Toon Boom Harmony
Commercial 2D animation software used by studios for hand-drawn, paperless and cut-out animation.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 5
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Toon Boom Harmony
Toon Boom Harmony is a professional 2D animation suite from Canadian company Toon Boom Animation, widely used for TV series and studio productions. It covers the whole process in one program: rough drawing, clean-up, colour, character rigging with deformers and controllers, and compositing with node-based effects, so artists across a studio share the same project files. It supports traditional paperless animation as well as cut-out rigs. Harmony is sold as a subscription in three editions: Essentials for enthusiasts, Advanced for students and animators, and Premium for studios with full rigging and effects. A 14-day free trial is available, and Toon Boom also sells an AI add-on called Ember. It runs on Windows and macOS and needs a capable machine and a drawing tablet. For hobbyists the price and learning curve are high next to free options.
Best for: Professional animators and studios producing series-quality 2D animation with rigs and effects..
Pros and cons
What works
- Industry-standard tool used across TV and studio pipelines
- Combines drawing, rigging and node compositing in one app
- Three editions from enthusiast to full studio feature set
Why people leave
- Subscription only, with no free edition beyond the trial
- No Linux version listed in current system requirements
- Steep learning curve and demanding hardware recommendations
Top Toon Boom Harmony alternatives
See all 5- 1
Blender65.0Free Grease Pencil 2D animation with strong rigging, used by some studios for 2D work.
- 2
OpenToonz54.5Free and open source with a similar xsheet-based studio pipeline, no subscription needed.
- 3
Synfig Studio52.2Free tool with bones and vector tweening, a no-cost option for cut-out style animation.
- 4
Krita51.2Free painting app with frame-by-frame animation, good for drawn shots without a full pipeline.
- 5
Pencil2D50.3Free and simple for hand-drawn frames, enough for students and hobby projects.
Why people left Toon Boom Harmony
In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.
No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Toon Boom Harmony, review the app you switched to and tell us why.
Reviews
No approved reviews yet. How we verify reviewers
Write a review of Toon Boom Harmony
Toon Boom Harmony: common questions
Is Toon Boom Harmony free?
No, Toon Boom Harmony is a paid product.
Is Toon Boom Harmony open source?
No, Toon Boom Harmony is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Blender, OpenToonz and Synfig Studio.
What platforms does Toon Boom Harmony run on?
Toon Boom Harmony is available for Windows and macOS.
What are the best alternatives to Toon Boom Harmony?
The highest-ranked Toon Boom Harmony alternatives right now are Blender, OpenToonz and Synfig Studio. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.