What happened to GoAnimate?
GoAnimate became Vyond on 6 May 2018 and turned into a video tool for businesses. Three things went with the change:
- GoAnimate for Schools closed on 30 June 2019.
- The Legacy Video Maker, the Flash editor most GoAnimate videos were made in, was retired in December 2019. Flash itself ended on 31 December 2020.
- The price. Vyond is sold on business plans; its cheapest annual plan is listed at $699 a year.
So the GoAnimate most people remember, free, silly and made in a browser, has not existed for years.
Is there a free GoAnimate alternative?
Yes. There are two good free options, and they suit different people.
Wrapper: Offline is a free, open-source fan project that brings back the Legacy Video Maker itself, the original editor with its original look, on your own computer. If you want the exact 2010s GoAnimate characters and style, that is the one to get. It is a download, and it is not made by Vyond.
Blabba is new, and it keeps the format rather than the look: write a conversation, and the characters perform it. There is nothing to install, it works on a phone, and you never drag anything along a timeline. Where a gesture or a camera cut sits in the sentence is when it happens.
How Blabba compares with Wrapper: Offline and Vyond
| Blabba | Wrapper: Offline | Vyond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free. Clean, commercial exports from $2.49 | Free | Paid plans, from $699 a year |
| Where it runs | In the browser, on a computer or a phone | Downloaded and installed on a computer | In the browser |
| How you make a scene | Type the dialogue; gestures and cuts go on the words | The Legacy Video Maker’s timeline | Vyond’s editor |
| Account | Not needed to make or download a film | Not needed | Needed |
| Made by | Granite Digital | Volunteers, open source | Vyond (GoAnimate, Inc.) |
What about Plotagon?
Plotagon did what Blabba does: typed dialogue in, talking characters out. It closed its free Plotagon Story app in 2019 and kept the paid Plotagon Studio.
If you made Plotagon films, Blabba will feel familiar: a script, a cast, a set, and characters who deliver the lines straight. The difference is that Blabba is 2D, drawn in a flat cartoon style, and free.
Can I make GoAnimate-style videos on my phone?
Yes. Blabba has a mobile editor at blabba.app/m that makes upright 9:16 videos for Shorts, Reels and TikTok, with two characters and ten voices. The full studio, with bigger casts and every option, is for a laptop or desktop browser.
How do I make my first video?
Open the studio, pick a character and a voice, and type the first line. Press Enter for the next line and choose who says it. Type / to drop a gesture, a face, a pause or a camera cut onto a word. Choose one of nineteen backgrounds, then export. The full walkthrough is in how to make an animated video, and the voices are covered in lip sync animation.
Is Blabba really free?
Yes. Making a film and downloading it is free, with no account. The free export, called a Rough cut, is 540p, carries a small Blabba.app mark and a closing card, and is for personal, non-commercial use. If you need a clean film you can use commercially, a single export costs $2.49. The details are on the pricing page.
Teachers who used GoAnimate for Schools should read animation for teachers.
GoAnimate, Vyond and Plotagon are trademarks of their owners. Blabba is not affiliated with any of them, or with Wrapper: Offline.