Creative proofing software collects comments and sign-off on designs, videos, PDFs and web pages in one place instead of email threads.
This guide ranks fourteen products by reviewer limits, storage caps, what the plan costs once a team grows, and which smaller independent vendors fit each kind of review in practice.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What creative proofing software does
Creative proofing software lets reviewers mark up images, video, documents or live pages, tracks versions and comments, and records who approved the final version before launch.
Every creative proofing tool was judged on five points in a fixed order: setup effort, cost in practice, how data is exported, how easily you can leave, and the buyer it was designed for. One rule sits on top of those tests: places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Reasons for the choice of tests, and for skipping a score out of ten, can be read on the how we work page.
Annotation proofing with unlimited reviewers, from one solo seat upward
Ranked #1 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Cage shows three self-serve tiers: a free plan with 1 user, 1 project and 2GB, a standard tier with 500GB, and a professional tier with 2TB. Reviewers are unlimited everywhere, which matters because outside clients rarely want accounts.
Paid plans are monthly with no lock-in, and the standard tier lists all integrations. The cost of growth is the 25-person cap, after which concierge onboarding and a quoted enterprise price replace the list.
What stands out
unlimited reviewers
monthly billing
per-user seats
Where it costs you
Both paid self-serve plans stop at 25 people, so larger teams must contact the company.
The page states no separate trial, so the one-user, one-project free plan is the only way to test.
Right for
Freelancers and agencies wanting unlimited outside reviewers on monthly seat prices
Wrong for
Organisations needing more than 25 people on a self-serve plan
United StatesFree plan with no time limit; paid seats published per user, billed monthly without lock-in
Frame-accurate video and design review for creative teams and their clients
Ranked #2 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The light plan gives 50GB with HD playback and delivery for one monthly sum, not per user. The team plan starts at 250GB with no user limit and adds closed captions and custom branding.
Comments pin to an exact frame, versions compare side by side, and a review panel opens inside Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere. Cost rises sharply once you need multiple teams, org administration, single sign-on and an SLA.
What stands out
video review
frame-accurate comments
approval workflows
Where it costs you
The team plan covers a single team, so several teams must move to a quoted enterprise deal.
The pages read state no country, so the vendor's location cannot be checked from them.
Right for
Editors and small studios sending video cuts to clients for frame-accurate notes
Wrong for
Companies with several teams wanting published prices throughout
Not stated by the vendorEntry plan published as a flat monthly price per account; team plan published per user; free trial without card
Design and PDF proofing with an Adobe plugin and compliance checklists
Ranked #3 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The lower tier caps work at 15 active projects, 15 external reviewers, 50GB and one approval checklist per project. The upper tier needs at least three users and gives 250 projects, unlimited external reviewers, 150GB, templates, cloning and chat support at all hours.
A separate compliance suite for consumer goods is priced after a demo. Asana, Slack and Zapier connect it to task tools, and SOC 2 compliance is stated in the terms.
What stands out
Adobe plugin
approval checklists
Zapier
Where it costs you
The lower tier excludes video and GIF files and limits support to email.
Hosting location and registered address are not stated, so data residency cannot be confirmed.
Right for
Design teams reviewing layouts inside Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign
Wrong for
Video teams who need playback on the cheaper tier
Not stated by the vendorTwo seat-based tiers published monthly with a minimum user count on the upper one; trial without card; compliance suite quoted
Reviewer-group approval for marketing files, with euro tiers on the page
Ranked #4 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The free plan holds one active project, 10 team members, two reviewer groups and 2GB. Starter lifts projects and new files to unlimited with 1TB; Business adds a third reviewer group and 3TB.
Enterprise is quoted with 10TB. A 14-day trial covers all features, then the account drops back to the free plan unless upgraded. Seat growth is metered in packs of five.
What stands out
reviewer groups
euro pricing
approval workflows
Where it costs you
The free plan allows only five new files a month with no rollover.
The terms pages read give no legal name, address or country for the vendor.
