Onion skin
See previous and next frames as ghosts to judge spacing and timing.
2D animation software · Free · In your browser
Animate in 2D.
Free, in your browser.
Nothing to install.
A keyframe timeline, onion skin, tweens, symbols, bones and pressure-sensitive brushes: what you were looking for in Adobe Animate or Toon Boom, free, with no account and no downloads.
- No install, no sign-up
- Animate-style shortcuts
- Windows, Mac, Linux & Chromebook
What animating costs today
Animating shouldn't cost you a pricey subscription
If you ever wanted to animate in 2D, you probably hit at least one of these walls.
Paying to cancel
Adobe's annual plan billed monthly charges 50% of what's left if you cancel in the first year. The US FTC sued Adobe over it in 2024.
Software on pause
In February 2026 Adobe announced it was ending Animate, then moved it to "maintenance mode": no new features, still a subscription.
Installs, accounts, licenses
Toon Boom Harmony and Moho need an install, an account or licenses that cost hundreds of dollars. And Animate has no Linux or Chromebook version.
Too much to get started
Heavy apps, powerful hardware and a huge learning curve before your first character even moves.
→ Brinimate opens in a browser tab. You animate for free in seconds, on any machine. And if you ever want more, plans will be affordable, with no penalty for cancelling.
Animator tools
Everything you need to animate in 2D
The classic 2D animation toolkit, in an editor that runs entirely in your browser.
Linear 
Smooth
Bounce
Tweens with easing
Set two keyframes and choose how it moves: linear, smooth, bounce, elastic or shape tween.
1 2 Frame by frame
Draw every pose by hand with F5, F6 and F7, just like in Animate. Great for walk cycles and effects.
Symbols & instances
Draw once, reuse everywhere. Each instance can change color or size, and symbols can be nested.
Bones & rigging
Build a 2D skeleton and move arms and legs without redrawing the character.
Pressure brushes
64 vector brushes that respond to pen or tablet pressure, plus a Bezier pen and pathfinder.
New · Beta
Make Lottie animations for websites and apps
Animate on the timeline and export Lottie (JSON): lightweight, vector and ready for lottie-web, LottieFiles, iOS and Android. Made for developers and UI/UX designers.
- Tweens, easing, shape tweens and symbols become real Lottie keyframes, not a video.
- Import a Lottie and edit it like any project: layers, symbols and keyframes.
- Preview it with the official player before downloading. Free, no account.
Also: masks, camera, audio with waveform, SVG and image import, MP4 and WebM export, and Lottie (beta).
New · Beta
Your face drives the character
Brinimate Mirror is a free alternative to Adobe Character Animator: the character copies your expressions through the webcam and talks with your voice, live, in the browser.
- It copies head tilt and turn, blinks, brows, mouth shapes and emotions. In body mode, your arms too.
- Tracking runs on your device: the camera image never leaves the browser.
- Your take becomes editable keyframes on the timeline, not a locked video.
- A clean window for OBS: use it for streams or video calls.
Why Brinimate exists
I was paying for Adobe Creative Cloud. When I tried to cancel my annual plan, Adobe charged me 50% of what was left on the subscription. Shortly after, it announced Animate would stop getting new features.
So I built the animation tool I wanted to use: one you open in the browser, with no account, no install and no fine print. I have nothing against paying for a good tool: what I disliked was paying a fortune and being charged for leaving. That is why Brinimate has a free plan you can really animate with, and the paid plans to come will be affordable and cancellable whenever you want.
Coming from Adobe Animate?
You'll feel at home: the same concepts and almost the same keys.
| In Adobe Animate | In Brinimate |
|---|---|
| Frame F5 · Keyframe F6 · Blank keyframe F7 | F5 · F6 · F7, same |
| Classic / motion tween | Tween: Linear, Smooth, Bounce, Elastic |
| Shape tween | Shape tween |
| Graphic symbols and movie clips | Symbols and instances, nestable, with per-instance overrides |
| Onion skin | Onion skin |
| Bone tool | Bones (2D rigging) |
| V Selection · A Subselection · Q Free transform | V · A · Q |
| B Brush · E Eraser · K Paint bucket · I Eyedropper · P Pen | B · E · K · I · P |
| R Rectangle · O Oval · T Text · H Hand | R · O · T · H |
| Publish video / HTML5 Canvas | Export MP4, WebM or Lottie (beta) |
Brinimate doesn't open .fla files. You can bring your drawings in as SVG or images.
And if you just want a quick video
Skits: talking characters in minutes
Type the dialogue, pick a character, a voice and a background, and Brinimate generates the animation, lip-sync and captions. Export vertical video for TikTok, Reels and Shorts.
Who is Brinimate for?
Animators leaving Adobe
Timeline, symbols, tweens and familiar shortcuts, free and with no cancellation penalty.
People starting to animate
Students and hobbyists who want to learn 2D animation without paying for a suite or owning a powerful computer.
Streamers & creators
Animate a character with your face and voice for streams, calls or videos, without Character Animator.
Your next animation starts in a browser tab
No account, no downloads, no card. Open the editor and move your first character now.
Frequently asked questions
Is Brinimate really free?
Yes. The Brinimate 2D animation editor is complete, free, runs in the browser and asks for no account or card. The free plan will stay genuinely good: it is not a trial with an expiry date. Later there will be optional, affordable paid plans with extras, like saving projects online, natural voices or AI tools, which you can cancel whenever you want with no penalty.
What is a good free alternative to Adobe Animate?
Brinimate is a free, browser-based alternative to Adobe Animate: a keyframe timeline (F5, F6 and F7 like in Animate), tweens, onion skin, symbols, bones, pressure-sensitive brushes and MP4/WebM export. Free and nothing to install.
Was Adobe Animate discontinued?
Not quite. In February 2026 Adobe announced it would stop selling it and, after the backlash, reversed course within days: Animate is now in "maintenance mode", with security and bug fixes but no new features, and it still requires a subscription.
Is there a free alternative to Adobe Character Animator?
Yes. Brinimate Mirror (beta) animates a 2D character with your face and voice using your webcam, right in the browser. Face tracking runs on your device and the take becomes editable keyframes.
Do I need to install anything or create an account?
No. Brinimate runs 100% in the browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari), so it works on Windows, macOS, Linux and Chromebook with no download and no sign-up.
What formats can I export to?
You can export MP4 (H.264) and WebM video right in the browser, in 16:9, 9:16 and 1:1, plus Lottie animations (beta) for websites and apps, which you can also import and edit.
Is it good for learning animation?
Yes. It has the classic 2D animation tools (onion skin, frame by frame, tweens, symbols and bones), and the blog has step-by-step guides for each one.
Does it work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. Brinimate has a phone-first interface and the brushes respond to stylus pressure on tablets.
From the same makers
Try Bricanvas Need to prep your art before animating?
Bricanvas is Brinimate's sibling hybrid image editor (pixel + vector): remove backgrounds with local AI, trace a drawing and get it ready to animate. Free, in the browser.