Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Adobe Animate
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Animate (or Animate CC) supports but replaces the former Adobe Flash, and allows users to design interactive animations for games, TV shows, and the web. With it, the vendor states users can bring cartoons and banner ads to life, create animated doodles and avatars, and add action to eLearning content and infographics. With Animate, users can publish to multiple platforms in many formats, and reach viewers on any screen.
$20.99
per month
Adobe PhotoShop
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Adobe Photoshop is the best known graphics product on the market.
$20
per month
Blender
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
Blender is a free and open source 3D creation suite available in under the GNU General Public License. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, video editing and 2D animation pipeline. Blender Cloud is a related service accessible via subscription, and is a training and content platform providing access to expertise from the Blender Institute for advancing one's use of Blender.
$11.50
per month
Pricing
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Editions & Modules
Annual Plan, Paid Monthly
$20.99
per month
Monthly Plan
$31.49
per month
Annual Plan, Prepaid
$239.88
per year
Single App
$20.00
per month
Blender Cloud Membership
$11.50
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Free Trial
YesNoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Considered Multiple Products
Adobe Animate
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate was always the preferred software as the support was much better than the competition. And the ease of rendering was also a deciding factor. Results with character animations are much more crisp with Adobe Animate than in any other 2d based animation software.
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate is a powerful and versatile animation software that offers a wide range of tools and features. When compared to other animation software, it stacks up well in terms of its capabilities and functionality. Here are a few reasons why one might select Adobe Animate …
Chose Adobe Animate
I find After Effects more difficult to learn. Both are in the same Adobe CC subscription and both have a great interface. But the possibilities in features make After Effects more difficult. Therefore I like to use Animate when the assignment does not need to much complexity, …
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Animate is extremely coordinated across different stages and programs, versus its rivals. Like Adobe Animate, HTML5 incorporates playing highlights for sound inside sites. It additionally has versatile help. In any case, I don't believe it's very there yet and is by all …
Chose Adobe Animate
As mentioned earlier, Photoshop is an easier program to work with and you can use it to make animated images for digital marketing. It's usually easier to just use Photoshop because the controls are not as cumbersome and there is a minimal learning curve.
Chose Adobe Animate
Adobe Flash is very integrated across various platforms and browsers, versus its competitors. Like Adobe Flash, HTML5, includes playing features for audio within websites. It also has mobile support. However, I don't think it's quite there yet and seems to be a few steps behind …
Chose Adobe Animate
Unfortunately, it doesn't! While there are some disadvantages to HTML5, it's overall just cleaner. Since it's cleaner, browsers prefer it. And again, Flash animations will no longer be supported in a couple years, so users really don't have a choice but to part ways with the …
Chose Adobe Animate
I have tried synfig, but go back to Flash because of ease of use and integration with other Adobe products (and familiarity).
Chose Adobe Animate
ToonBoom Harmony has a lot of the compositing stuff from AfterEffects built in and it has much stronger rigging tools than Flash. It's great because it lets you do a mix between both puppeted and animation that is tweaked by hand. However documentation on how to use the program …
Chose Adobe Animate
It is not easy to talk about software that can be compared as an alternative to Adobe Flash. It all depends on the need and the use that you want. I can recommend doing a thorough analysis of all software that can develop the kind of work you have to do, surely the fact that we …
Adobe PhotoShop
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
[Adobe] Photoshop has much more features and abilities compared to its competitors, and often is the first to create a new feature. There is a large learning curve for Photoshop, but for folks that spend years learning Adobe products, it ends up being the most intuitive …
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
I haven't used any other product(s) similar to PhotoShop. I've been using PhotoShop for the past 18 years and I wouldn't care to start using a new/different software anytime soon. PhotoShop for me has been the end all be all software to use in the graphic industry.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
Photoshop has more features/filters/layer options than Paint.net. Paint.net is however free.
Chose Adobe PhotoShop
There are a few alternatives to Photoshop, however they are usually not able to produce the best output for your needs. Pixelmator is an example of this. It may be $40 total on the Apple Store - but you don't get all of the bells and whistles of Photoshop and it leaves you with …
Blender
Chose Blender
As already mention , a Wide range of features and complete set of tools without paying anything .
Suitable with any operating system.
Getting started with Blender is also easy.
Chose Blender
I have to start off but stating the obvious. Blender is full-featured and free. Yes, I repeat, "free." Adobe makes outstanding products but at a high initial cost. Blender does a similarly fantastic job, but for free. Adobe Substance is able to perform all the tasks I need to …
Chose Blender
Ease of use and free, ZBrush has a very steep learning curve and Blender seems to be better at realistic image rendering. Plus free upgrades and amazing support made it a no-brainer. Lots of online tutorials and add-ons Blender comes out on top.

