Doodly Review 2024-Is It the Best Whiteboard Animation Software

Whiteboard animation videos have risen in popularity in recent years. Not only are they interesting to watch but also attention-grabbing, to-the-point, and the visual elements make it easier to understand the concept.

Doodly is one of the very best whiteboard animation software to create these videos. You don’t require any animation technical skills to make Doodly whiteboard animation videos. All you’re going to do is, just drag and drop. It’s easier than you think.

If you want to create whiteboard videos by yourself, here’s a detailed and honest review of Doodly and every other gist I think you should know about the software before you go ahead to buy it for your use.

So, let’s dive right in.

Doodly Review

Samuel White

Ease of Use
Functionality
Pricing
Customer Support

Summary

We found Doodly is easy to use, affordable, having a powerhouse of doodle library, and great support team.
However, based on your personal needs, Doodly might not be the best whiteboard animation software. Apparently, VideoScribe provides similar features in lower prices and PowToon has more options for creating videos apart from whiteboard videos.

4.3
Doodly Review

What is Doodly?

Doodly is a whiteboard animation software that allows anyone, regardless of technical or design skills, to create professional, realistic whiteboard videos in minutes. You can use it to make whiteboard animation videos, chalkboard animation videos, and glass board animation videos without professional skills.

In details, it helps in making professional and realistic videos within a couple of minutes by the following people:

  • YouTube Marketers
  • Teaching and Training Experts
  • Facebook Advertisers
  • Sales Videos (VSLs)
  • Animation video creators
  • And others

Doodly Features

Doodly is built around a set of features for all your marketing, teaching, and overall creative needs. These features are the staple point of all Doodly reviews, and ours is no different. 

Now, off we go.

1. Drag and Drop

The takeaway point here is anyone can create videos from Doodly. No need to have any technical animation knowledge to create videos. Meanwhile, Doodly itself mentioned that even a 7year old child can make videos from it.

2.  Multiple Board Styles

Although Doodly is mainly designed as a whiteboard animation software, you can take advantage of its additional animation styles using the different board styles available. Some of the board styles include:

  • Whiteboard — the classic whiteboard video creator option
  • Glassboard — the hand writes on the other side of the glass
  • Blackboard — a dark chalkboard
  • Greenboard — a green chalkboard
  • Custom — either a solid color or a custom background image. Custom board

3. Dozens of Different Male and Female Hand Types

As well as having different board styles to pick from, each board gives the option to pick a variety of different hand styles.

There are 62 hand styles of different sizes and ethnicities to choose from. If you’re looking for something stylized, there are also cartoon options (in 2D and 3D animation). Doodly allows you to switch between left- and right-handed styles as well.

4. Huge Doodle Library

Doodly has over 3,596 character images and 3000+ prop images in their Enterprise plan. The Standard plan comes with a library of 1,164 characters images and 1,620 different props.

For both plans, you also get access to 84 scene templates and 150 royalty-free music tracks.

5. Custom Draw Paths

Something I really like about Doodly is the ability to create custom draw paths to any image you import into the software.

This means that you can tell Doodly the exact sequence you want the image to be drawn. Having this gives a more natural effect than simply having the image wipe into view.

Doodly Custom Draw Paths

6. Record voice over

It is also possible to record a voice over directly inside Doodly, so this means you can easily add narrations to the video.

During audio recordings, a preview of the whiteboard animation is played so you can get the timings just right.

You can then adjust the audio on the timeline, such as removing parts of the beginning and end as well as introducing some fade in or fade out effects.

7. Export Video in High Definition

When it comes to exporting your finished whiteboard animation, there are plenty of file types and resolutions that can be selected in Doodly.

  • Videos can be saved as MP4, MKV, OGG and WebM file types. Most people will only really need MP4, especially if you are uploading to YouTube.
  • Resolutions range from 360p to full 1080p high definition. There is also the ability to enter your own resolution without an aspect ratio for videos that are slightly different, such as those on social media.
  • Doodly supports 24, 25, 30, 48, 50 and 60 frames per second (FPS). Some people like going all out 60 FPS these days.

Doodly Price

The animation software comes with two pricing options – Standard and Enterprise.

Standard costs $20/month (annual billing), or $39/month (monthly billing).

Enterprise is $40/month when billed annually or $69/month when billed per month.

When comparing the two Doodly pricing plans, you can easily see they are pretty similar. It’s just that with the Enterprise plan you get more …well, everything.

Here’s the rundown, Standard vs Enterprise:

  • 1164 vs 3996 character images
  • 1620 vs 3341 prop images
  • 150 vs 250 royalty-free music tracks
  • 20 vs 40 video templates
  • 35 fonts vs 70 fonts
  • Standard support vs Premium support.

