Fabric vs Shotgrid (Flow Production Tracking): do you need both?ile system is right for your team?

Last updated October 2026

Introduction

Autodesk renamed Shotgrid to Flow Production Tracking in 2023, but most people in the industry still call it Shotgrid. It remains the backbone of shot management and pipeline coordination at large VFX and animation facilities worldwide. If you work in episodic television, feature film post-production, or commercial VFX, you have almost certainly encountered it.

Fabric occupies a different part of the creative workflow. Rather than managing render farms and shot statuses, Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer that connects the tools you already use, surfaces what you need through AI search, and gives you a single workspace for notes, tasks, annotations, and publishing. Some teams use both. Others find that one covers what they need. This page lays out when each tool makes sense and whether you might want them side by side.

Comparison table

Flow Production Tracking (Shotgrid)

Flow Production Tracking, still widely known as Shotgrid, is Autodesk's production management platform built specifically for visual effects, animation, and episodic content. It tracks every shot and asset through a production pipeline, from concept through final delivery, with tight integration into Autodesk's creative tools like Maya, 3ds Max, and Flame.

The platform excels at the kind of structured pipeline work that large facilities depend on. Shot statuses, version histories, artist assignments, department handoffs, review sessions through the included RV player: all of this lives inside Shotgrid and feeds into the scheduling and reporting tools that production managers rely on daily. For studios running hundreds or thousands of shots across multiple shows, this level of structured tracking is essential.

The tradeoff is complexity. Shotgrid deployments typically require dedicated pipeline technical directors to configure, maintain, and customize. The learning curve is steep, and the system is designed around the specific workflows of VFX and animation production. Studios invest significant time building custom tools on top of the Shotgrid API, writing hooks, and maintaining their pipeline integration layer. Pricing starts at $50 per user per month, or $390 per user per year, which reflects its positioning as enterprise pipeline infrastructure.

For teams outside the VFX and animation world, or for smaller creative teams that do not run formal shot-based pipelines, Shotgrid can feel like far more tool than the work requires. Its strengths are precisely targeted at a specific industry vertical, and that specificity is both its greatest asset and its most notable limitation.

Fabric

Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer designed to bring order to the scattered files, links, notes, and conversations that make up creative work. Rather than replacing your existing tools, Fabric connects to them. With over 30 integrations, it pulls context from the apps you already use and makes everything searchable through AI-powered search.

The AI assistant supports multiple providers, including Gemini, Claude, Grok, and OpenAI, so you can work with whichever model suits your needs. It draws on the context of your connected workspace, which means answers are grounded in your own files and projects rather than generic training data.

Beyond search and AI, Fabric provides a workspace layer that includes notes and docs, tasks and reminders, kanban boards, annotations on any file type, and publishing for sharing work externally. These features are designed to reduce the number of separate tools a team needs to juggle, not by trying to do everything, but by covering the connective tissue between specialized tools.

Pricing is straightforward. A free tier covers the basics, and paid plans start at $8 per month when billed yearly or $10 per month on a monthly basis. Paid plans also include Fabric's tree planting programme: mangroves planted in Kenya and Brazil, GPS-tagged and audited by Veritree. You can read more about this on the environment page.

Fabric is not a pipeline management system. It does not track shot statuses or manage render queues. What it does is give creative professionals a single place to think, organize, and find things across all their tools, without requiring a pipeline TD to set it up.

How to choose

The question is less "which one" and more "what kind of work are you doing."

If you run a VFX or animation pipeline with formal shot tracking, department handoffs, and deep Autodesk tool integration, Flow Production Tracking is purpose-built for that workflow. It handles the structured, sequential nature of visual effects production in ways that general-purpose tools cannot replicate. Studios with dozens or hundreds of artists working across thousands of shots need that level of pipeline infrastructure.

If your work is broader than VFX pipeline management, if you need a place to collect references, write briefs, annotate deliverables, track tasks, and search across all your tools, Fabric covers that ground without the overhead of a full pipeline system. Marketing teams, brand studios, production companies, agencies, and freelancers tend to find this more aligned with how they work.

Some teams use both. A VFX facility might run Shotgrid for pipeline and shot management while individual artists and producers use Fabric as their personal workspace and context layer. The two tools address different parts of the creative process, and there is no conflict in running them together. The deciding factor is whether your work demands formal pipeline tracking or whether you need a flexible workspace that connects everything in one place.

Consider the setup investment as well. Flow Production Tracking requires meaningful configuration and often dedicated technical staff to maintain. Fabric connects in minutes and does not require any pipeline expertise. For teams that want to start working immediately rather than spending weeks on deployment, this difference matters.

Price is also a consideration. At $50 per user per month, Shotgrid represents a significant investment, especially for teams where not every member needs pipeline-level tracking. Fabric's free tier and $8 per month paid plans make it accessible to individuals and teams without a large software budget.

FAQs

Is Flow Production Tracking the same as Shotgrid?

Yes. Autodesk renamed Shotgrid to Flow Production Tracking in 2023. The product is the same, though the industry still commonly refers to it as Shotgrid.

Is Fabric free?

Fabric offers a free tier. Paid plans start at $8 per month when billed yearly or $10 per month on a monthly basis.

Can Fabric replace Shotgrid for VFX pipeline management?

No. Fabric is not a pipeline management tool. It does not handle shot tracking, render farm management, or the deep Autodesk tool integrations that VFX studios depend on. The two tools serve different purposes.

Does Shotgrid work outside of VFX and animation?

It can be adapted for other production workflows, but its design, terminology, and feature set are heavily oriented toward VFX, animation, and episodic content production. Teams outside those industries often find the tool overly complex for their needs.

Can I use Fabric and Shotgrid together?

Yes. Many creative professionals use Shotgrid for pipeline management while using Fabric as a personal workspace and context layer. The tools complement each other rather than competing directly.

Does Fabric integrate with Autodesk tools?

Fabric connects to over 30 apps, but it is not built around the Autodesk ecosystem the way Shotgrid is. Fabric's connections page lists all available integrations.

How long does it take to set up each tool?

Fabric connects in minutes and requires no technical expertise. Flow Production Tracking typically requires days or weeks of configuration and often needs a dedicated pipeline TD to deploy and maintain.

Does Shotgrid include review tools?

Yes. Shotgrid includes the RV media review player, which supports frame-accurate playback and annotation for VFX review sessions.

What AI features does Fabric offer?

Fabric includes AI search across your entire connected workspace and an AI assistant that works with Gemini, Claude, Grok, and OpenAI.

What is Fabric's tree planting programme?

Paid Fabric plans fund the planting of mangrove trees in Kenya and Brazil. Each tree is GPS-tagged and audited by Veritree. Details are on the environment page.

See also

• Best video asset management tool

• Best creative collaboration tool

• Best creative ops platform

• Fabric vs Frame.io

• Best video review software for creative teams

• Best content workflow tool