Chose Blender
The biggest advantage of Blender over these alternatives was how easy it was to learn, even for team members with no previous experience in 3D modeling, design, or any artistic field. The fact that it allows you to import or export files in most of the existing 3D model …
Chose Blender
Adobe Animate doesn't do half of the things that Blender can. Blender is an all-around better program in the fact that it can 3D model, sculpt, and animate in real-time. Blender is also completely free and has tons of free resources available to everyone. I highly recommend …
Chose Blender
Blender is just as good as Cinema 4D. One huge advantage Blender has is that its free and you don't have to worry about upgrades or license upgrades when wanting to download or purchase the latest version
Best Alternatives
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Small Businesses
Autodesk Maya
Autodesk Maya
Score 8.7 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Blender
Blender
Score 9.2 out of 10
GIMP
GIMP
Score 8.2 out of 10
Onshape
Onshape
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects
Score 9.1 out of 10
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
CorelDRAW Graphics Suite
Score 7.3 out of 10
Navisworks
Navisworks
Score 9.3 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(28 ratings)
8.8
(194 ratings)
9.8
(25 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(31 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(2 ratings)
7.7
(19 ratings)
8.4
(2 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(54 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
4.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Adobe AnimateAdobe PhotoShopBlender
Likelihood to Recommend
Adobe
Scenarios where Adobe Animate is well suited:2D animation for web, mobile, and video games: Adobe Animate is well suited for creating 2D animations for web, mobile, and video games. With its vector-based drawing tools, bone rigging, and inverse kinematics features, it's easy to create smooth, scalable graphics and realistic movement.Scenarios where Adobe Animate is less appropriate:Complex 3D animation: Adobe Animate is primarily a 2D animation software, and while it does have some basic 3D features, it is not as robust as specialized 3D animation software like Autodesk Maya or Blender.
Read full review
Adobe
Photoshop is a useful tool for everything from creating social media graphics to editing and sizing photos. There is a bit of a learning curve, so you need to have a bit of experience to master it and use it for a variety of tasks. You also need to have a good sense of file organization so you can find files quickly without losing track of them.
Read full review
Open Source
Blender is an excellent tool for everything from simple to complex 3D animations, the creation of 3D images, etc. It performs excellently in all of these areas. In the realm of 3D modelling, animation and rendering, there is very little that Blender is not suited for.
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Pros
Adobe
  • The adaptability of what Adobe Animate can do makes it so helpful. You can accomplish something basic like make a ball bob on-screen over certain letters prior to showing your logo, or something more mind-boggling like building up a vivified short to show.
  • Utilizing Adobe Animate recordings on sites is typical, so individuals are accustomed to seeing it and have the essential modules introduced as of now.
  • The records are little, and the pressure is extremely smooth. This aids in the event that you are attempting to send substance to cell phones or essentially keep your site impression little to guarantee quick stacking times.
Read full review
Adobe
  • The fact is that you may quickly pick things up on your own by spending time without using any other resources.
  • It is the program that brings the phrase "to make PhotoShop" to almost all languages. It's not just a photo editing program.
  • Practical and beautiful results are filtered by filtering the desired work without drowning in details.
Read full review
Open Source
  • Creating complex polygonal geometries is very easy in Blender.
  • Edit Mode and Sculpt Mode helps in creating non uniform surfaces for objects like rocks, surfaces, terrains etc.
  • Blender can use various external plugins to make it work in more smoother way. For example to import any 3d object one can use sketchfab plugin and easily import the free assets from web after logging in.
  • Blender has a better rendering engine known as Cycles, it is far more better than any other stock rendering engine which can generate realistic lightning, shadows and reflections.
  • The animations can easily be generated with blender animation toolbar and also it incorporate any other animations made in any other software.
  • The bone generation and its behavior of animations can be achieved easily in blender.
Read full review
Cons
Adobe
  • There are too many updates and they are constantly popping up - especially during the middle of a projects, which causes me to shut down the application and restart the program. Wastes time.
  • There is no mobile browser or device support. Limits a lot of projects - especially apps.
  • Flash player can require a lot of RAM and battery
Read full review
Adobe
  • The effect applying time could be faster.
  • There could be a smarter way to make mockups using smart objects, maybe by directly selecting an area, and generative AI can automate a few steps.
  • If Photoshop can suggest the right stock imagery in case the generative AI doesn't get the right answer.
Read full review
Open Source
  • It's really a hard question, but it could be: a game engine. Older versions used to have it; I would use it to simulate machines game-like.