Right for
Marketing teams with sequential sign-off from several reviewer groups
Wrong for
Solo freelancers wanting more than five files monthly for nothing
Not stated by the vendorFree plan with one active project; paid tiers published monthly in euros; yearly billing saves two months
Proofing for agencies with unlimited projects and a five-seat minimum
Ranked #5 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
All three published plans require at least five users. The cheapest has email support, the middle plan adds round-the-clock chat, and the largest raises the minimum to 15 users with 30GB.
Projects and external reviews are unlimited on the entry plan. Each paid plan has a 14-day trial, while the enterprise option offers a month of trial once training is done. Annual billing shows a 10% saving.
What stands out
flat monthly plans
five-user minimum
unlimited projects
Where it costs you
The two entry plans include only 5GB of storage, which video proofs will use quickly.
The page states that refunds are not given after payment is processed.
Right for
Agencies running many client jobs who prefer flat monthly sums to seat pricing
Wrong for
Teams of fewer than five people or heavy video users
United StatesThree plans published as monthly flat sums with a five-user minimum; 14-day trial; enterprise price on request
Design and video review plans split by project count and storage
Ranked #6 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Six plans split by media: Team, Agency and Enterprise for design, then Motion, Theatre and Production for video. The Agency tier allows 40 projects, 40 collaborators, 200GB, versioning and PDF export.
Production reaches 100 visual projects, 500GB, realtime presentations and shared links. Prepaying for 12 or 24 months earns 15% or 25% off. Sign-in works through Google or Facebook. Pricing must be asked for because the page held placeholders.
What stands out
design review
video timelines
prototypes
Where it costs you
The pricing page read shows placeholders, so no plan cost can be compared.
After the trial, accounts move to a one-project plan with limited features and no support.
Right for
Studios mixing design, video and prototype reviews in one workspace
Wrong for
Buyers who need confirmed prices before any trial
Not stated by the vendorDesign and video plan families listed in dollars, with a 15-day trial; figures not shown on the page read
Website feedback canvases with comment deadlines and an AI-agent integration
Ranked #7 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The free plan holds one user and one canvas. Pro covers 2 users and 3 canvases with 100GB of video storage, Team starts at 5 users with unlimited canvases and 500GB, and Enterprise starts at 10 users.
Every extra Team seat has a listed price. Feedback can be paused, given a deadline, tagged and converted into tasks, and agents in Cursor, Claude or ChatGPT can connect through MCP.
What stands out
website feedback
canvas-based plans
comment deadlines
Where it costs you
Plans are counted in canvases, so one client with a large site exhausts the entry tier fast.
The pages read give no company name, address or country.
Right for
Web agencies collecting dated, tagged feedback directly on staging sites
Wrong for
Print and video teams needing frame or page-level proofing
Not stated by the vendorFree plan with one canvas and no end date; paid tiers published monthly or yearly with 14-day trial
WordPress-oriented feedback toolbar now sold alongside an AI agency product
Ranked #8 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingEurope
The free plan gives one site and one project with 200 one-off credits. Pro adds 5,000 credits a month and, under fair use, up to 1,000 projects and 100 seats. Extra credits cost less per thousand as volume grows.
Enterprise lists SOC 2, GDPR, SSO, SAML and a dedicated SLA. Integrations include Asana, Slack, Zapier and a native Adobe Creative Cloud plugin, and the toolbar needs nothing installed.
What stands out
WordPress
credit-based pricing
feedback toolbar
Where it costs you
The free plan's 200 credits are one-off, not monthly, so it works as a test only.
The homepage now emphasises an AI agency product, so proofing is no longer the lead message.
Right for
Agencies building WordPress sites who want client comments on live pages
Wrong for
Teams wanting simple per-seat proofing without credit accounting
United KingdomFree plan with a one-off credit allowance; Pro published monthly with extra credits sold in tiers
Per-user proofing with a 30-day trial and Asana, Monday and Wrike links
Ranked #9 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
The free starter plan shares 3 active reviews and 5GB across the account. Pro gives each user 10 active reviews and 25GB, Advanced gives unlimited reviews and 50GB per user, and Enterprise reaches 100GB per user with a 20-user minimum.
The FAQ lists integrations with Asana, Monday, Wrike, Dropbox and Kantata plus an open API. Yearly billing lowers the per-user rate.
