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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Shorthand

    Score8 out of 10
    N/AShorthand enables the user to create interactive multimedia stories for any online audience — all with no code. The vendor boasts that Shorthand is used by hundreds of publishers, brands, non-profits, and more — including the BBC, Honda, Business Insider, and Doctors Without Borders.N/A

    Vyond

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AVyond (formerly GoAnimate) is a cloud-based platform for producing custom animated videos. It is used by educators as well as in business contexts by advertisers and content marketers, and for demos and presentations.

    $99

    per month single user

    Pricing
    ShorthandVyond
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Starter
    $99
    per month
    Professional
    $199
    per month
    Enterprise
    $1649
    per year per user
    Agency
    $1999
    per year per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ShorthandVyond
    Free Trial
    YesYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsDiscount available for annual billing on Starter and Professional plans.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ShorthandVyond
    Considered Both Products
    Shorthand
    No answer on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Would buy again
    14 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    12 Answers
    Features
    ShorthandVyond
    Content Creation
    Comparison of Content Creation features of Shorthand and Vyond
    Feature
    Shorthand
    9.0
    1 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Vyond
    -
    Ratings
    Content collaboration9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content Publishing
    Comparison of Content Publishing features of Shorthand and Vyond
    Feature
    Shorthand
    6.8
    1 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Vyond
    -
    Ratings
    Content hub9.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Embedded CTAs7.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content distribution6.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Content promotion5.01 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ShorthandVyond
    Small Businesses
    Contently
    Score9.9 out of 10
    Dubb - Video Communication Platform
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    CoSchedule Marketing Suite
    Score10 out of 10
    Wistia
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    PathFactory
    Score8.3 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ShorthandVyond
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (21 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.6
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    2.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ShorthandVyond
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Shorthand
    Shorthand is ideally suited to visual stories where you have a good number of images and/or embeds or video to include. It is well-suited to long-form stories, where you wish to keep the readers' attention longer than usual. It can help to differentiate particularly important or intriguing stories from others on your website - and for this reason, it could be used as a premium content tool, perhaps for subscribers. It can also be used to showcase stories about awards you've organised, giving them special treatment. It is less suited to breaking news, or very time-sensitive news stories, as it can take some time to prepare, post or update shorthand stories. And it doesn't work well for stories with strong accompanying imagery
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    As long as money isn't a major issue (this application is pretty expensive!), it's the best solution I've used so far for creating short explainer videos. It's pretty robust/full-featured and relatively easy to learn to use. Vyond is constantly adding assets and features, too. It would not really appropriate for making full-fledged e-learning, as there's no way to add any interactivity to it, and it's not something I'd used to create long, complex presentations.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Shorthand
    • Enabling visual storytelling with multiple pictures
    • Embedding rich media within a story, including video
    • Engaging readers for longer than average dwell times
    • Making it easy to create striking article design without coding experience
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    • In the newest version, the timeline allows you to control each asset individually in a way that mimics video auditing software like Adobe Premiere Pro or Camtasia
    • I love the way you can replace an object and the new object will automatically take on the formatting of the object it is replacing including, location, size, expression, duration on the timeline, etc.
    • I really enjoy the spotlights on other user's videos. Even when I don't have time to read the full article, watch the full video, or attend the webinars, this is usually enough to give me new ideas to try out when making my own videos
    • I appreciate the ample notice when things are changing. For example, the platform will be updated at the end of the year, but I have had access to the new format since June(ish) so I've had time to play around with it and get used to it. By the time the legacy format is retired I won't have any problems adjusting to the new format or functionality.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Shorthand
    • Additional flexibility in how text is overlaid on pictures would be welcome so that there are more choices on what images to use with particular layouts
    • Enabling users to control the path of text - for example, enabling runaround - could enable some excellent designs
    • Adding additional section templates could speed up design
    • More flexibility in caption placement would be helpful
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    • The fact that it's on a cloud server means that sometimes the software can get clunky/slow.
    • There may be extra work involved if you have multiple characters talking in one audio file and you want them to sync their mouths with their appropriate lines.
    • Characters having multiple actions/expressions means multiple scenes, which can be very cumbersome to manage.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    I was recently at a conference where I learned that many of my peers also use Vyond, solidifying my opinion that it is the right tool for out needs. Further more, one of our content vendors also uses it, ensuring that I will continue to use it as I believe this will facilitate our collaborations in the future
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    This program is great when you have no video experience! There's only a little of a learning curve to the program. In general, the user interface is great and easier than using a program like Adobe premier. It's a great resource to use as a marketer.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Shorthand
    I have never known it to be down during my use of it. All you require is an internet connection to log in and you can use it on multiple devices. Adding ease of accessibility, there are simple ways to log in. I've also never known a Shorthand story to go down once live on our site.
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    Vendor guy made it difficult bc he was only interested in selling
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Shorthand
    Due to the integration with our content management software, there is a short delay on our site while it loads, which may cause some readers to drift away. However, I've seen other sites where it instantly loads articles, so I believe this to be down to the content management software behind our site more than Shorthand itself. Once that brief initial period is over, it doesn't require additional loading time.
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    Vyond is just an animated video creation tool. You have to use your video content and track its performance through other means. Because it is an online tool it doesn't hog your resources or slow down any other tools that I use. It is a stand-alone product and it doesn't need to integrate with any of our other tools. It does what it does and that is all we need.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    I haven’t had any issues that required me to contact their support team. However, I believe support in any product starts before you have to call for help. Vyond provides an option for priority queue when you have their professional option. This is great for folks who need things done faster, especially when businesses can’t afford any downtime. Their Live chat feature is also reassuring, because I don’t always want to spend time on the phone or on hold if their call volume is high and I need to solve an issue.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    There should be a Hypercare (expedited problem solving) support level on new rollouts for existing customers
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    Vyond is the best tool our company has used for creating animated explainer videos and social content. We have tried many other software solutions but Vyond offers the most options for animating characters, text, and scenes. Despite the lack of options for overall styles, it offers a consistent and professional video every time. Plus, Vyond it's constantly adding new templates to their already expanding library
    Incentivized
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    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Shorthand
    No answers on this topic
    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    Vyond is pricey … not sure how long we will continue to use of the rate goes up
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Shorthand
    As a web-based service, it is easy for users to log into from anywhere. Content can easily be shared, as you can set up teams that enable access to each other's work as required. And content can be reviewed by others before publication using the sharing function. You can also view how an article will look on different devices.
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Shorthand
    • Helped us create one of our top 10 most-read and most-shared stories in the last year
    • Enabled us to elevate key pieces of content, boosting dwell time on our site
    • But can also be time-consuming to adopt for some stories, meaning you need to choose well what stories really deserve the investment in time
    • Boosted collaboration between teams via its ability to share, including offering the chance for others to preview content prior to publication
    Incentivized
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    Vyond (formerly GoAnimate)
    • Customers have been able to self-train on our instruments using their videos as opposed to having a scientific trainer go in.
    • We have been able to use videos in certifications that we sell and offer our customers.
    • Since the videos can be made fairly quickly, it saves instructional design time and effort.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Shorthand Screenshots

    Screenshot of Easily add sections and adjust styling.