Air vs Frame.io: DAM vs review tool

Last updated October 2026

Air and Frame.io land on the same shortlists all the time, but they exist for different reasons. Air is a visual digital asset management platform built for marketing and brand teams. Frame.io is a video review and collaboration tool built for editors and producers. One organizes your files. The other collects feedback on cuts. If you have been comparing them side by side, you are probably trying to solve two problems at once, and neither tool covers both on its own.

This page breaks down what each platform does well, where it falls short, and why teams that need both asset management and review capabilities are starting to look at Fabric instead.

What Air does

Air calls itself a creative operations platform, but at its core it is a visual DAM. Marketing teams and brand managers use it to store, organize, and share creative assets like campaign photos, design files, brand guidelines, and social media content. The interface leans heavily on visual browsing. You see large thumbnails arranged in boards rather than file trees, which makes it easier to scan through hundreds of images without opening each one.

The platform includes AI-powered tagging that automatically labels assets based on their content, so searching for "red jacket outdoor" returns results even if nobody tagged those photos manually. Boards work like visual collections where teams can group assets by campaign, client, or project. Comments live on the assets themselves, so creative directors can leave feedback directly on a design comp or a photo.

Where Air gets less useful is anything involving video review. You can store video files in Air and play them back, but you will not find frame-accurate commenting, version stacking with side-by-side comparison, or the kind of approval workflows that video teams rely on. Air is built for the people who manage finished assets, not the people who are still cutting them.

Pricing is another consideration. Air uses custom, quote-based pricing that typically starts around $250 per month or more for team plans. There is no transparent pricing page with tiers you can compare, which means you need to talk to sales before you know whether it fits your budget.

What Frame.io does

Frame.io is a video review platform, now owned by Adobe. Editors upload cuts, stakeholders leave timestamped comments, and the whole review cycle runs through version stacking and approval workflows. If you have ever tried to collect video feedback over email or Slack, you know the problem Frame.io solves. Comments are frame-accurate, so a client can point to the exact moment where they want a transition changed instead of writing "around the 2-minute mark, I think."

The platform also supports camera-to-cloud workflows, where footage uploads directly from supported cameras to Frame.io during a shoot. This matters for productions where editors need to start assembling cuts before the crew wraps for the day. Adobe's ownership means deep integration with Premiere Pro and After Effects, so editors can pull comments and approvals directly into their editing timeline.

Frame.io offers a free tier and transparent pricing that scales from $15 per member per month on the Pro plan to $25 per member per month on the Team plan, with custom Enterprise pricing for larger organizations. The per-member model keeps costs predictable but can add up quickly for teams with many reviewers and stakeholders.

The limitation is scope. Frame.io is not a DAM. It does not organize your brand assets, manage your design files, or give you a searchable library of finished creative work. Once a video is approved, most teams move it somewhere else for long-term storage and distribution. Frame.io handles the middle of the workflow, from rough cut to final approval, but not the beginning or the end.

What Fabric does

Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer that handles asset management, file review, notes, and task management in one place. Instead of choosing between a DAM and a review tool, or paying for both separately, Fabric covers the full workflow from file storage through annotation to publishing.

AI search works across all your files, not just images. You can search inside documents, find specific moments in videos, and locate assets based on their content without manual tagging. The AI assistant supports four different models and can answer questions about your files, summarize documents, or help you draft content based on your stored materials.

Annotations work on every file type Fabric supports, not just video and not just images. You can mark up PDFs, leave comments on spreadsheets, annotate design files, and review video, all with the same tool. This removes the need for separate review tools for different media types.

Fabric also includes features that neither Air nor Frame.io offers. Notes and docs let you write and collaborate alongside your files. Tasks and reminders keep project work organized without requiring a separate project management tool. Publishing lets you share work publicly or with specific people, directly from the platform.

Your cloud stores everything in one place, and connections integrate with over 30 apps so you can pull in files from the tools you already use. Pricing starts with a free tier and goes to $8 per month on a yearly plan or $10 per month paid monthly, which is a fraction of what Air charges and competitive with Frame.io even at the individual level.

Fabric also plants trees with every paid subscription, part of the company's commitment to environmental responsibility.

For teams that have been trying to stitch together a DAM and a review tool, or for individuals who want one place to store, search, annotate, and share their work, Fabric replaces two or three subscriptions with one.

Frequently asked questions

Is Air a video review tool?

Air can store and play back video files, but it lacks frame-accurate commenting, version stacking, and the approval workflows that dedicated video review platforms offer. It works best as a DAM for organizing finished creative assets rather than collecting feedback on in-progress video cuts.

Is Frame.io a DAM?

Frame.io is not a digital asset management platform. It focuses on the review and approval phase of video production. Once a video is approved, most teams export or move it to a separate system for long-term storage, distribution, and reuse.

Can I use Air and Frame.io together?

Some teams do use both, with Air managing brand assets and Frame.io handling video review. This means paying for two platforms, managing two sets of permissions, and moving files between systems. It works but adds cost and complexity.

How much does Air cost?

Air uses custom, quote-based pricing. Team plans typically start around $250 per month or more, but you need to contact their sales team for exact numbers. There is no self-serve pricing page with transparent tiers.

How much does Frame.io cost?

Frame.io offers a free tier with limited storage and features. The Pro plan costs $15 per member per month, the Team plan costs $25 per member per month, and Enterprise pricing is custom. Costs scale with the number of team members who need access.

Is Fabric free?

Yes. Fabric has a free tier you can use without a credit card. Paid plans start at $8 per month on a yearly plan or $10 per month paid monthly, which includes expanded storage, AI search, the AI assistant, and all annotation and collaboration features.

Does Frame.io work with Adobe apps?

Frame.io has deep integration with Adobe Creative Cloud, including Premiere Pro and After Effects. Adobe acquired Frame.io in 2021, and the integration allows editors to manage review workflows without leaving their editing application.

Can Fabric replace both Air and Frame.io?

For many teams, yes. Fabric combines file storage and organization with annotations across all file types, AI search for finding assets, and notes and docs for written collaboration. It does not have camera-to-cloud functionality, but it covers the asset management and review workflows that most creative teams need.

What file types does Fabric support?

Fabric supports over 30 different apps and file types, including images, video, PDFs, design files, documents, spreadsheets, and more. Annotations work across all supported types, so you get a consistent review experience regardless of the media format.

Which tool is best for a small creative team?

For small teams, cost and simplicity matter more than specialized features. Air's quote-based pricing often puts it out of reach for smaller groups. Frame.io's per-member pricing is more accessible but only covers video review. Fabric offers the broadest feature set at the lowest price point, making it the most practical choice for teams that work with multiple file types and need storage, review, and collaboration in one place.

See also

• Fabric vs Frame.io

• Best video review software for creative teams

• Best digital asset management for agencies

• Best video asset management tool

• Frame.io vs Wipster

• Shade vs Frame.io