What stands out
per-user pricing
active review caps
project-tool integrations
Where it costs you
Pro limits each user to 10 active reviews, so busy accounts must upgrade to Advanced.
Advanced requires at least five users, which excludes very small teams from unlimited reviews.
Right for
Teams of five or more tying proofing to Asana, Monday or Wrike
Wrong for
Very small teams wanting unlimited active reviews
CanadaFree starter plan with capped reviews; paid plans published per user, monthly or yearly; 30-day trial
Comment-on-anything markup across more than thirty file types, guests need no sign-up
Ranked #10 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
Pro offers 50, 75 or 100 MarkUps with unlimited users and one workspace. Business starts at 200 MarkUps and reaches 600, with unlimited users and attachments and invoice payment on yearly plans.
Enterprise is quoted with custom API and SDK capacity. Both paid tiers include a 14-day trial. A Chrome extension lets people comment on anything, and guests need no sign-up.
What stands out
markup volumes
guest access
Chrome extension
Where it costs you
The step from the top Pro volume to the lowest Business volume is a large price jump.
The page says it is built by Ceros but gives neither a country nor an ownership statement.
Right for
Teams with many outside collaborators reviewing varied files, including web pages
Wrong for
Teams wanting a free plan or per-seat prices
Not stated by the vendorSelf-serve tiers published by monthly volume of markups; yearly figures shown; trial on both paid tiers
Workflow-stage proofing with unlimited proofs and reviewers on every plan
Ranked #11 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
The free personal plan gives 2 users, 2GB, one workflow stage and 60 days of review history. Standard offers 15 users and 1TB with two stages, and Pro offers 20 users and 2TB with three.
Enterprise has 25 or more users, 4TB or more, and unlimited stages and templates, priced on request. More users come in packs of five that also add storage.
What stands out
workflow stages
seat packs
unlimited proofs
Where it costs you
Standard and Pro allow just one active workflow template, which limits complex approval chains.
The about page gives no headquarters, and the legal terms page returned an error.
Right for
Mid-sized creative teams needing multi-stage approval flows and many reviewers
Wrong for
Small teams wanting low monthly cost and workflow templates
Not stated by the vendorFree personal plan; paid tiers published monthly on annual billing; seat packs; enterprise quoted
Proofing bundled with asset management for brand teams, priced on request
Ranked #12 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
Standard includes 10 core users, 500GB, up to 100 active projects, one brand and 120 days of audit history. Professional adds 25 users, 2TB, unlimited projects, SSO and SAML, campaigns and an API with rate limits.
Enterprise has unlimited core users and 5TB, with AI bundles included. An AI Reviewers add-on covers 6,000 or 30,000 reviews yearly, and Box, Slack, Canva, Jira and Adobe are named integrations.
What stands out
quoted pricing
brand teams
AI reviewers
Where it costs you
The pricing page gives no figures, so cost comparison needs a sales conversation.
The pages read mention no trial, so evaluating the product depends on a demo.
Right for
Brand teams wanting proofing alongside a shared asset library
Wrong for
Buyers who need only review tools and public prices
Not stated by the vendorQuoted by sales only; three tiers by core users and storage; add-ons sold separately
Video and audio review sold as a per-user add-on to Dropbox plans
Ranked #13 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Published pricingElsewhere
The add-on is billed per user, either monthly or annually. Files up to 150GB each and audio or video up to 12 hours long can be uploaded. It cannot be added to Family plans, and Basic users must upgrade first.
Basic users do see Replay with limited features. The page also lists free transfers of up to 250GB. No trial is described, so test it on an existing account.
What stands out
video review
add-on pricing
Dropbox storage
Where it costs you
The add-on needs a Plus or higher Dropbox plan, so the true price includes the base subscription.
Uploaded files count toward Dropbox storage, so review media competes with everything else stored there.
