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Howdy, creative people of the world!
You know how typical creative review sessions involve endless exchanges, emailing files back and forth, miscommunications, unclear approvals, and the like?
First of all, you have our sympathy (we’ve been there too).
Fortunately, there’s a way to skip all that and make your proofing process painless—and we have proof!
We’ve curated a super-comprehensive list of the 18 best artwork and design approval software available on the market today.
We’re talking SaaS with sass!
Below, we’ll have an in-depth look at each solution in terms of:
- Ideal users
- Key features
- Pricing
Disclaimer: The information presented in this article was collected from publicly available sources and updated on January 23, 2023.
Table of contents
Complete design & artwork approval software comparison table
Because we know “best” is subjective, we’re offering you an overview of 18 artwork approval software solutions in terms of use cases.
Specifically, we’ve created a table that tells you who should look at which tool, based on the information on each solution’s website. Take a look at the table of proofing solutions below!
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of each software tool on our list.
Author’s note: For all the pricing plans of each solution below, we’ve decided to include only the costs associated with the yearly billing method in cases where more than one billing method was available.
1. MarkUp.io
First, let’s address the elephant in the room.
*Psst* We are the elephant.
We’re a visual commenting platform that also serves as an artwork approval software solution for any type of creative project.
Whether it’s a design for your company logo, a promotional video for a new product launch, or a value-packed white paper for a marketing campaign, the key to success is having everyone on the same page—literally.
In other words, MarkUp.io is a social platform that allows anyone to comment on and approve or reject any design elements in real-time through the ability to make annotations contextually and be notified when something changes.
Who is MarkUp.io ideal for?
Developed for creatives, MarkUp.io is the perfect fit for:
- Designers
- Developers
- Content creators
- Marketers
- Creative agencies
- Video editors
Plus, anyone who needs to make their creative workflow seamless and free from bottlenecks.
What makes it the ideal solution?
Key features
Our platform is centered around frictionless live visual collaboration and lets you connect, discuss, and approve any type of digital artwork through features such as:
- Image, video, PSD, AI, EPS, PDF, HTML, document, and website proofing
- Project-level notifications and updates
- Team management and account-level permissions (coming soon!)
Pricing
Just like J. Lo’s love in the early 2000s, MarkUp.io’s core platform doesn’t cost a thing. However, we also offer two paid plans on top of our free plan that are designed to support the needs of small and mid-sized teams and enterprises.
Our core platform will always be free. If you’d like to learn more about our premium plans, sign up for a free 14-day trial here.
2. Workfront
Workfront is an Adobe work management platform for managing projects.
They offer a wide range of resource and project management features that boost productivity, improve collaboration, and increase workflow efficiency.
The platform offers a wide range of features mainly covering project management, collaboration, and resource management.
In addition to that, Workfront features online proofing tools that allow users to customize approval workflows.
Who is it ideal for?
According to G2, Workfront is an enterprise-grade solution. The term “enterprise-grade” generally refers to technology that is “designed to be robust and scalable across a large organization”.
Plus, judging by the Workfront customer portfolio featuring corporate giants like Allianz, T-Mobile, Under Armour, and many others, we can safely say that it’s only suitable for large corporations.
Not only that, but when scrolling through the Workfront customer page, you can filter the displayed results by the number of employees.
When attempting to do so, you’ll only have two options:
- 250-2500 employees
- 2500+ employees
To sum it all up, Workfront is ideal for companies with over 250 employees that operate in industries such as:
- Media and entertainment
- Real-estate, retail, and eCommerce
- Software and hardware
- Creative agencies
- Education and government
Key features
As previously mentioned, Workfront is primarily a task management-focused platform.
But we decided to include it in our list because of its online artwork proofing tools.
These include:
- Image, audio, video, gif, HTML5 file proofing
- Project workflow updates through notifications
- Side-by-side version comparison
Pricing
Workfront offers some details about pricing on their website.
We know they are offering these three pricing models:
- The Enterprise plan
- The Business plan
- The Pro plan
However, the actual price of each plan is available only upon request.
