Filestage vs Frame.io Comparison 2026
Filestage collects feedback on a video, PDF or design in one place, with an approval step that records who signed off and reviewers needing no account, free for 5 files a month and then $199 for unlimited. Frame.io keeps a video and its notes together with comments landing on a timecode, free up to 2GB and $15 a month on Pro. The free tiers cover a lot of the same ground. Above that, Filestage jumps straight to a price built for an agency, not a solo creator.
Review and approval in one thread per file
Where a client gives notes on the timecode
At a glance
- Frame.io starts cheaper, at $15.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Filestage | Frame.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $199 | From $15 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Filestage
Review and approval in one thread per file
Filestage collects feedback on a video, PDF or design in one place, with comments pinned to a timecode or a spot on the page, and an approval step that records who signed off. Reviewers do not need an account, which is what stops a client asking to be sent it in email instead. The free plan carries five new files a month, so it works as a trial that never expires on small jobs.
Our note
The gap between free and $199 is the whole decision, and there is nothing in between. Count your files per month honestly: at six or seven you are better off tightening the process than paying two thousand a year for the difference.
Only on this side
- Covers project management
Frame.io
Where a client gives notes on the timecode
Frame.io keeps the video and the notes on it together, so a comment lands at 01:12 instead of in an email saying somewhere around the middle. Versions stack, which means a client can see v4 without losing the thing they liked in v3. Two gigabytes free is one project, and storage is what you end up paying for.
Why people weigh these two
- Frame.io instead of Filestage
- Frame.io pins the same timecoded notes onto a cut, and its free tier does the same job as Filestage for a solo creator sending one client a single review.
- Filestage instead of Frame.io
- Filestage does the same review and approval job, one thread per file; its free tier is there but paid plans start high at $199.
Which one should you pick
Pick Filestage if you are an agency or in-house team running work past several reviewers who each think their comment was the important one. Count files per month honestly before paying $199: there is nothing priced between that and the free plan.
Pick Frame.io for sending a cut to somebody else for notes, an editor with clients or a creator with a sponsor who has to approve the video, at a far lower entry price of $15 a month. Two gigabytes free is one short project, and storage is the real ongoing cost, so archive finished work elsewhere rather than buying the next tier up.
Common questions
- Which is cheaper?
- Frame.io by a wide margin above the free tier: Pro is $15 a month against Filestage's jump straight to $199 for unlimited files, with nothing priced in between. Both offer a free plan first, Filestage for 5 files a month and Frame.io for 2GB of storage.
- Which free plan is more generous?
- It depends what you send. Filestage's free plan allows 5 new files a month with up to 10 team members, useful for a small, occasional workflow. Frame.io's free plan is 2GB of storage, which its own guidance calls one short project, so a solo creator sending one cut to one client fits either free tier.
- Is there a middle tier between free and Filestage's $199 plan?
- No, and that gap is the whole decision according to its own editorial guidance. Count your files per month honestly: at six or seven, tightening the review process is cheaper than paying roughly two thousand dollars a year for the difference.
- What is the real ongoing cost on Frame.io?
- Storage, according to its own guidance, since Pro and Team differ mainly by how much you can keep. Archiving finished work somewhere cheaper instead of buying the next tier up is the suggested fix, which has no equivalent on Filestage's file-count pricing.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.