Right for
Video teams already storing their footage in a paid Dropbox account
Wrong for
Teams not using Dropbox or wanting a stand-alone proofing tool
Not stated by the vendorAdd-on published per user in euros, monthly or billed annually; needs a paid Dropbox plan above Basic
Video review and delivery with desktop-mounted storage and per-member plans
Ranked #14 of 14 in Best Creative Proofing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Free allows 2 members, 2GB and 2 projects. Pro costs per member with up to 5 members, 2TB plus 2TB per extra member and unlimited projects. Team raises members to 15 and adds restricted projects and folders.
A Premiere integration gives frame-accurate notes, and Mounted Storage streams to the desktop. Free trials cover Pro and Team, with annual billing saving 13 percent.
What stands out
video review
mounted storage
per-member pricing
Where it costs you
Pro allows only five members and Team fifteen, so larger groups need a quoted Enterprise plan.
Forensic watermarking, DRM and bring-your-own S3 storage are Enterprise only.
Right for
Video production teams working in Premiere who stream large media from the desktop
Wrong for
Small design teams proofing stills, PDFs or web pages
Not stated by the vendorFree plan with two members; Pro and Team published per member monthly; enterprise quoted
Creative proofing software lets reviewers mark up images, video, documents or live pages, tracks versions and comments, and records who approved the final version before launch. Rather than compare features, settle the following points one after another.
01
Work out how much a sales call is worth to you
Only 12 of the 14 print a price; 2 quote per organisation. Comparable without a sales call: Cage, Wipster, GoVisually, Filestage, Approval Studio, Pastel, Atarim, ReviewStudio, Markup.io, Ziflow, Dropbox Replay, Frame.io.
02
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
Jurisdiction is a buying criterion here. The 14 vendors are spread over 4 countries (Elsewhere 10, North America 3, Europe 1), and the home country determines which disclosure rules bind them.
How reviewer limits change the real cost of creative proofing software
Proofing is unusual because the people who matter most, your clients, rarely pay. Tools differ in whether they let those guests in free. Cage and Ziflow state unlimited reviewers, and Wipster says its unlimited reviewers can comment without paying. GoVisually caps external reviewers at 15 on its Lite plan, and Filestage meters reviewers through groups, with two on its free plan.
Markup.io counts MarkUps instead of people, so cost follows how many items are open. Estimate your busiest month, list every outside person who will comment, and price that against each tool before you compare seat rates, because a cheap seat with a reviewer cap often becomes the dearer plan once a campaign with ten outside stakeholders arrives.
Count outside reviewers per project in your busiest month
Check whether guests need an account or can comment without sign-up
Confirm whether reviewers, groups or items are the metered unit
Matching Frame.io, Wipster and Markup.io to the file types you proof
Proofing tools are built around a medium, and the gaps appear fast. Wipster and Frame.io pin notes to exact video frames and plug into Premiere. Dropbox Replay takes audio and video up to 12 hours long. Markup.io names more than 30 file types and a Chrome extension for web pages, Pastel organises feedback on canvases for live sites, and Atarim targets WordPress.
GoVisually and Atarim both ship native Adobe Creative Cloud plugins. Notism splits plans between design and video. Run one real file from your last job through each shortlisted tool, because a tool that handles stills smoothly may stall on a long cut or a multi-page PDF.
Upload your largest real file and note the time to first comment
Check frame-accurate comments if you review any video
Test a live web page if clients comment on sites
Storage, history and project caps that hit after the first quarter
Free plans and entry tiers usually look generous until the second month. Ziflow's free plan keeps 60 days of review history, while its paid tiers keep it unlimited. Filestage's free plan accepts five fresh files monthly, unused ones lost. Approval Studio's two entry plans include 5GB. ReviewStudio's Pro plan limits each user to 10 active reviews.
Lytho's Standard tier retains 120 days of audit history. Dropbox Replay stores review uploads within your Dropbox quota. None of these limits is hidden, but each is easy to miss, so ask which cap you will reach first, how many months of work that gives you, and what the next tier costs when you do reach it.
Find the plan's storage per user and per account
Check how long review history is kept
Ask what the next tier costs when you reach a cap
Approval workflows and integrations in creative proofing software
A proof is only finished when someone signs it off, so look at how approval is modelled. Ziflow counts workflow stages per plan and allows one active template on Standard and Pro. Wipster lists multi-step approval workflows, GoVisually has approval checklists, and Filestage uses reviewer groups in sequence.