  • I'm struggling to find another one; maybe the fact that it is so powerful and has so many features that learning it can be daunting; better documentation WITH examples and/or a map of Blender capabilities would help to know where you are in terms of knowledge and the planning the roadmap to where you want to go.
  • Precision modeling. Coming from CAD and using Blender as part of my design workflow, I'd love to be able to model inside Blender as I model with CAD tools. At this moment, it's simply impossible.
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Likelihood to Renew
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
We get a lot of use out of this software. It's vital for work with production in our industry and has a lot of cross-functionality - creating social media images, retouching photos, editing photos, creating gradients, and more. It's pretty fuss-free in that we haven't had to reach out to support and the program hasn't crashed on us. We are trained on the software (so again, this isn't for beginners), but for detail-oriented designers and creatives like ourselves - it's a no-brainer.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Usability
Adobe
Adobe Animate is difficult to learn because its totally different from the other animation tools but one thing for sure if you want to build a quality on industry standards then Adobe Animate is your knight in shining armour. so using Adobe Animate is easy but you have to spend a lot of time learning it and practicing it. their ui is more like a design software with added keyframes. but if you know your way to work it will be a legend to work with.
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Adobe
Adobe PhotoShop is a professional-grade tool that requires months/years to get a grasp of how to use it well. Even then, after over a decade of using Adobe PhotoShop both casually and professionally, I feel like I'm still unfamiliar with a large percentage of the available tools. Without a dedicated training program, it can be extremely overwhelming and/or you may not get good use out of it. That being said, once you do get comfortable with it, the layout and workspace are excellent with myriad shortcuts that speed up your workflow exponentially. Put in the time to learn it, and you'll love it.
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Open Source
Because while it's a pretty good piece of software, the default built-in commands, the interface layout, and certain functions aren't as logical in their way of being arranged and executed. This, of course, doesn't diminish its use or effectiveness in your field of work, but it is quite awkward at first. A big advantage is that Blender lets you customize the interface however you want as well as keyboard shortcuts and several general program parameters.
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Reliability and Availability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Adobe Photoshop is very reliable, but is never 100%. There have been times when Adobe Photoshop has had trouble opening, but nothing a little computer restart couldn't fix. I use Adobe Photoshop on a Mac for both work and at home on a daily basis, and I would be lost without it.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Performance
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
Speed can be an issue when you are dealing with large files for large format printing or billboards. When working on web images, speed is not an issue.
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
While I never contacted Adobe directly, there is so much content out there in the form of YouTube videos, Lynda/LinkedIn learning that almost any issue, including bugs, can be worked around (and this method is generally faster as there's no turnaround time involved).
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
So, I received the training at the HQ and it was train the trainer training. A good time, I spent a week at their campus
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
I took a course so it really helped. I didn’t take the course until much later after beginning to use it, so I wish work would have sent me right off the bat. It would have alleviated a lot of frustratinon
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Adobe
Adobe Animate was always the preferred software as the support was much better than the competition. And the ease of rendering was also a deciding factor. Results with character animations are much more crisp with Adobe Animate than in any other 2d based animation software.
Read full review
Adobe
[Adobe] Photoshop offers the best photo editing as well as content creation. The layer-by-layer approach of [Adobe] Photoshop helps to work between two apps or even two PCs of entirely different Creative Cloud apps seamlessly. The stability and the speed of the tools in photoshop make it even better to make a canvas of creativity.
Read full review
Open Source
We've only used the consumer (non-pro) version of SketchUp, which we love, but is very limited in features and output capabilities compared to Blender. While Blender's learning curve is MUCH steeper than SketchUp, it feels like truly complete, professional design software.
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Scalability
Adobe
No answers on this topic
Adobe
It seems expensive compared to the free/cheap programs now available
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Adobe
  • Negative, anyone who spent time learning the program now feels sad that it's going away.
  • Animation that was done on Flash but can now be made with Toon Boom or even Adobe After Effects.
  • On the plus side, since it's an Adobe product, you can rent it instead of buying the full license. That means potentially people could use it for a little longer without having to shell out as much money.
Read full review
Adobe
  • Adobe PhotoShop in general is a great time saver.
  • It does take a long time for the program to start up, however
  • The most difficult task is onboarding new employees into Adobe PhotoShop who don't have experience with it. It's an investment for their future so we see value in it.
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Open Source
  • As it is a beginner-friendly software with increasing demand in the animation sector again, it positively impacts the business.
  • Except in some specific cases, no one will use Blender on their own at a professional level.
  • When I was a beginner, it took me a lot of time to learn, consequently designing the creation. But if we want to learn to master Blender, we can do it. As long as we have time and a lot of willpower, since, we repeat, it is not a simple program and hides thousands of tools and possibilities.
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