Doodly Review: An In-Depth Look at the Whiteboard Animation Software

Are you looking to create captivating whiteboard sketch videos to engage your audience? Doodly has emerged as a popular tool for marketers, educators, and content creators to quickly whip up professional-looking doodle videos. But with all the hype, you may be wondering – is Doodly really worth the investment?

In this ultimate Doodly review, I‘ll share my honest experience using this software to help you decide if it‘s the right fit for your video creation needs in 2024 and beyond. As a software expert and content strategist, I‘ve personally tested over a dozen whiteboard animation tools, and I‘ll explain how Doodly compares in features, ease of use, and price.

But first, let‘s address the elephant in the room…

Why Are Whiteboard Animations So Popular?

If you‘ve spent any time on social media or watching explainer videos, you‘ve likely encountered the signature sketch animation style. Whiteboard videos have been around for over a decade, but they‘ve exploded in popularity in recent years due to a few key factors:

1. Visually engaging – The dynamic nature of seeing graphics drawn out step-by-step holds the viewer‘s attention better than static images. A study by Wyzowl found that viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading text.

2. Easy to follow – Watching a story or lesson unfold through sketches makes complex topics more digestible and memorable for the audience. The brain processes visual info 60,000 times faster than text!

3. Versatile use cases – Whiteboard videos can explain products, teach skills, tell stories, or promote brands. They work across all industries and can be adapted for any target viewer.

4. Budget-friendly – You don‘t need fancy recording equipment or a big production budget to create a professional whiteboard video. All you need is a microphone and software like Doodly.

But while anyone can slap together images and call it a whiteboard video, creating one that actually resonates with your audience requires a bit more finesse. That‘s where Doodly comes in…or does it?

What is Doodly?

Doodly is a desktop software for Windows and Mac that allows users to easily create whiteboard, blackboard, glassboard, and greenboard animation videos. Instead of spending hours illustrating and editing each frame by hand, Doodly uses a drag-and-drop interface to build your video scene by scene.

The key differentiator is Doodly‘s proprietary "Smart Draw" technology, which instantly converts any SVG or PNG image into a sketch that can be animated with the click of a mouse. Doodly also comes pre-loaded with thousands of royalty-free sketch images and templates, so you don‘t have to be an artist to create a video.

Doodly was created in 2015 by Bryxen, the company behind other popular marketing tools like Toonly and VideoReel. Since then, it has been used by over 214,000 people worldwide to produce whiteboard videos for:

• Social media ads and posts
• Product promos and demos
• Crowdfunding campaigns
• Educational lessons and training
• YouTube intros and explainers
• Website and blog content
• Presentations and pitches

Doodly‘s goal is to streamline the process of creating a whiteboard video from start to finish without sacrificing quality or customization. But how well does it deliver on that promise? Let‘s take a closer look.

My Experience Using Doodly

To give you the most detailed insights, I committed to using Doodly exclusively for my whiteboard animation needs. Over the past 6 months, I‘ve created dozens of Doodly videos for my own content marketing and for clients across industries including education, SaaS, and ecommerce.

Here are the key benefits I‘ve found from using Doodly:

Extensive Asset Library

I‘m admittedly not much of an illustrator, so I was thrilled to discover Doodly‘s built-in library containing over 1,400 unique characters, props, scene backgrounds, and music tracks. While the artwork style is more cutesy than corporate, I was impressed by the level of detail and shading that mimics the hand-drawn look.

Most of my videos focus on explaining software workflows, so I get a lot of mileage out of the "user interface" asset packs which include pre-made sketches of buttons, screens, and tech gadgets. The character animations are surprisingly fluid and can be customized with different body positions, facial expressions, and accessories.

The search function makes it easy to find the assets you need, and you can mark your favorites for quick access. Doodly also releases new free and premium asset packs monthly, so the library never feels stale. I do wish there was an option to upload your own SVGs without converting them to PNG first, but that‘s a minor quibble.

Intuitive Editing Tools

I give Doodly major points for its beginner-friendly editing setup. The main dashboard is split into 3 sections:

1. Asset library on the left
2. Canvas in the middle
3. Timeline on the bottom

Adding an element is as simple as dragging it from the library onto the canvas. You can resize, rotate, and reposition each element however you like. Doodly automatically centers your view and sets up the draw path, but you can easily edit it to your liking.

The timeline allows you to trim scenes, adjust draw speed, add enter/exit effects, and sync voiceovers or music. You can also add Text-to-Speech right in the app, which is handy for rough drafts (though I always recommend recording the final audio with a human voice).

One missing feature is the ability to set precise timecodes for elements to appear/disappear. The workaround is to duplicate scenes and adjust the length, but it would be nice to have that level of control.

Fast Exporting

When you‘re happy with your doodle masterpiece, Doodly can export your video as an MP4 in 480p, 720p, or 1080p Full HD resolution. I usually stick with 1080p since it offers the best visual quality and is widely compatible with all social media and web players.

I‘m blown away by how quickly Doodly can render lengthy videos compared to more resource-intensive animation software I‘ve used. A 5-minute video at 1080p typically exports in under 10 minutes. That turnaround speed is a huge advantage if you‘re producing whiteboard videos at scale.

You can also export just the frames as a sequence of PNGs, which is useful if you want to edit the raw images in Photoshop or After Effects. Or if you just need the voiceover, you can export the audio as an MP3.

How Much Does Doodly Cost?