3. Miro
Miro is an online collaborative whiteboard platform that improves both real-time and asynchronous collaboration through infinite virtual canvases.
This platform promotes cross-departmental brainstorming sessions and enables users to gather feedback for iterations and reiterations of design projects in one place.
Who is it ideal for?
Miro is best for brainstorming sessions, team presentations, education, and training activities.
Moreover, it works for businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises, in different industries such as:
- Product management
- Engineering
- Sales
- UX and design
- Marketing
Key features
The platform offers tools that support content creation and collaboration through features like:
- Image, document, spreadsheet, and PDF file proofing
- Sticky notes
- Project templates
Pricing
Miro’s pricing structure is split into four plans based on a per-user, per-month model.
One of the plans is free and is limited to three boards.
Let’s take a closer look at the other three paid plans:
- The Team plan: $8 per member per month
- The Business plan: $16 per member per month
- The Enterprise plan: Price available only upon request
4. Filestage
Filestage is an artwork approval tool that aims to simplify the process of reviewing and approving creative deliverables.
Moreover, Filestage is an effective web-based platform that facilitates internal collaboration between remote teams, allowing for effective remote brainstorming with more transparent workflows.
Who is it ideal for?
The software is a comprehensive solution for marketing, creative, and design teams.
It includes review and annotation features for various file types, including audio recordings and images, which makes it suitable for business owners of established brands as well as up-and-coming producers, podcasters, or designers.
Key features
Filestage comes equipped with features such as project management and collaboration abilities, which allow teams to share, approve, and deliver content efficiently.
The platform’s artwork approval features include:
- Text document, video, image, website, and audio file proofing
- Project version tracking
- Project progress status tracking
Pricing
The Filestage pricing plans start at $19 a month and follow a per-user, per-month model.
The Enterprise plan: Pricing details available only upon request
5. Ziflow
Ziflow is the next creative collaboration platform we’re gonna have a look at.
It offers customers the ability to optimize their approval workflow through a wide range of tools for content review and digital collaboration.
Who is it ideal for?
This cloud-based platform is suitable for creative agencies and other businesses of all sizes in marketing, design, content creation, etc.
How does Ziflow address the needs of creative teams?
Key features
This artwork approval solution is great for teams whose workflows rely on proofing rich media content and aims to streamline the approval process through a wide range of features, including:
- Image, document, PSD, audio, video, and website proofing
- Version comparison
- Project status tracking
Pricing
Ziflow offers four pricing plans based on a per-user, per-month model.
Ziflow features a free version and two paid plans:
- The Personal plan: free for one user and 30 proofs per month with 1GB of storage
- The Business plan: $40 per user per month
- The Enterprise plan: Price available only on request
6. GoVisually
GoVisually is a creative review and approval solution for proofing designs in various file formats.
The platform is easy to use and allows users to upload content directly, as well as receive clear, concise, and contextual feedback on their work.
Who is it ideal for?
GoVisually is a good fit for freelancers as well as small to medium-sized creative teams working in a remote work environment and operating in industries like:
- Marketing
- eCommerce and retail
- Merchandise
Key features
Since it’s mainly designed for creative and marketing teams, GoVisually offers designed-centered proofing features, including:
- Image, PSD, PDF, and video file proofing
- Project revision management
- Project feedback notifications
Pricing
GoVisually offers a simple pricing structure consisting of two pricing plans on a per-user, per-month basis.
The two plans are addressing freelancers and small to medium-sized teams, and are priced as follows:
- The Solo plan: $20 per user per month
- The Team plan: $50 per user per 5 users; for each additional user, you pay $10
7. Markup Hero
MarkupHero is a user-friendly collaborative tool for simplifying the artwork approval process of teams through multiple design annotating capabilities.
It has a wide variety of features that will delight creative teams, but let’s see first who those teams might be.
Who is it ideal for?
Markup Hero is generally used by small and medium-sized teams of designers, developers, content writers, and other creative professionals.
