Houdini
2D animation apps
Free plan#3 in 2D animation apps

At a glance
Houdini is ranked #3 of 98 in 2d animation apps on ThatPainter, made by Houdini (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux. There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $7.92/mo.
Houdini plans and pricing
All plansHoudini Core — Workstation perpetual $1,995/mo Workstation [Node Locked] 5 workstation licenses per facility sidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
Houdini Core — Annual Upgrade Plan, workstation $1,095/yr Annual Upgrade Plan 5 workstation licenses per facility sidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
Houdini Core — Annual Upgrade Plan, local access $1,639/yr Annual Upgrade Plan; Local Access [Floating] sidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
Houdini Core — Annual rental, workstation $1,475/yr Annual | Workstation 5 workstation licenses per facility sidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
Houdini Core — Annual rental, local access $2,195/yr Annual | Local Access sidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
Compared on 2d animation apps
- Free plan
- Yessidefx.com
Facts
- Free plan
- Yessidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Platform access
- desktopsidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Sculpting tools
- Yessidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Animation tools
- Yessidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Parametric modeling
- Yessidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Render engine
- bothsidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- 3D print export
- Yessidefx.com · 21 Sept 2026
- Multiple License Types
- Houdini is offered through perpetual licenses, annual upgrades, rentals, subscriptions, and education licenses.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Free Apprentice Tier
- Houdini Apprentice is a non-commercial version available for learning and personal projects.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Apprentice Render Limit
- Apprentice render resolution is limited to 1920x1080 and includes a render watermark.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Apprentice Watermark
- Houdini Apprentice includes a render watermark.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Workflow Sharing
- The procedural system supports rapidly sharing workflows with colleagues and sharing custom digital assets.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Support Resources
- SideFX provides customer support, a help desk, FAQ, documentation, and bug/RFE reporting.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Learning Resources
- Houdini offers thousands of hours of tutorials, learning paths, and a progress-tracking My Learning page.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Company Name
- Houdini is developed by SideFX.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Target Industries
- Houdini targets film, TV, game development, motion graphics, virtual reality, and synthetic data work.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Procedural Workflow
- Houdini is built as a procedural system where actions are stored in nodes and connected into networks.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Dynamic Simulation
- Houdini FX includes tools for fluids, destruction, pyro effects, grains, and cloth.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Karma Rendering
- Karma is used to render photorealistic images within Houdini's Solaris lookdev workflow.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Character Creation
- KineFX supports character rigging and animation, with additional tools for hair, fur, feathers, muscles, and cloth.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
- Pipeline And AI
- PDG distributes tasks, manages dependencies, and creates datasets for machine learning and AI applications.sidefx.com · 27 Sept 2026
Company
- Founded
- 1987sidefx.com · 28 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Toronto, Ontario, Canadasidefx.com · 28 Sept 2026
- Founded
- 1987sidefx.com · 23 Sept 2026
- Headquarters
- Toronto, Ontario, Canadasidefx.com · 23 Sept 2026
Best Houdini alternatives
See all 12Where it ranks on ThatPainter
- Best 2D Animation Apps in 2026#3 of 98
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Sources
- sidefx.com/products/compare/;· checked 21 Sept 2026
- sidefx.com/products/compare/· checked 27 Sept 2026
- sidefx.com/products/houdini/· checked 27 Sept 2026
- sidefx.com/products/karma/· checked 28 Sept 2026




