Top 5 Platforms for Sharing Creative Assets with Clients and Stakeholders
Anyone who’s been a part of a cross-functional creative team knows the drill: endless email chains with giant attachments, juggling five different versions of “final_FINAL_v3.psd,” and trying to track down client feedback thats somehow hiding in a Slack thread from last Monday. In today’s fast-paced digital world, creative teams need a centralized, user-friendly tool for sharing creative assets with clients: one that can keep everything organized, brand-consistent, and feedback friendly.
We’ve rounded up five of the best platforms for sharing creative assets with clients and stakeholders, each designed to make creative asset delivery, collaboration, and approvals faster, smoother, and maybe even a little fun.
Why Your Creative Asset Sharing Process Matters
Creative asset management (CAM) is more that just simply storing files. It’s about having the right system to store, organize, share, and retrieve creative assets like images, videos, design files — all while keeping brand presentation on point.
If you’ve ever been mid-project and had to:
- Untangle feedback from three different email threads
- Re-upload a file because the share-link expired
- Play “spot-the-difference” between two nearly identical PDFs
A creative asset sharing platform will enable your team to streamline workflows so you can spend more time creating and less time hunting for files. It can also improve cross-functional collaboration by keeping stakeholders on the same page. and protect your brand with consistent, secure asset delivery
The right CAM solves these headaches differently depending on who you are. For example:
- Agencies delivering campaigns → Centralize client assets, mood boards, and final deliverables in one beautiful, branded hub — no more WeTransfer chaos or “Where’s the latest version?” panic.
- In-house marketing teams → Keep brand assets — from logos to campaign graphics — accessible to sales, PR, and leadership without losing control of versions or permissions.
- Creatives seeking client approval → Share polished presentations, get consolidated feedback, and protect your design files without sending out raw working files.
When done right, creative asset management software empowers teams to scale their brands, make real-time (and cost-effective) adjustments, and keep everyone — from clients to internal stakeholders — in sync without the chaos.
The Top 5 Platforms for Sharing Creative Assets
1. Playbook
Built by creatives, for creatives, Playbook is more than just a storage tool — it’s a centralized hub where teams and brands can thrive.
Unlike generic file-sharing services, Playbook is a visual-first and brand friendly platform, providing a beautiful branded asset hub that makes sharing with clients and stakeholders feel effortless. 83% of creative professionals say visual browsing features make their lives easier. With an intuitive visual browsing interface and automatic AI-powered tagging, users can find assets in seconds so files are always organized. Built-in creative project management tools — including progress tracking, license management, and AI-powered visual search — along with a flexible pricing model makes us perfect for teams big and small.
🔑 Key Features
- Intuitive, visual interface with gallery, folder, filtered, kanban, and timeline view.
- Real time collaboration with our conversations tab, including comments, proofing, approvals, automated version tracking.
- Built-in brand management tools like our page publish function so you can create a brand page in just one click.
- Creative project workflow management tools including automated image-to-text tagging, related asset grouping, advanced image browsing, project statuses, and Kanban view.
- Views, reporting, and asset lifecycle tracking, including asset/board history, shared asset tracking, and collaborator management in one hub.
💭 Things to Consider
Playbook is designed for modern creative teams, and while it’s quickly gaining traction in the DAM space, we recognize there are a few important things to keep in mind:
- Playbook is newer to the market. We don’t yet have the decades-long enterprise footprint of platforms like Bynder or Google Drives. That said, this also means Playbook is more agile, more user-friendly, and built with today’s creative workflows in mind rather than outdated legacy systems.
- Access for advanced features are limited to our Teams Plan. Examples include features such as AI tagging, custom fields, and advanced analytics.
2. Bynder
Bynder is a well-established cloud-based digital asset management (DAM) platform known for its highly customizable, AI-powered solutions. Designed with enterprise-scale needs in mind, it supports global brands like Five Guys and Puma, offering a robust toolkit for brand governance, asset organization, and creative workflow management.
Bynder’s centralized platform lets teams store, organize, and share their digital assets with ease. A clean, visually polished interface makes asset browsing and categorization straightforward, while customizable branding tools help organizations tell a consistent, cohesive story to external stakeholders.
🔑 Key Features
- Advanced search capabilities including similarity, natural language, text-in-image, speech-to-text, and facial recognition.
- Smart-sorting with duplicate-file manager, duplicate finder at upload, trackable share history and secure asset sharing
- Asset lifecycle management including embargo, versioning, and expiration dates.
- Dynamic asset transformation with tools to resize, edit, and convert assets directly via Bynder.
- Customizable brand portals to tailor asset delivery to match corporate brand and governance needs.
💭 Things to Consider
Bynder is a powerhouse for enterprise DAM needs, but that also means it comes with the complexity and cost that smaller teams may not need. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- High starting cost with pricing begins around $450/month for the most basic plan, which can be a barrier for smaller teams.
- Steep learning curve due to its extensive feature suite, which can be time-consuming when onboarding large teams.
- Additional fees are needed for customization. Some users report that entry-level tools are basic for the price, with extra costs to tailor features.
