If revisions keep getting lost between Slack threads and Figma comments, you probably do not need a proofing tool yet: named versions and one client approver fix most of it for free. Buy one when you deliver video, print or work that several client stakeholders must sign off, and start on the free tier of Filestage or Ziflow.
Below: what Filestage, Ziflow, PageProof and Frame.io cost against the proofing built into portals such as ManyRequests, and how to test one on a real request before you pay.
What goes wrong when revisions live in Slack and Figma
Here is how it looks on a Tuesday morning. The client's marketing lead leaves six comments on the Figma file. Her founder replies in Slack: "love it, but can the logo be bigger?" Your designer has already started version 3, so two of the six comments now point at a frame that has changed.
- Feedback on the wrong version. A note written against version 2 gets applied to version 3, or skipped because nobody can tell which frame it meant.
- Reviewers who disagree. The marketing lead wants a shorter headline, the founder wants a longer one. Your designer picks one; the other asks for another round.
- An approval nobody can find. Someone wrote "looks great, go" in a Slack thread three weeks ago. When the client questions the final file, you cannot find it.
Only the first of those is a software problem. A proofing tool pins each comment to a position on a fixed version, so version 2's notes stay on version 2. It does nothing about people disagreeing. A tool cannot resolve contradictory instructions until the client identifies a decision-maker.
When Figma comments are still enough
If your work is mostly static design files with one approver, keep Figma comments instead of buying a proofing tool. Name each version in the file and write the approval on the request card. Our feedback and approvals guide sets out the approver, review round and revision rules in full.
A busy solo subscription has run without one. In his 2021 Indie Hackers AMA, DesignJoy's founder described 30+ clients, work done in two-day sprints and revisions "usually completed the very next day". The tools he listed included Trello and Slack, and no proofing tool.
Clients do not need a paid seat to comment in Figma either. Figma's pricing page says that on a paid plan "you can let others view and comment on your files without purchasing extra seats". Your designer's Professional Full seat is $16 a month. Do not buy Collab seats at $3 a month just so clients can leave comments.
Proofing tools and what they cost
Look at a specialist tool for video, print, or four or five sign-offs on one version. Prices below are from each vendor's own page.
| Tool | Free option | Entry paid plan | Users included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Filestage | Free plan; 14-day trial of paid features | Starter, €199 a month (about $227) | 10 seats; more in bundles of 5 |
| Ziflow | Personal, free, 2 users | Standard, $199 a month billed annually | 15 users; more in packs of 5 |
| PageProof | Trial on request | Team, $249 a month or $2,499 a year | Flat rate, unlimited reviewers |
| Frame.io | Free plan | Pro, $15 per member a month | Pro up to 5 members; Team ($25 per member a month) up to 15 |
| ManyRequests (portal, for comparison) | 14-day trial | Core, $59 a month | 1 seat; extra seats $20 a month |
Filestage bills in euros. Starter is €199 a month (about $227) and includes 10 seats, which covers a six-person studio with room to spare. The 14-day trial drops back to the Free plan if you do not upgrade.
Ziflow has the most useful free tier here: Personal is free forever for two users, enough for one designer and one approver to rehearse a real review. Standard is $199 a month billed annually: $2,388 committed before you know whether clients will use it.
PageProof charges a flat rate with unlimited reviewers. Team is $249 a month or $2,499 a year. That matters when a client brings five people to every review.
Frame.io, an Adobe product, charges per member: Pro is $15 per member a month and Team $25 per member a month. A three-person studio on Pro pays $45 a month. If your subscription includes motion work, put it on your trial list.
Not a proofing tool, but worth pairing with one: Loom. Its free Starter plan lets your designer record a two-minute walkthrough of version 3 before the client opens it.
The number that matters: Ziflow Standard, the cheapest team plan among the design proofing specialists above, is $199 a month. ManyRequests Core is $59 a month. For less than a third of the price, you get a whole client portal, and ManyRequests lists proofing among its features; confirm on the trial that Core includes it. Frame.io costs less for a small team, but it charges per member.
Can clients comment without paying for a seat?
In Figma, yes, on any paid plan. PageProof's flat rate covers unlimited reviewers. Filestage counts seats and Ziflow counts users per plan. Not confirmed: whether a client reviewer takes up one of those seats. Our price check did not settle it, so ask during the trial. Frame.io prices per member, so check how guest reviewers are handled before you add a client.
Proofing inside a portal or board you already pay for
If you are buying a portal anyway, use its proofing for a month before you add a second tool. Each of these says so on its own site.
- ManyRequests lists "Design & Video Proofing: Leave comments directly on design and video assets". Core is $59 a month and Pro $99 a month, billed monthly.
- Agency Handy offers "File feedback: Collect comments directly on shared client files". Freelancer is $109 a month for one user; Team Starter is $359 a month for ten.
- SuperOkay promises you can "exchange files, assign tasks, get approvals". It has a free plan for one client, and Solo is $12 a month billed monthly.
- Moxie says "Get approvals with one click", though its pricing page does not name approvals on any plan. Starter is $12 a month; use the 14-day trial to find out which plan includes it.
- ClickUp and Asana both mark proofing as included on their pricing pages, though neither page gave us a feature line to quote, so check which plan carries it. ClickUp Unlimited is $10 per user a month and Asana Starter $13.49 per user a month, both billed monthly. Asana says free guests do not count against your licences, which suits client reviewers. If your queue already runs in one, try it on a single request first. Our project management comparison covers which board suits a request queue.
Not chosen a portal yet? The client portals page sets out when a portal beats a shared board, and what each one costs.
Whichever tool you pick, the approval still has to reach the card
A proofing tool knows version 3 was approved. Your board does not. Unless someone copies it across, the card sits in In review and the next request waits. No tool above does that copying for you, so check during the trial how easy it is to paste the review link and approver on to a card.
The feedback and approvals guide walks through that hand-off step by step, and the workflow approval checklist gives you the fields to copy on to the card.
Keep design approval separate from any legal, accessibility or production checks the engagement requires. A software approval button does not certify those checks, and neither does a resolved Figma comment.
Test a free tier on one real request before you buy
Wait before buying a paid plan. On a free tier, have two reviewers leave deliberately conflicting notes on one version, let the approver consolidate them, then upload a revision. Check that the old comments stay attached to the old version and that the approval is easy to copy on to the request card.
Do not buy on the number of annotation features. Buy if the tool keeps versions and approvals clearly better than your named Figma versions and a note on the card did. If it does not, keep Figma comments and spend the money on something else.