A drive device for a pivoting vehicle flap, includes a first housing part (3), a second housing part (4), wherein the first housing part (3) and the second housing part (4) are designed to be movable toward each other in the direction of the axial extension (x) of the drive device (1), a spindle rod (12) rotatably arranged on one of the first housing part (3) and the second housing part (4) and a spindle nut (13) arranged in a rotatably fixed manner on the other of the first housing part (3) and the second housing part (4), a braking device (19), comprising a first brake element, which is connected to the spindle rod (12) in a rotatably fixed manner, a second brake element, which is connected to one of the first housing part (3) and the second housing part (4) in a rotatably fixed manner, wherein the first brake element can interact with the second brake element in order to generate a brake force, and a magnet arrangement for generating a magnetic field. The drive device (1) is for a pivoting vehicle flap, to provide automatic pivoting and a flexible holding force for the vehicle flap, such that at least one of the first brake element and the second brake element can be displaced in the axial direction (x) of the spindle rod (12) by the magnetic field.