Key features
The solution enables users to submit creative content for review and approval through features like:
- Image, PDF, and website proofing
- Artwork management
- Collaboration through shareable links
Plus, some of these features are available for free. Let’s talk about that in more detail.
Pricing
Markup Hero has split its pricing structure into three plans, two of which are free and include time-conditioned features (i.e., edit markups for one day only).
The Superhero plan, which is the only paid plan offered by Markup Hero, starts at $4 per user, per month.
8. GoProof
GoProof is an online artwork proofing tool that can help designers collaborate easily with their clients using Adobe Creative Cloud.
What’s more, GoProof strives to make the process of reviewing designs and collecting approvals easier by enabling users to get feedback within their Adobe tool of choice.
Who is it ideal for?
According to Capterra, GoProof is suitable for businesses of all sizes and can greatly boost the productivity of creative teams using the Adobe Creative Cloud for their digital assets.
Simply put, this platform is great for web and graphic designers and content writers.
Key features
GoProof offers features like:
- Markup tools
- Project version tracking
- Automated proofing workflows
Pricing
When it comes to GoProof’s pricing, we couldn’t find pricing details on their website. But we do know that they are offering free trials and product demos upon request.
9. PageProof
PageProof is a powerful online proofing tool that lets you review and approve work quickly so your team can be more productive.
Who is it ideal for?
PageProof is best for creative agencies and marketing teams whose workflows imply creative work reviewing and approving across diverse industries.
It can be successfully used by content writers, designers, and front-end developers.
Key features
In terms of features, PageProof offers a wide range of online proofing and reviewing tools, including:
- Adobe Acrobat PDF, Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator file, doc, spreadsheet, PPT file, image, video, and audio file proofing
- Custom workflow creation
- Proof version smart review
Pricing
PageProof features four pricing plans for individual reviewers, teams, and enterprises.
The Reviewer plan is completely free and allows users to receive and proof creative deliverables.
The Team and Enterprise plans are subscription-based and work on a per month model:
- The Team plan: $199 per month for unlimited users, proofs, and storage
- The Team Plus plan: $329 per month for unlimited users, proofs, storage, and single sign-on capability
- The Enterprise plan: designed for large organizations, its price is available only upon request
10. Deltek ConceptShare
ConceptShare is a cloud-based tool that offers digital proofing solutions for project teams and business operations of any size.
It was created by Deltek and is currently offering solutions via the web interface and mobile app.
The Deltek ConceptShare proofing system is marketed as a time-saving solution that can help creative teams deliver more content faster and at a lower price.
Who is it ideal for?
Deltek’s artwork management software was developed for marketing professionals, creative agencies, and in-house teams, as well as outsourced teams of content creators.
This platform aims to simplify the artwork review process for everyone involved – from project managers to reviewers, and creatives.
Key features
ConceptShare is a collaboration tool at its core. Therefore, it offers features created to unblock any bottlenecks in a team’s artwork flow. Such features include:
- Document, image, video, audio file proofing
- Artwork approval status tracking and side-by-side version comparison
- Automated review notifications
Pricing
We can’t give you a straight answer as the prices for the ConceptShare platform are only available upon request.
However, we do know that the platform offers two subscription options:
- The Core plan: proofing and artwork review management features
- The Enterprise plan: extra storage, enterprise-grade security, and integrations
At the same time, you can sign-up for their 30-day free trial before requesting a price quote.
11. QuickReviewer
Another tool on our list is QuickReviewer.
QuickReviewer states that the platform is able to help users make their go-to-market process for their campaigns up to 400% faster.
Similar to the previously mentioned artwork management systems, QuickReviewer allows you to upload multiple media types and then share them with team members who can all provide feedback on each of the pieces.
Who is it ideal for?
According to QuickReviewer’s website, the platform can improve team collaboration and workflow management for:
- Ad agencies
- Video producers
- YouTube content creators
- Web designers
So, QuickReviewer is suitable for any creative professional who wants faster approvals.
Key features
The main collaborative review features offered by QuickReviewer include, but are not limited to:
- Video, live website, PDF, image, and audio file proofing
- Project version control
- White labeling
Pricing
Regarding pricing, QuickReviewer offers subscription-based plans starting at $29 per month.
