Pencil2D
Desktop application for creating 2D hand-drawn animations
- Also known as
- pencil2d
What is Pencil2D?
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.
Pencil2D pricing
We don't have Pencil2D's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
Completely free and open source
What Pencil2D does
The capabilities that matter for animation tools, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Deployment model
- Native desktop app
- 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
- Free open source
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- macOS
- Linux
- Windows
- Self-hosted
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Pencil2D FAQ
Common questions about Pencil2D, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is Pencil2D?
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. It is indexed under Animation Tools.
Source: https://www.pencil2d.org
Is Pencil2D free to use?
Pencil2D is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the GPL-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://www.pencil2d.org
What platforms does Pencil2D support?
Pencil2D supports Windows and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Source: https://www.pencil2d.org
Can Pencil2D be self-hosted?
Yes. Pencil2D can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://www.pencil2d.org
Is Pencil2D open source?
Yes. Pencil2D is published under the GPL-2.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
Pencil2D alternatives
Other animation tools we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- VyondCreate professional videos from ideas and content using artificial intelligencemedium · 56%
- FlipaClipA popular mobile animation creation applicationlow · 39%
- OpenToonzlow · 24%
- RiveA platform for building interactive animations and motion graphics that deploy across web, mobile, and game enginesmedium · 55%
- Anime.jsA lightweight JavaScript animation library for web elementslow · 18%
- MohoDesktop 2D animation software featuring advanced skeletal rigging and vector drawing toolslow · 30%
Compare Pencil2D
Side by side against other animation tools, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Pencil2D, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | 58 | 0.07 | 4.1 | ✓ |
| Security score | 52 | 0.04 | 2.2 | ✓ |
| Development activity | 22 | 0.09 | 2.1 | ✓ |
| Stars | 62 | 0.03 | 1.6 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 24 | 0.05 | 1.3 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 0 | 0.08 | 0.0 | - |
| Dependent projects | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | ✓ |
| Security posture | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.14 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 4 | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 5 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 67% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Pricing model: free_open_source · Deployment model: native_desktop_app · Frame by frame cel drawing engine: Yes · Vector brush and bezier manipulation: Yes · Bitmap raster layer import and tracing: Yes | mediumsource · 2026-10-14 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | C++ | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | GPL-2.0 | highsource · 2026-10-14 · 95% |
Pricing
Release
Security
Is Pencil2D the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank Pencil2D against the rest of the animation tools we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
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