Both Doodly pricing plans offer 84 scene templates, use on multiple computers, and an invite to the Doodly Facebook group.

Like Toonly, there is no Doodly free trial or version. But there is a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you change your mind at any time, you can ask for a full refund.

Doodly Customer Support

Doodly has a lot of support on hand. 

1. Support Page

First, let’s talk a bit about the Doodly knowledge base and video tutorials

The guides are neatly organized, and easily reachable thanks to the search bar. They cover a variety of topics, from general information to more specific tasks, like adding color to images. 44 articles cover all you need to know about whiteboard video creator mechanics in the “Working with Doodly” section.

If articles can’t help, videos can! A collection of video tutorials is available for free on YouTube.

Doodly Support

2. Create a Ticket

If you still can’t find a solution or have something to complain about, you can create a ticket. On top of Doodly’s support page, you’ll find an option to create a new ticket which then proceeds to ask for more details. Generally, you shall receive a response within 48 hours.

3. Live Chat

If you don’t want to wait for hours to get a reply, try live chat. You can start a live chat by entering your name and email address and an agent should connect with you.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s a Facebook community waiting for you. Upon your Doodly purchase, you get an invitation to join the Doodly Facebook group. As of now, there are over 88,000 active members.

Doodly Review: Its Pros and Cons

👍Pros:

  • Easy to use with a teeny-weeny learning curve
  • Supports different board styles
  • A fairly broad selection of male and female hand types in various ethnicities
  • Doodly Smart Draw technology to create custom draw paths
  • You can install it on multiple devices with one license
  • Excellent customer support

😔Cons:

  • There’s no free trial
  • No colored images in Standard Plan
  • No offline use
  • Exporting videos is somewhat slow

Doodly Alternatives and Competitors

Unsure if the Doodly is the best whiteboard animation software for you? Then read out the alternative animation software. Let’s go through it quickly one by one.

1. Doodly Vs VideoScribe

One of the best and tough competitors of Doodly’s is VideoScribe. 

Unlike Doodly, VideoScribe:

  • Is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices 
  • Works offline
  • Has a free trial
  • starts at $14 per month for the yearly plan, which is cheaper than Doodly’s $20 or $40 per month options.

The image library sizes are similar. Moreover, VideoScribe has colored pictures as part of its Pro plan. They don’t sell that feature as an add-on, unlike Doodly. 

VideoScribe, however, doesn’t support custom draw paths. That means that the animation of imported pictures looks generic and a bit awkward.

All in all, if you are looking for a full-featured program at a lower price, then VideoScribe offers more than you’d get with Doodly. 

To know more read the detailed VideoScribe review.

2. Doodly Vs Toonly

Toonly and Doodly are sister companies i.e., they are developed by the same creators.

Given that they fall under the same umbrella of software niche (animated video maker), these are often compared against each other.

However, there’s a huge difference between both which makes them attract different groups of users.

Doodly is a whiteboard animation software which is used to create sketch videos. It is more efficient when you have to explain more in words. If your video will require writing lots of text, then we would recommend that you choose Doodly.

Toonly on the other hand is termed as cartoon animation software which is more helpful while creating cartoon animation videos. Toonly videos are best for creating a sales page or creating Ads.

However, since both Doodly and Toonly are created by Bryxen, the pricing plan and premium support of both the software are the same.

To know more read the detailed Toonly review.

3. Doodly Vs PowToon

This really is a great Doodly alternative! PowToon is a British company that offers cloud-based software to create animation, animated explainer videos and presentations. Fun fact- PowToon is a blend of “PowerPoint and “Cartoon”!

Here are the main differences between Doodly and PowToon;

  • Doodly can be downloaded on your PC, while PowToon can only be accessed online as it is located in the cloud.
  • PowToon has different options for creating videos apart from whiteboard videos, such as animated explainer, presentation video, promotional video and infographic. However, Doodly is completely dedicated to whiteboard animation. This is why there are more whiteboard animation features available on Doodly.

To know more read the detailed PowToon review.

Final Verdict: Is Doodly Worth It

Yes. Doodly is a good choice. In this Doodly review, we found that this software is easy to use, affordable, having a powerhouse of doodle library, and great support team.

However, based on your personal needs, Doodly might not be the best whiteboard animation software. Apparently, VideoScribe provides similar features in lower prices and PowToon has more options for creating videos apart from whiteboard videos.

Samuel White
  • Samuel White
  • Samuel White is an accomplished author with extensive experience in reviewing apps and software. His well-researched and engaging content helps readers navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape. Samuel's passion for innovation drives him to stay updated on the latest trends and share his expertise with his audience.