In addition to the paid plans, the platform features a free plan with 100 MB of storage for one user. The paid plans include:
- The Pro plan: 10 users, $29 per month
- The Premium plan: 20 users, $84 per month
- The Enterprise plan: contact for a quote.
12. Approval Studio
Approval Studio is a design-focused online proofing software that aims to help creative professionals optimize their artwork approval systems and processes.
Approval Studio promises to address designers’ workflow issues with multiple annotation tools and project review features.
Who is it ideal for?
According to Approval Studio’s Capterra page, the solution is designed for:
- Studios and creative agencies
- Creative departments
- Graphic and web designers
- Print and packaging artwork design
- Marketers and brand managers
Key features
The most relevant features offered by Approval Studio include:
- Image, video, AI, PDF, doc, PPT, HTML file proofing
- Audit trail
- Project status tracking
Pricing
In terms of pricing, Approval Studio offers four comprehensive pricing plans.
None of the plans are free. However, each pricing plan includes a free trial.
The plans include:
- The Lite plan: 5 users, $45 per month
- The Pro plan: 5 users $135 per month
- The Pro XL plan: 15 users $255 per month
- The Enterprise plan: from $5,999 per year
13. ProofHub
ProofHub is mainly an online project management tool with collaboration, resource allocation, and time management features.
In addition to all that, the platform also features online proofing software capabilities.
Considering its generous feature portfolio, ProofHub can be used across a wide range of use cases.
Who is it ideal for?
Since ProofHub offers various tools and features for project management, project collaboration, resource management, task management, etc., it’s useful for growing teams across multiple industries.
However, its proofing tools make it suitable for creative agencies, marketers, and designers as well.
Key features
Even though ProofHub is a complex solution with capabilities covering multiple processes, we’re going to focus on its usability for proofing artwork files.
On that note, here are some examples of what ProofHub’s approver can do:
- PDF, text doc, image, spreadsheet proofing
- File versioning
- Markup tools
Pricing
ProofHub has split its pricing structure into two flat fee-based plans.
Namely, the platform offers:
- The Essential plan for unlimited users: $45 per month
- The Ultimate Control plan for unlimited users: $89 per month
14. Hightail
Hightail is a collaboration platform that enables businesses to streamline their workflows through file management and feedback collection tools.
Moreover, Hightail aims to improve both team and client-side collaboration with its easy-to-use file-sharing capabilities.
Who is it ideal for?
Hightail is an enterprise-grade, creativity-focused platform that would be suitable for:
- Teams of designers
- Video editors
- Creative professionals that need to share large files with their collaborators
What file format does this platform support?
Key features
The most relevant features for art creation, sharing, and review offered by Hightail include:
- Image, video, PDF, GIF, HTML, and other file format proofing
- Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator plugin
- Collaboration via shareable links
Pricing
Hightail offers four pricing plans, including a free one for sharing small files.
Let’s have a closer look at all four pricing tiers:
- The Lite plan: Free for 2GB storage
- The Pro plan: $12 per month
- The Teams plan: $24 per user per month
- The Business plan: $36 per user per month
15. Aproove
Aproove is a work management software that also features online proofing tools.
Moreover, Aproove offers workflow automation as well as digital asset management solutions.
This makes it useful across multiple industries and business types.
Who is it ideal for?
Aproove supports over 180 file formats in various categories, making the platform suitable for:
- Photography studios
- Procurement service providers
- Insurance and government
- Marketing agencies
- Creative agencies
- Brands
Moreover, their pricing addresses both the needs of small and medium-sized businesses as well as large enterprises.
What are some of the 180 supported formats?
Key features
Focusing solely on artwork approval capabilities, the most prominent features offered by Aproove include:
- Document, image, video, audio, web page, HTML file proofing
- Smart revisions that automatically detect whether new versions have been updated
- Project approval automation
Pricing
Aproove features two pricing tiers that address different needs for different business sizes.
