--- title: "Pencil2D: search popularity worldwide" description: "Free open source software for hand-drawn 2D animation. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/pencil2d" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # Pencil2D: search popularity worldwide Free open source software for hand-drawn 2D animation. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Brand**: Pencil2D - **Market**: Global - **Measured month**: Sep 2026 - **Share of Search among animation software**: 1.6% ## Where the brand sits | Competitive set | Rank | Share of Search | Estimated monthly branded searches | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Animation software | 9 | 1.6% | 22.2K | - [Animation software](/demand/global-en/categories/animation-software) ## Top animation software in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Pencil2D was mentioned in three out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers and in both Google AI Overviews. Pencil2D is the ninth most recommended of the 14. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blender | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Toon Boom | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Adobe Animate | 3rd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Adobe After Effects | 4th | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Krita | 5th | 2 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Moho | 6th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Autodesk Maya | 7th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | OpenToonz | 8th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Pencil2D | 9th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Synfig Studio | 10th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | TVPaint | 11th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Procreate Dreams | 12th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Animaker | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Vyond | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about animation software - Asked ChatGPT "Which animation software should I use?": 1. Blender, 2. Toon Boom, 3. Krita, 4. Adobe After Effects, 5. Moho, 6. OpenToonz - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best animation software options?": 1. Blender, 2. Adobe Animate, 3. Toon Boom, 4. Autodesk Maya, 5. Moho, 6. Krita, 7. Adobe After Effects, 8. Procreate Dreams, 9. OpenToonz, 10. Pencil2D - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best animation software for motion graphics?": 1. Adobe After Effects, 2. Blender, 3. Adobe Animate - Searched Google, AI Overview "animation software": 1. Blender, 2. Autodesk Maya, 3. Toon Boom, 4. Adobe Animate, 5. Moho, 6. TVPaint, 7. Pencil2D, 8. OpenToonz, 9. Synfig Studio, 10. Procreate Dreams - Searched Google, AI Overview "2d animation software": 1. Pencil2D, 2. OpenToonz, 3. Synfig Studio, 4. Krita, 5. Blender, 6. Toon Boom, 7. Adobe Animate, 8. Moho, 9. TVPaint Not named in any answer: Animaker and Vyond. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 20, 2026. ## How has branded search demand for Pencil2D changed worldwide over the last 12 months? - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for Pencil2D worldwide fell from 40.5K to 22.2K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Pencil2D’s share of searches among animation software worldwide decreased from 2.5% to 1.6%. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Pencil2D’s share of searches among animation software worldwide peaked at 3.4% in March 2026 and was lowest at 1.6% in September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Pencil2D fell from 8th to 9th among animation software worldwide. ## How did search popularity change for animation software worldwide in September 2026? - In September 2026, Animaker overtook Adobe After Effects and Adobe Animate to rank 2nd among animation software worldwide, with 9.7% of the searches. - In September 2026, Krita gained share of searches among animation software worldwide, from 43.3% to 48.3%. - In September 2026, OpenToonz lost share of searches among animation software worldwide, from 7.1% to 5.3%. - In September 2026, Adobe After Effects lost share of searches among animation software worldwide, from 8.7% to 7.9%. - In September 2026, Adobe Animate lost share of searches among animation software worldwide, from 8.7% to 7.9%. - In September 2026, Vyond lost share of searches among animation software worldwide, from 8.7% to 7.9%. ## Historical estimated branded-search demand | Month | Competitive set | Estimated monthly branded searches | Share of Search | Rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | Animation software | 40.5K | 2.5% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | Animation software | 40.5K | 2.6% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | Animation software | 33.1K | 2.3% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | Animation software | 33.1K | 2.3% | 9 | | Feb 2026 | Animation software | 49.5K | 3.1% | 9 | | Mar 2026 | Animation software | 49.5K | 3.4% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | Animation software | 40.5K | 2.9% | 8 | | May 2026 | Animation software | 27.1K | 2.3% | 9 | | Jun 2026 | Animation software | 22.2K | 1.9% | 9 | | Jul 2026 | Animation software | 27.1K | 2.3% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | Animation software | 27.1K | 2.1% | 9 | | Sep 2026 | Animation software | 22.2K | 1.6% | 9 | ## How are Pencil2D’s branded searches counted? Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Pencil2D’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for this branded term can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading. - “pencil2d” ## Which animation software compete with Pencil2D? - [Krita](/demand/global-en/brands/krita) - [Animaker](/demand/global-en/brands/animaker) - [Adobe After Effects](/demand/global-en/brands/adobe-after-effects) - [Adobe Animate](/demand/global-en/brands/adobe-animate) - [Vyond](/demand/global-en/brands/vyond) - [OpenToonz](/demand/global-en/brands/opentoonz): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/opentoonz-vs-pencil2d - [Autodesk Maya](/demand/global-en/brands/autodesk-maya): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/autodesk-maya-vs-pencil2d - [Toon Boom](/demand/global-en/brands/toon-boom): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/pencil2d-vs-toon-boom - [Procreate Dreams](/demand/global-en/brands/procreate-dreams): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/pencil2d-vs-procreate-dreams - [Blender](/demand/global-en/brands/blender): Head-to-head: /demand/global-en/compare/blender-vs-pencil2d - [Synfig Studio](/demand/global-en/brands/synfig-studio) - [TVPaint](/demand/global-en/brands/tvpaint) - [Moho](/demand/global-en/brands/moho-pro) ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "Pencil2D: search popularity worldwide". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/pencil2d This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/brands/pencil2d. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.