Fabric vs Signiant: cloud-native vs legacy file movement

Last updated October 2026

Signiant has spent two decades solving a real problem: moving large media files between locations as fast as physics allows. If your workflow still revolves around shuttling terabytes between on-prem facilities, Signiant does that well. But the question worth asking is whether you should be moving files at all. Fabric takes a different position. Instead of accelerating transfers, it puts your files, your notes, your search, and your collaboration in one place from the start, so the transfer step disappears entirely.

This page breaks down what each product does, what it costs, and how to decide which one fits.

Signiant

Signiant offers three main products. Media Shuttle provides portal-based file sharing, where senders and recipients upload and download through a web interface. Jet handles automated, high-speed transfers between storage systems, typically between post-production facilities or between on-prem and cloud. Flight moves files into and out of cloud object storage. Together, these tools form an infrastructure layer for organizations that need to push large media files across distances quickly.

The technology is solid for what it does. Signiant's UDP-based acceleration protocol can saturate a network connection far more efficiently than standard HTTP or FTP transfers, and for facilities that regularly move multi-terabyte packages between cities or continents, that speed matters.

Pricing starts at $8,500 per year for the Small Business tier, which covers basic Media Shuttle usage. The Professional tier begins at $25,000 per year, and Enterprise contracts typically exceed $100,000 annually. These figures cover the transfer infrastructure itself, but not the surrounding costs. You still need your own storage at each endpoint. Cloud egress fees apply whenever files leave a cloud provider. Implementation and training add to the total, and ongoing IT administration is required to manage portals, user access, and storage connections.

What Signiant does not do is equally important. It does not organize your files. It does not let you search across your library. There is no annotation layer, no notes, no task management, no AI assistance. It moves bytes from point A to point B, and everything that happens before and after the transfer requires other tools.

For large media enterprises with dedicated IT teams and established facility-to-facility workflows, Signiant fills a specific infrastructure role. The question is whether that role is shrinking as more teams move their work to the cloud entirely.

Fabric

Fabric approaches the problem from the opposite direction. Rather than building faster pipes between locations, it gives your team a single place where files, context, and collaboration live together. When everything is already accessible, the transfer step becomes unnecessary.

At its core, Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer. You store your files in your cloud, connect your existing storage and apps through 30+ integrations, and work across all of it with a unified interface. AI search finds what you need across every connected source, whether the file lives in Fabric's own storage, your Google Drive, Dropbox, or Slack history. The AI assistant draws on four model families to help you work with your files directly, from summarizing documents to answering questions about your projects.

Collaboration is built into the surface rather than bolted on. Notes and docs live alongside your files. Annotations let you mark up images, videos, and documents in context. Tasks and reminders keep projects moving. When you need to share work externally, publishing gives you clean, branded delivery without requiring recipients to create accounts or navigate portals.

Pricing reflects the difference in philosophy. A free tier lets you start without commitment. Paid plans run $8 per month when billed yearly, or $10 per month on a monthly basis. There are no implementation fees, no IT overhead for portal management, no cloud egress surprises. You sign up and start working.

Every paid plan also funds Fabric's tree planting programme. Mangrove trees are planted in Kenya and Brazil, GPS-tagged for transparency, audited by Veritree, and monitored for three years. It is a small thing relative to the product itself, but it reflects a set of values about how a company should operate.

The shift Fabric represents is not about doing transfers better. It is about removing the conditions that made transfers necessary. When your files live in one searchable, collaborative space, and when your team can annotate, discuss, and deliver from that same space, the workflow that once required Signiant's infrastructure simply does not arise.

How to choose

Choose Signiant if your organization operates multiple physical facilities that exchange large media packages, your IT team is resourced to manage transfer infrastructure, and your collaboration and file management needs are handled by other tools in your stack. Signiant solves the specific problem of moving files fast, and if that problem is central to your daily operations and unlikely to change, it does it well.

Choose Fabric if you want your files, search, collaboration, and delivery in one place. If your team is distributed and works across cloud tools rather than between physical facilities, Fabric's model is a better fit. The cost difference is significant: a small team could run Fabric for years at less than Signiant's entry-level annual contract, and get file organization, AI search, an AI assistant, notes, annotations, tasks, and sharing included.

For many teams, the decision comes down to whether your workflow is defined by moving files between fixed points or by working with files wherever your team happens to be. If it is the former, Signiant has a role. If it is the latter, Fabric replaces not just the transfer tool but several other tools alongside it.

FAQs

Is Fabric free?

Yes. Fabric offers a free tier that lets you get started without a credit card. Paid plans with additional storage and features are $8 per month billed yearly, or $10 per month on a monthly basis.

Is Signiant free?

No. Signiant's lowest tier, Small Business, starts at $8,500 per year. Professional plans begin at $25,000 per year, and Enterprise contracts typically exceed $100,000 annually.

Can Fabric replace Signiant for large file transfers?

Fabric takes a different approach. Rather than accelerating file transfers between locations, it gives your team a shared cloud where files are already accessible. For teams that have moved to cloud-based workflows, this eliminates the need for a dedicated transfer tool. Teams that still operate between on-prem facilities with multi-terabyte exchanges may still need Signiant's acceleration protocol.

Does Fabric support large media files?

Yes. Fabric's cloud storage handles large media files, and its AI search indexes them so you can find what you need across your entire library.

Does Signiant include file organization or search?

No. Signiant is a transfer tool. It moves files between storage endpoints but does not provide file organization, search, tagging, or browsing. You need separate tools for those functions.

Can I connect my existing storage to Fabric?

Yes. Fabric offers 30+ connections to services like Google Drive, Dropbox, Slack, and more. Files from connected sources appear in your Fabric workspace and are searchable alongside files stored directly in Fabric.

Does Fabric have AI features?

Yes. Fabric includes AI search across all connected files and apps, and an AI assistant powered by four model families. The assistant can summarize documents, answer questions about your projects, and help you work with your files directly.

How does Fabric handle sharing and delivery?

Fabric includes publishing, which lets you create clean, branded pages to share files and context with clients or collaborators. Recipients do not need a Fabric account to view published content.

What is Fabric's tree planting programme?

Every paid Fabric plan funds the planting of mangrove trees in Kenya and Brazil through a partnership audited by Veritree. Trees are GPS-tagged and monitored for three years. You can read more on Fabric's environment page.

Does Signiant require IT support to set up?

Yes. Signiant deployments require IT administration to configure storage endpoints, manage user access, set up transfer portals, and maintain the infrastructure. Implementation and training are additional costs beyond the license fee.

See also

• Best cloud storage for video production

• Fabric vs WeTransfer

• Fabric vs MASV

• Fabric vs LucidLink

• Best file sharing tools for creatives

• Best client file delivery tools