Vyond (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
Zight
Score 8.8 out of 10
Small Businesses (1-50 employees)
Zight (formerly CloudApp) is a solution with a community of over 4M users, offering visual asynchronous communication, eliminating the need to use different applications for screenshots, GIFs, screen recordings, and web recordings.
$0
Pricing
Vyond
Zight
Editions & Modules
Starter
$99
per month
Professional
$199
per month
Enterprise
$1649
per year per user
Agency
$1999
per year per user
Free
$0
Team
$8.00
per month per user
Pro
$9.95
per month per user
Enterprise
Contact Sales
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Vyond
Zight
Free Trial
Yes
Yes
Free/Freemium Version
No
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
No
Yes
Entry-level Setup Fee
No setup fee
No setup fee
Additional Details
Discount available for annual billing on Starter and Professional plans.
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.
When it comes to client-facing roles, this functionality is key. Before, I had to use an internal clipping or snipping tool and then download the content then share it as an attachment. With Zight, I simply capture what I want, then easily share a link that can be accessed within minutes by the ones I am engaging with. It is very easy to collaborate and clearly communicate. I would not recommend using it for internal documentation. Having too many screenshots might be hard to manage.
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.
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.
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
In all honesty I don't even have time to look for an alternative to CloudApp at this point in our business. CloudApp works for what we had planned to use it for and unless a competing service that offers the same quality and ease-of-use along with video screen capture comes out I will renew indefinitely.
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.
If someone is used to using internal screen capture software Zight may have a small learning curve. Luckily, once you get the hang of your new capture method, it is a quick process. Updates can be tedious. Although I am glad the team is working on the application and consistently improving it.
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.
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.
I would give cloud app a 9/10 score on overall support mostly because I have had very little need of any support at all being that the tool was designed almost to use itself. In my opinion this level of forethought is equal to customer support. As of yet I've only had one real problem with cloud app which was the loss of a 20 minute video screen capture. Unfortunately I have not had the time to contact support about this loss. The only other minor issues that I confronted was within the initial set up which I was able to resolve via their website's support pages.
I was extremely satisfied with how quick and easy the implementation of Cloudapp was on my MacIntosh using MacOS Sierra was, along with how amazingly fast I was able to be up and going with the tool. most often with sass tools we are lucky if we can use 50% of the features without having to have consultations and a ton of back-and-forth email on how to use other features of the product. Cloud app has made it extremely user-friendly with almost no need for customer support. To My business, that equals time savings which as most business owners know, can be far more valuable than a few dollars saved.
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
The tools I have used in the past weren't available in the tool selector! Basically, I've mostly used Jing which I found to be quite clunky. The user interface is unnecessarily complicated and sharing files is more difficult. Trying CloudApp once was enough to see how much more superior it was to Jing! Honestly, if you need a tool that will help you take screenshots to help you communicate better with your team, give it a try!
The amount that I paid for it, I feel that it's paid for itself over and over and over multiple times, if for one reason, and that's time saved. If I have one app that does it all, quickly, and efficiently, that's my positive ROI.
