Animaker gives hands-on creators a lot of control, but two things push people toward an alternative: the watermark on the free plan, and a bill that can balloon once metered premium assets and export overages are added.
For whiteboard videos specifically, you do not need a full manual animation studio — you need a finished video without the variable costs.
Whiteboard Video generates the whole thing for you at a flat monthly price, with no export overages and no watermark on paid plans.
What this guide covers
What Animaker actually costs in 2026
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Watermarked; limited premium downloads |
| Basic | ~$10/mo | Billed annually; 5 premium downloads/mo, HD |
| Starter | ~$19/mo | Billed annually; 10 premium downloads/mo, HD |
| Pro | ~$43/mo | Billed annually; 2K, custom fonts, version history |
| Enterprise | Custom | 4K, live collaboration, SSO, brand kit |
Headline rates assume annual billing; monthly billing costs more. Overages for extra exports and premium assets can raise the real total. Figures from public sources, August 2026.
The trap with Animaker is the gap between the sticker price and the real bill. Premium downloads and assets are metered, so a busy month can push a $19 plan well past that once you buy extra exports.
If you want predictable costs for whiteboard videos, that metering is worth avoiding.
Legit ways to get Animaker cheaper (or free)
If you want to stay on Animaker, here is how to spend less:
- Use the free plan for drafts — it is watermarked, so treat it as a preview tool rather than a way to publish.
- Pay annually — the headline $10/$19/$43 rates need a yearly commitment; monthly billing is noticeably more.
- Watch your export and asset overages — stay within your plan’s premium-download allowance to avoid surprise charges.
- Pick the lowest tier that clears the watermark — do not jump to Pro unless you genuinely need 2K, custom fonts or version history.
- Ask about education or team pricing — bulk or student rates can lower the per-seat cost.
Avoid “Animaker mod” or cracked-download sites — they are unsafe and a fast way to lose your account.
The catch with the “cheap” route
Even on a discounted annual plan, Animaker is a manual editor: you assemble scenes, animate characters and time everything yourself, and the metered premium assets mean the cheapest plan is not always the cheapest month.
For a straightforward whiteboard explainer, that is a lot of moving parts — and a variable bill — for one video.
Or make whiteboard videos free — the AI way
Whiteboard Video makes the whole thing for you and keeps pricing flat. Describe the video or paste a document, and the AI writes the script, draws every scene by hand and narrates it — no characters to pose, no timeline, no per-asset charges.
It is free to start, $9.99/month for Starter and $19.99/month for up-to-10-minute videos, with generous monthly video counts and no export overages.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Your first video free (small removable watermark) |
| Starter | $9.99/mo | 15 videos / month · up to 5 min · no watermark |
| Pro | $19.99/mo | 35 videos / month · up to 10 min · no watermark |
| Ultra | $60/mo | 100 videos / month · commercial licence |
You can also earn free video credits by sharing your videos on social media, with a bigger bonus for anything that passes 10,000 views.
Animaker vs Whiteboard Video: side by side
Animaker is a manual studio with metered assets; here is how flat-priced automatic generation compares.
| Whiteboard Video | Animaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for whiteboard videos | Dedicated | One of many styles |
| AI writes the script | Yes | No |
| AI-drawn illustrations per scene | Yes | Library assets |
| Built-in AI voiceover | Yes | Add-on / TTS |
| No manual timeline editing | Fully automatic | Manual timeline |
| Import prompt / URL / PDF / Word | Yes | Limited |
| Works on any device (browser) | Yes | Browser |
| Earn free credits by sharing | Yes | No |
| Cheapest watermark-free plan | Free, then $9.99/mo | from ~$10/mo (Basic) |
| Time to first video | Minutes | Hours |
Based on publicly available features and pricing at the time of writing; competitor plans change over time.
Animaker: the honest pros and cons
Where it shines
- Flexible characters, templates and styles
- Good for hands-on animators
- HD to 4K on higher tiers
- Large asset library
Where it costs you
- Free plan is watermarked
- Pro reaches ~$43/month (annual)
- Metered exports/assets can multiply the bill
- Manual timeline — whiteboard is just one style
Real whiteboard videos made with our AI
These are actual videos generated on Whiteboard Video — script, hand-drawn illustrations and voiceover, all automatic. Click any to watch the full thing.
How to make a cheaper whiteboard video — step by step
- Start free at Whiteboard Video — your first video is on us, no credit card.
- Paste a prompt, URL, PDF or Word doc as your source material.
- Pick a voice, language and length — there is no template to choose or lay out.
- Let the AI write, draw and narrate the whole whiteboard video in minutes.
- Download in HD, then earn free credits by sharing your video to make more.
Why it is the cheaper, faster choice
The biggest reason to switch from Animaker is predictability: metered exports and premium assets mean the cheapest plan is not always the cheapest month. Whiteboard Video's pricing is flat.
It is also faster — a prompt becomes a finished, narrated whiteboard video in minutes, versus assembling and timing one by hand in Animaker.
And it starts free and $9.99/month, below Animaker's Pro tier, with no surprise overage charges.
