Best digital asset management for agencies in 2026

Last updated September 2026

Agencies live and die by their assets. Logo suites, brand guidelines, campaign photography, social templates, video cuts, presentation decks, and the reference material that informed all of it. These files need to be findable by anyone on the team, shareable with clients without friction, and organised well enough that a new hire can locate last year's campaign assets without asking five people. The shared drive worked when the agency had ten people in one office. With remote teams, multiple clients, and libraries that grow by thousands of files a quarter, something more intentional is usually necessary. Here is what the current options look like.

Comparison table

Fabric

Fabric is not a traditional DAM platform. It does not provide dynamic brand templates, CDN-based asset distribution, or the rights management workflows that enterprise DAM systems are built around. What Fabric does is solve the storage, search, and organisation problem that sits at the centre of agency work, at a fraction of the cost.

Agencies accumulate files at a relentless pace. Every client engagement produces briefs, mood boards, reference collections, design explorations, final deliverables, revision histories, meeting notes, and correspondence. These files scatter across Google Drive, Dropbox, Figma, Slack, email, and local folders. Finding the approved version of a logo, the original brand photography from a campaign two years ago, or the brief that established a client's tone of voice means relying on folder structures that made sense when they were created and make less sense every month.

Fabric's cloud drive streams files using zero disk space from any device. An art director reviewing reference images at home, a strategist pulling together a pitch deck on a train, an account manager sharing deliverables with a client. Same files, any device, no VPN. AI search goes inside every file type by meaning. Search for "the social media guidelines we wrote for the hospitality client" and Fabric finds the document. Search for reference images by visual similarity or colour palette. Automatic transcription makes meeting recordings and video content searchable by what was said.

The workspace keeps client work connected. Notes and documents for creative briefs and strategy documents sit alongside the assets they reference. The spatial canvas works for mood boarding and concept development. Annotations pin feedback directly onto designs, photographs, or video. Publishing with analytics handles sharing work with clients, with tracking for who viewed what and when. Tasks and reminders keep deliverables on schedule.

Fabric connects to Google Drive, Dropbox, Figma, Slack, and Notion through integrations, so existing files become searchable through Fabric's AI without migrating them.

For agencies that need a dedicated enterprise DAM with brand portals, dynamic templates, and rights management, the platforms below serve that function. For agencies that need their files searchable, organised, and connected to a workspace at a price that scales with a small team, Fabric covers that ground.

Pricing starts at $8/mo billed yearly, with a free tier that includes limited storage and AI.

Bynder

Bynder is the enterprise DAM that larger agencies and brand teams gravitate toward. Brand guidelines live in a structured portal. Dynamic templates (Bynder Studio) let non-designers produce on-brand materials from approved layouts. Digital rights management tracks licensing and usage permissions. The platform integrates with Adobe Creative Cloud, Hootsuite, WordPress, and Salesforce, connecting the DAM to the publishing and distribution pipeline.

The AI auto-tags assets on upload and generates metadata for improved discoverability. Search works through those tags and metadata fields rather than through the contents of documents themselves. The interface is clean and designed for brand managers who need to control what gets used and how.

The cost reflects the enterprise positioning. Contracts typically start around $20,000/year for 10 to 25 users and scale to $100,000 or more for larger deployments. Pricing is custom, requiring a sales conversation. Implementation, training, and integration work can add 15 to 50 percent to the first-year cost. For a 10-person agency, Bynder may be more infrastructure than the work requires. For a 50-person agency managing multiple brand clients, the governance and template capabilities justify the investment.

Brandfolder

Brandfolder (part of Smartsheet) is a DAM focused on brand consistency and external sharing. Brand portals provide a structured, browsable interface for approved assets. Guest access lets clients and partners find what they need without logging into the agency's systems. The Smart CDN delivers assets through embed links that update automatically when the source file changes, so outdated logos and headers do not persist in external materials.

AI-powered search uses metadata and auto-tagging. Integrations with Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, Canva, and Slack connect it to creative workflows. Brandfolder's strength is making approved assets available to people outside the creative team: marketing coordinators, sales teams, partners, and clients who need the right file without asking for it.

Pricing is custom and quote-based. Small teams (5 to 15 users) typically pay $6,000 to $18,000/year. Mid-size deployments run $18,000 to $50,000/year. Per-user rates range from $40 to $100/month at small scale and negotiate down with volume. For agencies whose primary pain point is distributing approved assets to clients and stakeholders, Brandfolder handles that well. For agencies whose pain point is finding their own files, the search does not go inside documents by content.

Air

Air positions itself as a creative operations platform rather than a traditional DAM. The interface is visual-first: assets display as a browsable grid with AI-generated tags, and boards organise assets into shareable collections. Comments pin to specific areas of images and specific moments in video. Version tracking shows the evolution of an asset. The experience is closer to a visual workspace than a file cabinet.

AI auto-tagging and visual search help surface assets without manual metadata. Integrations with Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, and Slack connect it to the tools agencies already use. The free tier provides 10GB with 1 user. Pro at $600/month supports 10 users with 3TB. Business at $1,100/month adds AI-powered tools and advanced collaboration.

Air is well-designed for teams that think visually and want a browsable, board-based interface for their creative assets. The limitation is that it is primarily a visual asset tool. It does not search inside documents, handle written deliverables, or provide a workspace for notes, strategy documents, and meeting materials. For agencies where the work is primarily visual (photography, video, social content), Air fits well. For agencies that also produce written strategy, research, and documentation, it covers half the library.

