Comparison
StickTale vs Doodly: build a doodle video by hand, or get a stickman explainer from a question
Doodly is whiteboard animation software for Mac and PC. You drag doodle images onto a canvas, and Doodly animates a hand drawing them, on a whiteboard, blackboard, glassboard or greenboard. You write the script, record or upload the voiceover, and place every scene yourself. StickTale works from the other end: you type a question, and it researches the topic, writes the script, draws a consistent stickman in every scene and narrates it. Here is how they compare, based on Doodly's own pages as of October 23, 2026.
The short answer
Pick Doodly if you want hands-on control of every frame and the classic hand-drawing-on-a-whiteboard effect. It gives you a large library of drawn characters and props, imports your own images with custom draw paths, and exports at frame rates from 24 to 60 fps. It also comes with the Voomly Cloud tools, including Talkia for text-to-speech in several languages. Pick StickTale if you would rather not build scenes at all. It turns a question into a researched, retention-planned script, draws one consistent stickman for every scene, records the narration and adds captions, with a 45-60 second Short ready in about 2 minutes. It narrates in English only and has no whiteboard hand effect, so it is not a like-for-like replacement for Doodly's editor.
StickTale vs Doodly
| Feature | StickTale | Doodly |
|---|---|---|
| How a video gets made | Type a question. Research, script, drawings, narration, music and captions are generated, then you edit | Manual drag-and-drop editor. You place each image on the canvas and Doodly animates it being drawn |
| Visual style | Hand-drawn-style stickman stills, a new picture about every 5 seconds, slow Ken Burns motion and dissolves | Whiteboard, blackboard, glassboard and greenboard doodle animation with a drawing hand |
| Characters and assets | One character drawn from a reference sheet: Auto, presets (Caveman, Everyday person, Scientist) or your own description | 200 characters with 20 poses each, 20 background scenes, hundreds of props, and People Builder for custom characters |
| Your own images | Not supported. Change a scene by describing it, and that picture is redrawn | Smart Draw imports your images and lets you set point-and-click draw paths |
| Script and research | Google Search-grounded research with sources, a retention-planned script, and a fact-check pass | You write the script. AI script writing is not mentioned on its homepage |
| Voiceover | Generated narration in one continuous take, 7 voices (male and female), English only | Record inside Doodly or upload audio. Talkia, included with Voomly Cloud, turns text into voiceovers in several languages |
| Captions | Four caption styles with placement that avoids covering the character, plus hand-lettered labels | Captions are not described on its homepage |
| Export | 1080p or 720p MP4 in the browser, 9:16 or 16:9, plus titles, description and thumbnail | MP4 from 480p to 1080p or a custom size, at 24-60 fps |
| Where it runs | Web app in the browser | Installed software for Mac and PC, on as many computers as you like |
| Price | Starter $19/month for 15 minutes of video, Creator $49/month for 45 minutes (plans launching soon) | $49/month on its pricing page, with Voomly Cloud included. Voomly Pro ($79/month) includes the Enterprise versions |
| Trial and refunds | No free plan or trial. 14-day refund on the first month if under 20% is used | 14-day free trial, and a full refund if you cancel within the first 30 days |
Doodly details checked on October 23, 2026 from their public pages (sources below). Prices and features change; check their site before deciding.
Choose Doodly if
- You want the hand-drawing-on-a-whiteboard effect, where a hand sketches each image on screen.
- You like building scenes yourself and want to decide where every character, prop and line of text goes.
- You want a large ready-made library: 200 characters with 20 poses each, background scenes and hundreds of props.
- You have your own drawings or logos and want them animated with custom draw paths.
- You need voiceovers in languages other than English, or want to record your own voice in the editor.
- You want to try before paying. Doodly lists a 14-day free trial.
Choose StickTale if
- You start with a topic or question, not a script, and want the research and writing done with sources you can check.
- You want the stickman explainer look of faceless history and psychology channels, with one consistent character.
- You want a 45-60 second Short in about 2 minutes instead of placing scenes one by one on a timeline.
- You want captions, background music, sound effects and an upload kit included in the same pass.
- You want to change one scene by describing it, and have only that picture redrawn.
Building scenes vs describing a video
Doodly is an editor. Its homepage describes the workflow plainly: select a doodle image, drag it to the canvas, and Doodly draws it for you. You choose the board, the characters and the props, set the timing on a timeline, drop in music and sync your voiceover. Every decision is yours, which is the point. If you have a clear storyboard and enjoy the craft, nothing generated will match that level of control.
