Is Doodly Worth It? – Here’s What I Think After Using it for Years

I have been using Doodly for more than five years now. I bought it during the launch many years back, when it was offered for a one time price of $47 (I think). I don’t remember the exact launch price. Since then, I have created numerous whiteboard animation videos with this tool. The Doodly software still has a special place on my laptop and in my online business.

But is Doodly worth it now? Is it a valuable tool in 2021? Are there better alternatives? Is Doodly still relevant? Let’s find out.

Before that let me give a quick intro to the software and what it can do for you.

What Is Doodly?

To understand what Doodly is, we need to know what exactly doodle videos are.

What Are Doodle Videos?

Doodle videos are a certain type of animation videos where you see a hand (sometimes without a hand) sketching or scribbling text and images on a whiteboard. These videos are also called hand sketch animation videos or whiteboard animation videos.

A doodle video is essentially a video where you explain a product using simple drawings. It’s a visually-led video where you use sketches to show the viewer how the product works or how things are done.

There’s no need to spend thousands of dollars on a video production. A simple doodle video is often all you need to get your message across.

I love doodle videos. I think they’re a great way to get creative and have a little fun when we’re trying to explain something very serious or complex. Doodle videos can be as short and simple or as long and detailed as you want them to be.

What Does Doodly Do?

Doodly is a desktop based software that allows you to create professional-looking cartoon explainer videos otherwise called Doodle videos.

Doodly makes it easy to create whiteboard animation videos, glassboard animation videos, blackboard and chalkboard animation videos in minutes. You can also create doodle videos with custom backgrounds.

You don’t need any coding or graphic designing skills to create doodle videos with Doodly. All you need is a desktop and an internet connection.

Now, I am not going to go into the details of how Doodly works and what are its features. You can read my Doodly review article to know more about the same. Now, let me answer the main question searching for which you landed on this page. Whether or not Doodly worth your investment?

Is Doodly Worth Your Investment?

To answer that, let me first tell you how much money you need to invest to get the Doodly software with all its bells and whistles.

How much does Doodly actually cost?

When I bought the software I invested only $47 that gave me lifetime access to the software with all its future updates. That offer is long gone.

At present, there seem to be two options available to get Doodly.

One is to get Doodly through the one time offer, which is occasionally made available through the special promotions run by the Doodly team on different social media platforms. The other option is to get Doodly under the regular plan.

The Doodly lifetime offer at present costs $67 and the regular plan costs $39 per month for the standard version. If you decide to pay yearly, the standard version will cost you $20/month.

Whether you get lucky and buy Doodly for a one time fee of $67 or get the standard version for a monthly fee, here are the features you get.

• You can create unlimited videos
• You can use it on multiple computers
• You get the premium support
• You get 200 characters which include 10 characters with 20 unique poses
• You also get access to 200 props and images
• 20 tracks of royalty-free music
• You get access to the doodly design Facebook group
• You even get commercial rights, where you can sell the videos to customers and charge them money

Is Doodly Worth Your Money?

Maybe not.

Doodly is really good software, no doubts about that.

But at present, there are much better options available for the same or even lesser price than Doodly’s. Here are the problems I encountered when using Doodly.

The Limitations

The main limitation of the Doodly standard version is that you can’t create colored doodle videos with the software. Yes, you can only create black and white doodle animations. To create colored videos you will have to buy the RAINBOW addon which can cost you an extra $67.

Also, you can’t create any other type of animations with Doodly. They are only meant for creating hand sketch animations. That’s it. This was OK a few years back when there weren’t many competitors in the field of video animation.

But now, things have changed. I am going to show you an animation tool below (that I currently use) which creates different kinds of breath taking animation videos of studio quality at a much lower price than Doodly’s.

What Do I Use and Recommend?

These days I use a single software to create doodle videos, 2D and 3d animation videos, scroll stoppers, presentation and explainer videos, and much more. It is called ‘Create Studio’. Maybe you have already heard about it, maybe not.

CreateStudio is a revolutionary animation tool that is desktop-based. According to the makers of Create Studio, you can create videos for any occasion and purpose, in minutes. It uses a simple drag and drop method to generate videos and has a simple user interface, so it is suitable for beginners.

The best thing is it costs only $67 for lifetime access to the software. For this price, you get access to all the features. There are no extra charges.

Check Out the Software From Here

However, if you want to increase the number of characters, templates and other resources available inside your account you will have to upgrade to the Create Studio All Access Pass. Most of us won’t require these upgrades. I am using only the standard version of the software without any upgrades.

Here’s what you get with the CreateStudio standard plan.

• Lifetime access: CreateStudio software
• Create UNLIMITED Videos
• Commercial use license
• Install on up to 2 devices
• Doodle sketch creator
• 50 Done for you templates
• 8x Free 3D Animated Characters
• 20x Free 2D Animated Characters
• 30+ Backgrounds
• 100+ Animated Emoji’s
• Greenscreen colour removal
• Create gorgeous explainer videos
• Text-to-speech creator
• Linear & radial gradients
• Pexel’s royalty-free stock media integration
• 30 Day risk-free money-back guarantee

That’s cool! Isn’t it?

You can watch the sample videos below to find out what you can create using the CreateStudio software.

Create Studio Doodle Feature

Sample (other animation) Videos Made With Create Studio

Conclusion

When I purchased Doodly there weren’t many doodle makers available on the market. I think there was Videoscribe which has a monthly recurring plan. Doodly was a better option than Videoscribe back then.

Now things have changed. At present, Doodly isn’t worth your investment. It is going to cost you $134 with the RAINBOW addon. CreateStudio costs only $67.

There are many doodle animation tools that are better than Doodly. And then there is CreateStudio, which is arguably the best animation software you can get at that price range.

I am sure you are going to love it. There are no doubts about that.