Specifically, the platform’s pricing tiers is as follows:
- The Small/Medium Business plan: $750 per month plus $15 per standard user per month, $30 per super user per month, and $5 per 5GB of added storage
- The Enterprise plan: Starting from $28,500 per year
16. ReviewStudio
ReviewStudio is an online proofing software that has a mission of making the review and approval process easier for creative professionals.
Its intuitive interface helps creatives get faster artwork approval while improving collaboration.
But is it just for creative departments?
Who is it ideal for?
ReviewStudio is advertised as being suitable for:
- Marketing professionals
- Creative and ad agencies
- Production studios
So, this platform is focused on helping creative people save time through a wide range of features—some of which we’re discussing below.
Key features
Let’s have a look at what’s in it for ReviewStudio’s users:
- Image, video, web content, and PDF files proofing
- Revision tracking
- Independent and live feedback sessions
Pricing
ReviewStudio has split its pricing structure into five straightforward pricing plans.
In detail, the pricing tiers include the following:
- The Pro plan: 1 user, $20 per month
- The Team plan: 7 users, $65 per month
- The Studio plan: 20 users, $140 per month
- The Agency plan: 50 users, $280 per month
- The Enterprise plan: 50+ users, contact for a quote
What’s more, the annual billing model for this artwork approval software gives users two months free.
17. Pastel
Pastel is a handy online proofing tool that enables designers, copywriters, editors, and developers to stay on the same page and deliver projects on time.
Furthermore, Pastel’s main goal is to make the creative process easier and faster by providing a digital collaboration space, and supporting teams throughout the entire artwork creation process—from the first ideation phase up until it’s ready to go live.
Who is it ideal for?
Pastel is mainly focused on visual arts. But non-artists alike can use it as well.
In other words, the platform is suitable for:
- Marketing teams
- Content writers
- Designers
- Web developers
Key features
Pastel’s functionality revolves around web design approval:
- Live websites, PDF, image proofing
- Live copy changes on website canvases
- Real-time, contextual feedback
Furthermore, the pricing can vary based on the size of your team.
How?
Pricing
Pastel offers four pricing tiers suitable for small to medium-sized teams.
To be more specific, the four plans include:
- The Free Forever plan: Free for 1 user with a limited proofing window of only 3 days
- The Solo plan: 1 user, $24 per month
- The Studio plan: 5 users, $83 per month, plus $17 per month for each additional user
- The Enterprise plan: 10 users, $350 per month
18. Ashore
Ashore is a collaboration software that helps creative professionals across numerous industries get fast and accurate feedback on their deliverables.
But is it suitable for your team?
Who is it ideal for?
Ashore addresses the needs of creative agencies and print and promotional apparel businesses of small to medium sizes.
Its web-oriented proofing tools also make it a good fit for web developers, marketers, and designers.
Let’s look at the features to see what makes this solution a good tool for creative industries.
Key features
In terms of features, Ashore provides:
- PDF, audio, web, video, and image proofing
- Email integration and workflow automation
- Collaboration via shareable links
Most of the features are available across four pricing plans with differences in storage capacity and user count.
Pricing
The paid plans featured in Ashore’s pricing structure start at $18 per user per month.
Moreover, the platform also offers a free version that enables one user to send 50 files per month, taking up a maximum of 1 GB of storage space.
The paid plans, on the other hand, offer more flexibility:
- The Standard plan: $18 per user per month
- The Premium plan: minimum of 5 users, $33 per month
***
And with that, our list has come to an end (though if you’re hungry for more, you can learn more about creative tool stacks here).
It’s your time to shine now.
Over to you
We hope that our comprehensive list of artwork approval software gets you closer to finding the solution that best fits your business needs and budget.
If you’re still hesitating, you can start with your free 14-day MarkUp.io trial.
Chances are you’ll find everything you need to make your proofing process painless.
So, are you ready to ditch back-and-forth feedback emails for good?
If so, create your first MarkUp and never look back.
And if you need anything, we’re here every step of the way.
Click here to get started with MarkUp.io!