StickTale skips the canvas. You type a question, pick a format, length, character, tone and narrator, and it returns a finished draft: research, script, drawings, narration, music and captions. Your work moves to editing. You rewrite a line and it is re-voiced, or change what a scene shows and redraw just that picture. For channels that publish often, that difference is mostly about time. Our page on the stick figure video maker shows the full flow.
Where the script comes from
Doodly assumes you arrive with a script. Its homepage covers drawing, voiceover recording, music and export, and does not mention AI writing or research. That suits trainers, marketers and teachers who already know what they want to say.
StickTale treats the script as the hardest part. It researches the question with Google Search and lists the sources, then plans the script around a hook, an open loop, escalation, a twist and a payoff that calls back to the hook. An editor pass checks it against the research. Here is the kind of opening it writes for a psychology Short. If you prefer to write your own, our guide on how to write an explainer video script uses the same structure.
Why do you yawn when someone else yawns?
- yawnYou just read the word "yawn." There is a decent chance you are about to do it.
- Contagious yawning is real, and scientists still argue about why it happens.
- empathy?One idea links it to empathy: we tend to catch yawns more from people we feel close to.
- Another says it is simply a signal that spreads through a group, nothing more.
- So if you yawned just now, you have a small piece of evidence to add.
Drawing hand vs stills with camera motion
Doodly's signature is the drawing hand. Each image is sketched onto the board line by line, with a choice of male or female hands, and the pacing comes from watching the picture appear. That effect is strongly tied to sales videos and training explainers, and Doodly does it well.
StickTale doesn't animate drawing. Each scene is a finished stickman drawing that holds for about 5 seconds, with slow Ken Burns motion and a dissolve into the next. That is how the faceless explainer channels look, where viewers follow the narrator and a new picture keeps their attention. Our guide to explainer video pacing explains why a new image every few seconds holds viewers on Shorts.
What each one costs in a month
Doodly's pricing page lists Doodly at $49 a month, with Voomly Cloud included: Toonly, People Builder, Talkia, Pyks, 7 TB of storage and video hosting. Voomly's own pricing page shows that Cloud plan at $49 a month or $490 a year with the Standard versions of these tools, and a Pro plan at $79 a month or $790 a year with the Enterprise versions. Doodly's homepage also shows a promotional $67 offer, and its billing terms aren't clear from the page. There is a 14-day free trial and a full refund within 30 days.
StickTale costs $19 a month for 15 minutes of finished video, or $49 for 45 minutes with custom recurring characters. A 60-second Short uses one minute. You are paying for generated videos, not for software and a library. If you want the bundle of tools, Doodly gives you more for the money. If you want finished stickman explainers, see StickTale pricing.
Questions
Is Doodly a one-time purchase or a subscription?
On October 23, 2026, Doodly's pricing page listed it at $49 a month with Voomly Cloud included, and Voomly's pricing page offered the same plan at $490 a year. Doodly's homepage also showed a promotional $67 offer, but the page doesn't make clear whether that is a one-time or recurring charge.
Does Doodly have a free trial?
Yes. Doodly and Voomly Cloud both advertise a 14-day free trial, and the pricing FAQ promises a full refund if you cancel within the first 30 days. StickTale has no free plan or trial, but the first month is refundable within 14 days if you have used less than 20% of your minutes.
Does Doodly use AI to make videos?
Doodly's homepage does not mention AI. Its workflow is manual: you drag images onto the canvas and Doodly animates them being drawn. Talkia, which comes with Voomly Cloud, is text-to-speech software for voiceovers.
Can Doodly make stick figure videos?
Doodly's library is hand-drawn doodle characters, and a dedicated stickman style isn't listed on its homepage. You could draw your own stick figures and import them with Smart Draw, then set the draw paths by hand. StickTale draws the stickman for you and keeps the same character across every scene.
Is Doodly online or desktop software?
Doodly is installed software for Mac and PC, and its homepage says you can install it on as many computers as you like. StickTale runs in the browser and exports the MP4 there.
What is a good Doodly alternative for faceless YouTube videos?
If you want a faceless explainer channel without building every scene, StickTale makes stickman explainers from a question, with research, a narrator, captions and an upload kit. If you specifically want the whiteboard drawing-hand effect, a whiteboard editor like Doodly is still the closer fit.
Sources
Updated October 23, 2026
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