Pick a replacement by how your team finds and shares files, not by the size of the feature list. If you mainly need a tidy shared library, a simple cloud asset tool will do. If brand guidelines, approvals and lots of connected systems matter, look at the larger content platforms, and test search and sharing with your own files first.
Brand files multiply when nobody's looking: a logo saved in four folders, an old deck sitting in someone's downloads, a product photo nobody's sure they're still allowed to use. A good asset library ends that. If you're leaving Frontify, here are nine digital asset management tools for marketing and creative teams, listed first so you can scan them, then compared and grouped.
Nine asset libraries, A to Z
In no particular order, sorted alphabetically. Each line describes the tool the way its own maker does, in plain words.
Air
Best for: Creative teams wanting AI that organises their library and helps scale creative work, with people kept in the loop where it counts, as the vendor puts it.
Brandfolder
Best for: Marketing teams that want to manage, share and analyse brand assets in one place, on a platform the vendor pitches for enterprise use.
Bynder
Best for: Larger content teams that create, manage and distribute content at scale and want their asset library connected to lots of other systems, per the vendor.
Canto
Best for: Organisations that want to organise, find and share digital assets without heavy admin, which the vendor sums up as asset management minus the managing.
Extensis
Best for: Creative operations teams managing fonts as well as assets, with font usage and licence reporting; the homepage notes a product is becoming Monotype Connect.
Filecamp
Best for: Small and mid-size teams wanting a simple cloud library to organise, share and control media, without what the vendor calls enterprise complexity.
PhotoShelter
Best for: Photo-heavy and media teams that need to organise creative assets securely and send them out to others quickly, per the vendor's homepage.
Pics.io
Best for: Teams that want every digital file centralised, managed and distributed from one AI-powered library, which is the vendor's own summary.
Razuna
Best for: Growing teams that want AI search, secure sharing and governance, with the vendor stating unlimited users and a free starting option.
How the nine compare
| Tool | Kind of library | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Air | AI-led creative library | Organising a creative library with AI help |
| Brandfolder | Brand asset management | Managing, sharing and tracking brand assets |
| Bynder | Content and asset platform | Large teams creating and sharing content at scale |
| Canto | Digital asset management | Organising, finding and sharing assets simply |
| Extensis | Font and asset management | Font licence checks alongside asset management |
| Filecamp | Simple cloud DAM | Organising and sharing media without complexity |
| PhotoShelter | DAM and content distribution | Securely organising and distributing creative assets |
| Pics.io | AI-powered DAM | Centralising and distributing all digital content |
| Razuna | DAM with AI search | AI search and secure sharing for growing teams |
A brand system or a file library?
The tool you're leaving now describes itself as a brand system where guidelines, assets and brand knowledge live together, structured for people and readable by AI. That's a broader promise than a file library makes, and it's the first thing to be honest about when you switch. Do you need somewhere to keep the rules of your brand, or somewhere to keep the files that follow those rules?
Most small and mid-size teams need the second, with a light version of the first. That matters, because the thing to test in any replacement is how files are tagged, found and shared, and how brand assets stay current. A library that's easy to upload to but hard to search turns into another messy drive within a few months. A library where old logos never get retired causes the same off-brand work you were trying to stop.
Four kinds of asset library
Simple cloud libraries
Filecamp and Razuna are pitched at teams that want order without a long setup. Both talk about organising and sharing media securely, and the second leans on AI search.
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AI-first organisation
Pics.io and Air put AI at the centre, whether that's tagging and sorting the library for you or helping with creative tasks.
Larger content platforms
Bynder, Brandfolder and Canto describe broader platforms for creating, managing, distributing and analysing assets, the kind of tool a bigger marketing team plugs into the rest of its stack.
Specialist libraries
PhotoShelter is built around creative and photo distribution. Extensis covers fonts as well as assets, including licence reporting, which matters more than most teams realise.
Advice for teams moving brand files
Don't move everything. Before you migrate, sort your current library into three piles: assets that are current and approved, assets that are old but still useful for reference, and assets that should be retired. Move the first pile first, tag it well, and decide whether the second pile is worth bringing at all. Most teams find the clean-out is half the value of switching.
Then judge each shortlisted tool on search. Upload a real sample, ask a colleague who didn't do the upload to find five specific files, and watch how long it takes. If your files are shared outside the team, check how links, permissions and expiry dates work too. For wider options, see my guides to the best digital asset management software and the best brand management software.
Questions to take into a demo
- How are files tagged: by hand, by rules you set, by AI, or a mix?
- Can someone outside the team find the right logo without asking?
- How do you retire an old asset so nobody uses it again by mistake?
- What do external partners see when you share a link, and can it expire?
- Which of the tools we already use connect to the library?
- If we leave one day, how do we get our files and tags out?
Do you make digital asset management software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
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Frequently asked questions
What is digital asset management software?
It's a central library for brand files such as logos, photos, video, fonts and templates, with tagging, search, permissions and sharing so the right version is always easy to find.
Is a shared cloud drive enough for brand files?
For a very small team, often yes. Once several people, agencies or partners need the right file quickly, the search, tagging and permission tools in an asset library start to earn their keep.
What should I move first when I switch?
Move current, approved assets first and tag them with care. Leave retired files behind, and only bring older reference files if someone will search for them.
Do I need brand guidelines inside the asset library?
Not always. Some teams keep guidelines in a simple document and use the library for files. Others want both in one place so nobody downloads a logo without seeing the rules.
Why do fonts matter in asset management?
Fonts come with licences, and using one outside its licence can cause trouble. Rules vary, so check each font's licence terms and keep a record of who uses what.
