Powtoon
Free planBrowser-based maker of animated explainer, training and whiteboard videos, with templates and AI tools.
Best for occasional animated videos on a small budget, from a free plan you can keep
Facts checked November 4, 2026
The short answer
Powtoon suits marketers, trainers and teachers who make animated explainers now and then and want to start from a template in the browser. The free plan is enough to try the editor, but its videos are 720p, capped at 3 minutes and watermarked, and MP4 downloads start on Lite at $15 a month billed yearly. Lite allows only 5 exports a month, and month-to-month billing costs far more ($49 for Lite against $15 billed yearly), so most buyers end up committing for a year. Teams that produce animated training every week will get more polish and control from Vyond.
Choose it if
- You want to try the editor and make a few short animated videos without paying, and a watermark at 720p is acceptable for now
- Your videos are training, onboarding or compliance pieces and you'd rather edit a ready-made template than design scenes from scratch
- You want several looks in one tool: cartoon, whiteboard, infographic, realistic characters and footage-based scenes
- You teach, and the $8 a month Education plan (billed yearly) with 10 GB of storage covers your classroom videos
- Your videos need to land in an LMS such as Moodle, Docebo, Canvas or Articulate 360, or go out as SCORM
Skip it if
- You want to pay month to month: Lite is $49 billed monthly against $15 a month billed yearly
- You need more than 5 watermark-free exports a month but only want the cheapest paid plan, since Lite stops at 5 and unlimited exports start on Professional
- You want the classic hand-drawn whiteboard look across a whole video; a dedicated tool such as Doodly or VideoScribe is built around that style
- You plan heavy use of AI avatars, dubbing and generated clips, because each draws on a yearly credit allowance and extra credit packs are non-refundable
- You need custom fonts, lip-synced characters or the right to resell videos and can't stretch to Advanced at $125 a month billed yearly
Main features
Templates by topic
Powtoon says it has more than 100 free templates, with categories for compliance, safety and events, and its whiteboard set includes a tech onboarding template. You swap in your text, logo and colors instead of building scenes yourself.
Several visual styles
One editor covers cartoon, whiteboard, infographic, realistic and footage-based videos, plus animated presentations. Whiteboard scenes draw themselves on screen, so you need no drawing skills.
Character builder
Build characters by choosing facial features, skin tone, hair, clothing, body type and expression, then pose them and add gestures. On Advanced, characters lip-sync to the voiceover.
Anything to Video
Upload a PDF, Word document or PowerPoint deck and Powtoon drafts a video in a footage, presentation or animated style. You then review each scene and swap in your own media.
AI avatars and voice
Paid plans can add a talking human presenter from more than 95 avatars, with text-to-speech in over 140 languages and accents. Each minute of lip-synced avatar video costs 20 credits.
Translation, dubbing and captions
Translate a video's script, captions and voiceover into another language for 22 credits, or dub it at 32 credits a minute. Automatic captions can be burned in or switched on and off.
Screen and webcam recording
Powtoon Capture records your screen, your webcam or both, and you can add your logo and text before you download, embed or share the clip. The free plan includes screen recording.
Stock media library
Powtoon lists more than 4 million pieces of stock footage, images, music and sound effects to drop into scenes, alongside its own animated objects.
LMS and marketing integrations
Publish to YouTube, Vimeo, Wistia or social channels, embed videos in Canvas, Moodle, Docebo or Articulate 360, or export SCORM for another LMS. Zapier and an API cover tools that aren't listed.
Team workspaces
Teams can share folders and brand assets, set viewer, editor and admin roles, comment on specific scenes and require sign-off before a video goes out. Powtoon presents these as part of its Enterprise offer.
Pricing
Prices checked November 4, 2026 on Powtoon's pricing page, which shows them with a $ sign but no currency code. Monthly-billing prices come from the same page's monthly toggle. Professional shows a crossed-out $70 and a "43% off" badge, so treat $40 as a promotional price that may change. Schools and districts get quotes. Extra AI credits come in packs of 125 for $49, 300 for $99 and 450 for $149, and credit purchases are final.
