Hello everyone, I am a complete beginner to animation, and choosing between moho and synfig. First thing I want to say is that I can pay 60$ for moho debut, but I won’t buy a pro version. Also, my drawing skills are very poor, so i will only be working with ready images (at least for now) or pixel images, because they are the only thing I can draw by myself. Also i would like to ask you what is easier to start from and what has a bigger potential in case I want to learn it professionally? Thank you so much in advance.
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Go for Synfig. It’s easier to get started and you can accomplish a lot in less time.
I have Moho 14 pro. and Synfig. To answer your question, which is easier to start with? Moho is a tad bit different from other animation software in terms of it’s toolset, so it might take some getting used to. I don’t understand the other part of your question about “learning it professionally.” Learn what the software? If so, you can learn them both professionally.
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Don’t you think opinions here are going to be a bit biased? 
Of course we’re going to recommend you Synfig, it is Synfig forum after all.
In all fairness, it does have problems: poor documentation (it’s important to you as a beginner, isn’t it?), random crashes (save your work often), bone system is not in a good shape, small community (join… us…) and of course some performance issues especially on some filters that weren’t ported to new engine (I am looking at you, “Distortions” group).
That being said, Synfig has huge potential thanks to ‘converter’ system which allows you to write mathematical formulas and automate animation. Hell, I use Synfig as semi-3D editor just because I can. One complex example of converter’s power is the particle template: Particles V2.0 - Synfig Animation Studio
And there’s also something cool called a joystick plugin: https://forums.synfig.org/t/joysticks-in-synfig-controller-plugin
So Synfig offers a lot of potential for animation automation.
Overall, summarized for your case:
- For mangling pixel (raster) images you have cut-out tools and transform tools that work well and bone system that’s quite cumbersome
- Is it easy to start with? Definitely, I started with Synfig without having any previous experience in animation and back then we didn’t even have nice video tutorials. Here are some links for you:
** [Official tutorial] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNU5Yiqh73U&list=PLJ1s8hm5LwbTlUt_kOmQ04hK5uaCgpCh7
** [From user Khemardi] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2mUFz29u-4&list=PLjuma0nCUc49ouTXvF9DtqBAOvMKjQLhF - In terms of potential, Synfig got you covered. There are converters and Synfig is an open source software, so you can actually discuss adding a new feature on this forum and on Github: Issues · synfig/synfig · GitHub
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Moho or Synfig? Each of these programs have Alot of potential, moho is commercial & Synfig is open source. The real question should be which one are you willing to devote time to interns of the learning process. If you don’t want to spend as you said, then go with synfig & don’t look back, start learning it until you can reach the professional level.
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