- Best fit for enterprise environments where managing complex asset libraries across multiple regions is a priority. Often overkill for small to mid-sized creative teams.
3. Dropbox
Dropbox is a long-standing traditional cloud-based file-storage and sharing platform that offers file synchronization, secure file sharing, and basic team organization tools. It supports a wide range of file types and provides simple features like version tracking, user permissions, and basic collaboration options.
The brands’ clean and intuitive interface that works well for small teams, freelancers, and individuals. This straightforward file sharing platform is ideal for minimal editing and quick transfer needs. Overall, Dropbox is a good simple alternative to shared drives for internal departments without complex workflow requirements.
🔑 Key Features
- Easy file sharing capabilities for transferring large files, folders, and links, with password protection, file permissions, and digital watermarking.
- Simple content collaboration tools including PDF annotation, video feedback tools, video watermarking, and transcription.
- Productivity & app integration features, such as PDF editor, convert to PDF, document scanning, and electronic signatures.
- Integrates with popular apps like Slack, Google Drive, and Notion
💭 Things to Consider
In the early days, Dropbox was one of the only was to share large files, and most people have had an account at some point. In fact, 20% of Playbook’s active users switched over from Dropbox citing the following reasons:
- Limited free storage with only 2GB available for free accounts, which is insufficient for creative teams managing large files compared to more generous competitors.
- Relatively high cost for storage size with paid individual plans starting at $11.99/month for 2TB and team plans starting at $15/month per user for 3TB, making them expensive relative to available features.
- Clunky interface for large collections which can become cluttered and impractical for workflow management when dealing with high-volume creative files. Users have also reported syncing issues and tedious metadata viewing.
- Not built for creative workflows since Dropbox is primarily designed for document storage and lacks visual browsing, advanced search, and creative asset organization features that creative professionals value.
4. Frame.io
Frame.io is a cloud-based platform targeted for video professionals and video editing teams. It hosts a wide range of content collaboration tools for post-production functions and addresses the unique needs of creative teams and video editors. The service is purpose-built for video teams with tools designed for frame-accurate feedback, version control, and collaborative editing workflows.
Since it is streamlined for post-production actions, editors can handle review cycles, approvals, and iterations without leaving their preferred editing software. Frame.io acts as a centralized workspace for media-based teams allowing secure sharing and management of video files in one place.
🔑 Key Features
- Secure sharing and collaboration with custom secure links, access control, and download permissions.
- Frame accurate annotations using time-stamped comments and live workflow review tools for precise creative feedback.
- Integrated editing software compatibility with industry standards like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and After Effects.
- Customisable workflow and metadata fields to track file status, assign tasks, set due dates, and add ratings or tags.
💭 Things to Consider
While Frame.io excels in post-production workflows, there are trade-offs for teams that need broader creative asset management or a more accessible interface for non-video stakeholders.
- High cost of entry with team plans starting at $25/month per user, and deeper integration tied to Adobe Creative Cloud, which adds additional expense.
- Specialized for video workflows which can create a steeper learning curve for clients or non-technical stakeholders unfamiliar with post-production tools.
- Limited brand presentation options with only basic branded presentation or blog-style pages, offering less customization than platforms like Playbook.
- Restricted storage flexibility as plans limit capacity by subscription tier, and the platform is less suited for storing or managing non-video assets.
5. Google Drive (Google Workspace)
Just like Dropbox, Google Drive is a popular cloud storage service that allows users to upload, store, and organize files even offline. It’s a familiar and accessible option for many teams, especially those already using Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and other Google tools in their daily workflow.
Many turn to Drive because it has a low entry-barrier, the only requirement for using Drive is having a Google account. As such, Google Drive popular with small and budget-conscious teams and organizations who value universal access and familiarity over advanced creative tools.
🔑 Key Features
- Seamless Google Workspace integration for smooth use alongside Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
- Live collaboration with real-time edits and multiple collaborators working simultaneously on Google files.
- Basic file sharing and permissions through a simple interface with customizable access levels for files and folders.
💭 Things to Consider
While many creative teams may turn to Google Drive as a solid and affordable option for file storage, it falls short for creative teams who require branded presentation, advanced search, or creative workflow management.
- Pricing scales quickly for larger teams, with Google Workspace Standard costing $14 per user per month, which adds up fast for multi-member creative teams.
- Minimal brand presentation capabilities as shared folders and links lack customization options for external stakeholders.
- Basic search and organization which can become cumbersome for large creative libraries with varied file types.
- Limited creative workflow tools with no built-in support for asset lifecycle management, visual browsing, or client-ready presentation features.
Let's Wrap Things Up
A strong creative asset management system isn’t just a tool, its an investment that will both grow with and help scale your business. The right CAM for you will streamline digital asset delivery and keep everyone in sync no matter where you are or how big your team is.
Playbook is an intuitive and powerful tool designed to address creative asset management needs. Its core features make it an irreplaceable tool for teams and businesses looking to optimize their creative processes with a modern, creative-first solution.
Ready to level up your team's creative workflow? Join Playbook today!