Canto

Canto is a mid-market DAM with a straightforward approach. Assets upload, get tagged (manually or through AI), and organise into albums and folders. Facial recognition identifies people across the library. Portals share curated collections with external stakeholders. The interface is functional without the visual polish of Air or the enterprise depth of Bynder.

Pricing is custom and quote-based, with estimates ranging from $6,000 to $12,000/year for small to mid-size deployments. Integrations with Adobe Creative Cloud and WordPress connect it to creative and publishing workflows. Canto is a solid option for teams that need a DAM without the enterprise price tag or the complexity of a platform like Bynder. The limitation is the same as most traditional DAMs: search is based on metadata and tags, not the contents of the files themselves.

Dropbox Business

Dropbox is not a DAM, but many agencies use it as one by default. It is familiar, cross-platform, reliable, and every client knows how to open a Dropbox link. Smart Sync handles large files without filling local drives. Folder permissions provide basic access control. The admin console offers device management and audit logs.

At $18/user/month for Business, Dropbox is simpler and cheaper than a dedicated DAM. The trade-off is everything a DAM provides: no AI tagging, no brand portals, no visual browsing, no metadata schemas, no search inside files. Dropbox stores files and syncs them. The files themselves are opaque. For agencies that outgrow Dropbox, the question is whether to move to a dedicated DAM or to a platform that adds intelligence and workspace features on top of storage. See Dropbox is just storage.

How to choose

If the agency needs enterprise-grade brand governance with dynamic templates, rights management, and structured portals for distributing approved assets to clients and partners, Bynder or Brandfolder provides that infrastructure. If the agency works primarily with visual assets and wants a board-based creative workspace, Air is designed for that. If a mid-market DAM with straightforward tagging and portals is enough, Canto covers the basics.

If the problem is finding files by what they contain rather than what they are called, connecting creative work to the briefs, notes, and strategy that informed it, and having a workspace that keeps everything in one searchable place, Fabric does that at a fraction of the cost. For agencies that do not need the governance and template features of an enterprise DAM, Fabric replaces both the shared drive and the scattered collection of tools around it. For a deeper look at creative team workflows, see Creative team workflow guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does an agency need a DAM?

It depends on the agency's size and pain points. A five-person studio that keeps files in Dropbox and finds things by memory may not. A twenty-person agency with multiple clients, remote team members, and years of accumulated assets probably does need something more intentional. The question is whether that something is a traditional DAM or a smarter storage and workspace layer like Fabric. See What is media asset management.

How much does a DAM cost for a small agency?

Enterprise DAMs like Bynder start around $20,000/year. Brandfolder starts around $6,000/year for small teams. Air's Pro plan costs $600/month ($7,200/year). Canto runs $6,000 to $12,000/year. Fabric starts at $8/mo per user billed yearly, so a 10-person agency pays $960/year with all features included.

Can Fabric replace a traditional DAM?

For agencies that need brand portals, dynamic templates, rights management, and structured asset distribution, Fabric is not a direct replacement. For agencies that need their files searchable by content, connected to a workspace, and accessible from any device, Fabric covers that ground and adds AI capabilities that most DAMs lack. See DAM vs MAM.

What about brand consistency?

Traditional DAMs like Bynder and Brandfolder enforce brand consistency through locked templates, approval workflows, and structured portals. Fabric approaches it differently: publishing with analytics shares approved assets with password protection and tracking, and the spatial canvas keeps brand references and guidelines visible alongside the work. For teams that need template-level enforcement, a traditional DAM provides that. For teams that need brand materials findable and shareable, Fabric handles it.

Can I use Fabric alongside a DAM?

Yes. Some agencies use a DAM for final, approved brand assets and client-facing portals, and Fabric for the broader working library: in-progress files, strategy documents, meeting recordings, reference material, and everything that does not fit neatly into a DAM taxonomy. Fabric's integrations bring files from other services into one searchable space without migrating them.

Which is better for video assets?

For dedicated video asset management with proxy generation and NLE integration, see Fabric vs iconik and Fabric vs Frame.io. For agencies that produce video alongside other creative work and need all of it searchable, Fabric's AI goes inside video files by content and transcribes audio automatically.

What about file sharing with clients?

Dropbox and Brandfolder handle client-facing file sharing well. Fabric's publishing feature creates shareable links with password protection and analytics showing who viewed what and when. For agencies that need to share deliverables and track client engagement, this replaces the combination of Dropbox links and manual follow-up. See Best client file delivery tools.

Does Fabric work with Adobe Creative Cloud?

Fabric does not have a direct Adobe CC panel like Bynder, Brandfolder, or Air. Fabric connects to the storage layer and workspace around the creative tools rather than integrating into the NLE or design application itself. Files stored in Fabric's cloud drive are accessible from any device and searchable across all types.

How does AI search help agencies?

Agency teams spend significant time searching for files across multiple clients and projects. Fabric's AI search finds files by meaning across the entire library, so searching for "the brand photography we shot for the hotel chain last spring" returns the relevant images without needing to remember the folder name, project code, or file naming convention. Visual search finds images by visual similarity. Colour search matches palettes. See Search fatigue killing your productivity.

Is Fabric free?

Fabric does have a free tier with limited storage and AI. Paid plans start at $8/mo billed yearly.

See also

• Creative team workflow guide

• DAM vs MAM

• What is media asset management

• Best creative ops platform

• Best digital asset management tool

• Best creative collaboration tool

• Best client file delivery tools

• Best Google Drive alternative for agencies

• Fabric vs Bynder

• Fabric vs Brandfolder

• Fabric vs Air

• Fabric vs Canto

• Fabric vs Dropbox

• Dropbox is just storage

• Search fatigue killing your productivity