Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.11"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.2.2","date":"2018-09-15T10:55:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.2.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/synfig/synfig/releases/tag/v1.3.10","date":"2018-07-21T14:10:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.3.10"}]` |
| security.scorecard | 5.7 | 4.9 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fpencil2d%2Fpencil&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fsynfig%2Fsynfig&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Animation Tools)

| Capability | Pencil2D | Synfig Studio |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Deployment model | - | - |
| Skeletal puppet rigging inverse kinematics | - | - |
| Frame by frame cel drawing engine | - | - |
| Json state machine web export lottie rive | - | - |
| Automated audio lip sync matching | - | - |
| Vector brush and bezier manipulation | - | - |
| Bitmap raster layer import and tracing | - | - |
| Javascript actionscript timeline scripting | - | - |
| 3d camera depth and parallax layering | - | - |
| React vue ios android native playback sdks | - | - |
| SOC2 type ii | - | - |
| ISO 27001 | - | - |
| Pricing model | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T15:22:46.093Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*