Doodly offers 3 pricing plans for individuals and businesses:

Plan	Price	Features
Standard	$39/month or $20/month billed yearly	Create unlimited videos Access to 1400+ props & characters 20 premade templates Royalty-free music library Commercial rights to sell videos
Enterprise	$69/month or $40/month billed yearly	All Standard features Access to additional 1500+ assets 40 templates total Priority support

Both plans come with a 14-day unlimited free trial, so you can test drive all the features before committing. There‘s also a 30-day money-back guarantee if you change your mind.

The pricing is a bit steeper than some other whiteboard tools, but I believe the quality and quantity of the assets justify the cost. Hiring a professional illustrator or animator would cost 10-50X more and take weeks of back-and-forth.

For solopreneurs and bootstrapped startups, the monthly plan is a great low-risk option to leverage whiteboard videos in your marketing without breaking the bank. For agencies and enterprises doing a higher volume of videos, the discounted annual billing offers the best bang for your buck.

Doodly vs. Alternatives

While Doodly is one of the most recognized names in the whiteboard video space, it‘s not the only tool worth considering. Here‘s my comparison of how it stacks up to other popular options:

VideoScribe

VideoScribe is Doodly‘s closest competitor with a similar drag-and-drop workflow for creating sketch videos. Some key differences:

• 100% browser-based, no desktop app
• Smaller image library (7000 vs Doodly‘s 20,000)
• Includes more chart/graph templates for data visualization
• Starts at $35/month for 1 user

I slightly prefer Doodly‘s interface and the ability to work locally without relying on my internet speed. But if you prize mobility and real-time collaboration, VideoScribe is the better browser option.

Raw Shorts

Raw Shorts is a more robust animated explainer video platform that includes whiteboard templates along with motion graphics, kinetic text, and character scenes. While it offers more flexibility outside the sketch style, I find the end results look more generic and less convincing as custom animations.

Raw Shorts‘ whiteboard assets also can‘t be customized as deeply as Doodly‘s in terms of draw path, timing, and hand style. And since it‘s entirely cloud-based, you‘ll need a stable internet connection to work on longer videos.

Pricing starts at $39/month for a single user, making it comparable to Doodly‘s base plan. But the more feature-rich plans jump up to $89/month, which may be overkill if your primary goal is whiteboard videos.

Vyond

Formerly GoAnimate, Vyond is the 800-pound gorilla of the DIY animation world. Its drag-and-drop studio allows you to build any kind of animated video from scratch, including doodles, explainers, whiteboards, commercials, and more.

However, the learning curve is quite a bit steeper than Doodly, and the sketch assets feel more limited and clip-arty. I tend to avoid Vyond‘s whiteboard templates because they lack the loose, imperfect charm of real sketch animations.

Vyond‘s prices also reflect its premium status, starting at $49/month for a single user if paid annually. That‘s a high barrier to entry for beginners just looking to experiment with whiteboard videos.

Final Verdict: Is Doodly Worth It?

For most people searching for a reliable, cost-effective way to create professional whiteboard videos, my answer is an emphatic YES! Doodly delivers on its promise of simplifying the process from start to finish without sacrificing creative flexibility.

The wealth of assets and intuitive editing tools allow even total beginners to pump out their first whiteboard video in a matter of hours. And the more you use it, the more opportunities you‘ll discover to optimize your content and boost audience engagement.

Of course, no tool is 100% perfect. I do wish Doodly offered real-time collaboration and a web-based version for on-the-go updates. The inability to upload custom SVGs is a slight annoyance. And while the monthly price is reasonable for the value, it could be prohibitive if you only need a whiteboard video once in a blue moon.

But in my experience, those drawbacks are heavily outweighed by the benefits and long-term ROI potential Doodly offers, including:

• A huge, continuously-updated asset library
• Beginner-friendly editing tools
• One-time fee instead of recurring subscription
• Surprisingly fast render speeds
• Active community of 120,000+ users
• New features and assets added regularly

If you‘ve been curious about adding whiteboard videos to your content mix, Doodly is the perfect tool to get your feet wet without drowning in complexity or cost. Take advantage of the 14-day free trial to play around with all the features and see how easy it is to create your first video.

Still on the fence? Consider these questions:

1. Do you have basic computer skills and an eye for visual storytelling?
2. Are you willing to invest a few hours in learning the Doodly platform?
3. Will you be creating at least 1-2 whiteboard videos per month?
4. Is your target audience receptive to the playful, informal sketch style?

If you answered "yes" to all of the above, then Doodly is absolutely worth the investment for your business or personal brand. It‘s hands-down the most capable and user-friendly tool I‘ve found for DIY whiteboard video creation.

Don‘t just take my word for it. Doodly has racked up tons of rave reviews from marketers, educators, and business owners of all stripes:

"I was able to create my first Doodly video in 45 minutes without any training. On my second video I added music and voice over and I was done in 1 hour! Very cool product." – Chris Britt, CourseAlly

"Best product purchase of the year. I love the simplicity of Doodly – it has made my life so much easier as I create video assets for my clients" – Nick Higbee, Red Wolf

"The drag-and-drop interface is as easy as it gets. I‘ve used Doodly to create fun, engaging videos that convert at 2-3X the rate of my regular videos." – Jason McCullough, EverLesson

As you can see, Doodly can be a game-changer for anyone looking to harness the power of whiteboard videos without breaking the bank or hiring expensive agencies. Give it a try and see how it can level up your own video content strategy!

(Embed final Doodly demo video here)