Connections matter too: ReviewStudio names Asana, Monday, Wrike, Dropbox and Kantata, GoVisually links Asana and Zapier, and Pastel turns comments into tasks in a project tool. Map your real sign-off chain on paper first, then check that the plan you can afford supports every stage and the task tool your team already uses, rather than discovering a missing stage after the contract is signed.
Write down each approval step and who signs it
Check stages, templates or groups allowed on your tier
Confirm the integration with your task tool exists natively
What goes wrong most often when buying creative proofing software
Choosing on the seat price alone, then finding that outside reviewers are capped or billed on the plan you chose.
Trialling with a small PDF, then discovering a long video or large design file behaves badly under the same tool.
Assuming a free plan will carry real client work, when file counts, projects and history limits end it within weeks.
Buying a quoted enterprise tool such as Lytho before the team has written down which approval steps it truly needs.
07
Frequently asked questions
6 answers
What is the best creative proofing software in 2026?
Cage leads our ranking of 14. CageApp, LLC runs a proofing tool whose self-serve prices are all on the page, and every plan, the free one included, allows unlimited reviewers.
A freelancer can start alone and an agency can budget seats without a sales call. The limit is scale: both paid plans stop at 25 people, and bigger teams must talk to the company about a plan.
Which creative proofing tools publish their pricing?
Published pricing exists for 12 products on this page:
Cage: Free plan with no time limit; paid seats published per user, billed monthly without lock-in.
Wipster: Entry plan published as a flat monthly price per account; team plan published per user; free trial without card.
GoVisually: Two seat-based tiers published monthly with a minimum user count on the upper one; trial without card; compliance suite quoted.
Filestage: Free plan with one active project; paid tiers published monthly in euros; yearly billing saves two months.
Approval Studio: Three plans published as monthly flat sums with a five-user minimum; 14-day trial; enterprise price on request.
Pastel: Free plan with one canvas and no end date; paid tiers published monthly or yearly with 14-day trial.
Atarim: Free plan with a one-off credit allowance; Pro published monthly with extra credits sold in tiers.
ReviewStudio: Free starter plan with capped reviews; paid plans published per user, monthly or yearly; 30-day trial.
Markup.io: Self-serve tiers published by monthly volume of markups; yearly figures shown; trial on both paid tiers.
Ziflow: Free personal plan; paid tiers published monthly on annual billing; seat packs; enterprise quoted.
Dropbox Replay: Add-on published per user in euros, monthly or billed annually; needs a paid Dropbox plan above Basic.
Frame.io: Free plan with two members; Pro and Team published per member monthly; enterprise quoted.
The other 2 quote per organisation.
Is there a free creative proofing tool?
Cage, Filestage, Pastel, Atarim, ReviewStudio, Ziflow, Frame.io have a free plan or free self-hosted edition.
Where are these creative proofing software vendors established?
Vendor countries on this page, Elsewhere 10, North America 3, Europe 1:
Cage: United States.
Wipster: Not stated by the vendor.
GoVisually: Not stated by the vendor.
Filestage: Not stated by the vendor.
Approval Studio: United States.
Notism: Not stated by the vendor.
Pastel: Not stated by the vendor.
Atarim: United Kingdom.
ReviewStudio: Canada.
Markup.io: Not stated by the vendor.
Ziflow: Not stated by the vendor.
Lytho: Not stated by the vendor.
Dropbox Replay: Not stated by the vendor.
Frame.io: Not stated by the vendor.
What should you use instead of Cage?
Look at Wipster (made for Editors and small studios sending video cuts to clients for frame-accurate notes) and GoVisually (made for Design teams reviewing layouts inside Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign), which hold places two and three.
Who should not buy Cage?
Organisations needing more than 25 people on a self-serve plan. Both paid self-serve plans stop at 25 people, so larger teams must contact the company..
Sell creative proofing software and missing from the ranking? Send us a line on what the product does and who buys it. Whether it is added is our decision, though commercial arrangements can also affect it, and the terms of a listing sit on the software advice page.