Free
$0
720p video with a Powtoon watermark, videos up to 3 minutes, 100 MB of storage, screen recording, basic templates and characters; MP4 download is listed only on paid plans
Lite
$15 billed yearly ($49 billed monthly) / month
5 watermark-free exports a month, 1080p MP4, videos up to 10 minutes, 300 AI credits a year (150 a month on monthly billing), commercial rights
Professional
$40 billed yearly ($99 billed monthly) / month
Unlimited premium exports, all content and templates, camera movement control, videos up to 20 minutes, 500 AI credits a year (350 a month on monthly billing)
Advanced
$125 billed yearly ($199 billed monthly) / month
Full character customization, character lip-sync, brand control, custom font uploads, videos up to 30 minutes, reseller rights, 1,200 AI credits a year (800 a month on monthly billing)
Education
$8 billed yearly / month
1080p MP4 downloads, education content package, 10 GB storage; exports carry an EDU watermark
Enterprise
Custom / year
Unlimited users, team management, corporate branding and templates, the credit-based AI suite, SSO and 2FA, VIP support and onboarding
Reviews
Write a reviewNo reviews yet. If you use Powtoon, yours would be the first.
Alternatives to Powtoon
| Product | Choose it instead if | Starts at |
|---|---|---|
| Vyond | Your team makes animated training or HR videos every week and wants more polished characters and finer animation control | Free trial |
| Doodly | You want the classic hand-drawn whiteboard look throughout and prefer a desktop app on Windows or Mac | $49 a month (Standard) |
Questions people ask
Is Powtoon free?
Yes, Powtoon has a free plan you can keep using. Free videos are 720p, run up to 3 minutes and carry a Powtoon watermark, and you get 100 MB of storage, screen recording and basic templates and characters. MP4 downloads, watermark removal and the AI tools need a paid plan.
How much does Powtoon cost?
Billed yearly, Lite is $15 a month, Professional $40 and Advanced $125. Billed monthly, the same plans cost $49, $99 and $199. Education is $8 a month billed yearly, and Enterprise is priced by quote. Prices were checked on November 4, 2026.
Does Powtoon remove the watermark on paid plans?
Lite, Professional and Advanced remove the Powtoon watermark. Lite allows 5 watermark-free exports a month, while Professional and Advanced allow unlimited premium exports. The Education plan still adds an EDU watermark.
Can I get a refund from Powtoon?
Powtoon's terms let you cancel and ask for a refund within 14 days of activating a subscription, but not if you have used its AI features more than five times. AI credit packs are non-refundable. If you cancel later, your plan stays active until the end of the billing period.
Can I make whiteboard videos with Powtoon?
Yes. Powtoon has a whiteboard style with hand-drawn scenes that animate on their own, ready-made whiteboard templates for topics such as change management and health and safety training, and AI that drafts a whiteboard script. You can mix whiteboard scenes with its other styles in one video.
Can I use Powtoon videos commercially?
Paid plans include commercial usage rights. Advanced adds third-party reseller rights, which matters if you make videos for clients. The free plan's videos carry the Powtoon watermark and can't be downloaded as MP4 files.
How do Powtoon AI credits work?
Each paid plan includes a credit allowance that refreshes when the plan renews: 300, 500 or 1,200 credits a year on Lite, Professional and Advanced. Credits pay for AI work such as images (2 credits each), text-to-speech (1 credit per 250 characters) and avatars (20 credits per minute). You can buy more in packs starting at 125 credits for $49.
Sources we checked 11
- powtoon.com/pricing for plans, yearly and monthly prices, free plan limits, AI credits and credit costs, Education and Enterprise plans, commercial rights, cancellation, free plan storage and MP4 download limits (rechecked by the editor) checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com for product overview, AI tools, templates, visual styles, stock library, web-based platform checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/aboutus for founded 2012 checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/terms-and-conditions for company name (Powtoon Limited), London address, 14-day refund terms, non-refundable credits checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/integrations for integrations list and count, Zapier, API, LMS embedding and SCORM export checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/create/whiteboard-videos for whiteboard templates and AI whiteboard scripts checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/ai/avatars for avatar count, languages, paid-plan requirement checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/ai/doc-to-video for Anything to Video inputs and output styles checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/features/character-builder for character builder options checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/features/team-collaboration for roles, shared folders, comments and approvals checked November 4, 2026
- powtoon.com/capture-screen-recorder for Powtoon Capture screen and webcam recording checked November 4, 2026