Short answer
The DAMSelection shortlist for agencies names 5 brand and marketing DAM candidates: Air, Brandfolder, Frontify, Lytho and Papirfly. The pricing model decides most agency fits: Air publishes plans with unlimited seats, while Frontify counts external partners who log in as billable users. Scores publish only after each vendor runs the same 3 scripted client scenarios on agency assets.
Facts on this page are verified against vendor documentation and public sources, each linked. Scenario scores publish after the scripted demo round.
Who this shortlist is for
The agencies shortlist serves creative, brand and marketing agencies that store, review and deliver assets for several clients from one team. Typical buyers are an agency operations director, a head of creative operations and a finance lead who rebills tools to clients.
The list fits agencies in three situations:
- The agency keeps assets for 5 or more clients and must keep each client's files, users and brand rules apart.
- Clients review and approve work inside the DAM, so client users log in.
- Finance wants to see DAM usage per client, because storage or seats are rebilled.
DAMSelection assessment: an in-house brand team with one brand fits the mid-market marketing teams shortlist better. A holding group with 40 brands and regional teams fits the enterprise multi-brand shortlist better.
What the agency scenario demands
The agency scenario demands hard separation between client libraries, a client-facing review flow, and a cost model that maps to clients. The three DAMSelection scenarios for this list translate into the requirements in the table.
| DAMSelection scenario | What the DAM must do | Evidence to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Client libraries separated by workspace | Keep each client's assets, users, metadata and brand rules in a separate space, with no search leakage | Log in as a user of client A and search for a file name from client B |
| Client review and approval | Let client users comment, request changes and approve, with a record of who approved which version | Live approval with one client reviewer and one rejected version |
| Billing usage per client | Report seats, storage and AI usage per client so finance can rebill | Usage export per client for one month |
None of the five facts files on this list documents per-client workspace separation or per-client usage reporting. Treat all three scenarios as live demo tests. The brand portal and usage rights definitions set the vocabulary for the script.
Why each candidate is on the list
Each candidate sits in the DAMSelection brand and marketing DAM segment, and all five have verified facts on pricing, hosting or client-facing features. The subsections give the evidence and what to test.
Air
Air is on the list for its published pricing and seat model. Every Air plan includes unlimited seats, and Air states that adding users does not increase the price on current paid plans. Air publishes Starter at 25 US dollars per month and Business at 900 US dollars per month, both billed annually.
Air meters storage and AI generation from one monthly credit pool that resets without rollover. Uploads stop at zero credits, and extra Credit Packs cost 35 US dollars per month per 1,000 credits, up to 9,000 additional credits a month. Air places Public API access on the Business plan and SAML 2.0 SSO on Enterprise.
What to test: whether one workspace per client gives one credit pool per client, which would answer the billing scenario. Ask Air how EU client data is handled, because Air names AWS without publishing a storage region.
Brandfolder
Brandfolder is on the list for controlled sharing and Smartsheet workflow links. Brandfolder Smart CDN links stop serving when an asset expires, loses approval or is deleted. The Brandfolder panel runs inside Smartsheet. DAMSelection assessment: that link suits agencies that already plan client work in Smartsheet.
Brandfolder documents a completed SOC 2 Type 2 audit and storage in the US and Europe. Brandfolder has changed owner twice since 2020: Smartsheet bought it, then Blackstone and Vista took Smartsheet private in January 2025. Brandfolder publishes no prices for its Premium and Enterprise plans.
What to test: the client review scenario, then pull an approved asset's Smart CDN link and check it stops after rejection. Ask how a customer selects the storage region, because the security article does not say.
Frontify
Frontify is on the list for brand guideline tooling and design tool integration. Frontify develops its own Adobe CC Libraries integration and Figma plugin, both free on all plans. Frontify holds ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type II and TISAX, and enterprise customers choose AWS hosting in Frankfurt or North Virginia.
Frontify bills on monthly active users and counts external partners who log in. Client reviewers who log in therefore count toward the user estimate. Frontify documents the US or EU hosting choice for enterprise customers only.
What to test: the client review scenario with 10 client reviewers, then ask for the price impact in writing. Model the user growth in the TCO calculator.
Lytho
Lytho is on the list for client review inside one creative operations platform. Lytho combines creative workflow, online proofing, DAM and Brand Center, with proofing and workflow stages unlimited on all three plans. AI Reviewers check content against brand and compliance standards before human approval.
Lytho publishes plan limits of 10, 25 or unlimited core users and 500 GB, 2 TB or 5 TB of storage, without prices. AI Reviewers are capped at 6,000 or 30,000 reviews a year by plan. Lytho's privacy policy places its hosting servers in the Netherlands.
What to test: the client review scenario, then ask whether client reviewers count as core users. Ask Lytho to confirm the product hosting region and security certifications in writing.
Papirfly
Papirfly is on the list for templated content and rights tracking. Papirfly sells DAM with Flexible Multichannel Templates, so local teams produce brand material from locked templates. The Papirfly DAM tracks consent, usage terms, territories, channels and expiry dates, and variant links stop serving once an asset expires.
Papirfly hosts on AWS in Stockholm with disaster recovery in another EU location. Papirfly holds ISO 22301 and states that ISO/IEC 27001 certification has started. Papirfly Group combined four acquisitions between 2021 and 2024 and has appointed three CEOs since November 2023.
What to test: one client template produced by a client user, then a rights expiry on a licensed image. Ask for the ISO/IEC 27001 certificate date.
How to run the selection
The agency selection runs best as a scripted demo with two real client libraries and a client reviewer in the room. Follow the selection route and build the three scenarios into a scripted demo.
- Pick two clients with different brand rules and 200 to 500 assets each.
- Write the metadata model per client, plus the shared fields for client, project and usage rights.
- Send the script, assets and a client reviewer's login need to all five vendors two weeks ahead.
- Ask every vendor for a written price at 10, 50 and 200 client users.
- Score each scenario on one sheet and keep the recordings.
DAMSelection assessment: the client user count drives agency DAM cost more than internal seats. Read DAM pricing before the price request goes out.
Scenarios scored
- Client libraries separated by workspace
- Client review and approval
- Billing usage per client
Candidates and scores
Order is alphabetical until scores publish. Scores come from the public scoring model.
| # | Vendor | Segment | Weighted score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Air | Brand and marketing DAM | Scoring pending |
| 2 | Brandfolder | Brand and marketing DAM | Scoring pending |
| 3 | Frontify | Brand and marketing DAM | Scoring pending |
| 4 | Lytho | Brand and marketing DAM | Scoring pending |
| 5 | Papirfly | Brand and marketing DAM | Scoring pending |
Date scored: pending. No vendor can appear here by request or payment.
Frequently asked
What is the best DAM for agencies?
DAMSelection names no single best DAM for agencies until scripted demo evidence exists. DAMSelection assessment: Air suits agencies that want published prices and unlimited seats. Frontify suits brand guideline work for enterprise clients. Papirfly suits templated production with rights tracking. Brandfolder suits teams already on Smartsheet. Lytho suits agencies that run proofing and approval in the DAM.
How do agencies keep client assets separate in a DAM?
Agencies keep client assets apart through separate workspaces, libraries or permission groups per client. The facts files on this list document none of these models in detail, so log in as one client's user during the demo and try to find another client's files.
Do client reviewers count as paid DAM users?
Client reviewers count as paid users on some models. Frontify counts external partners who log in as monthly active users. Air includes unlimited seats on every plan. Lytho caps core users at 10, 25 or unlimited by plan. Brandfolder, Lytho and Papirfly publish no prices, so ask each in writing.
Which agency DAMs host data in the EU?
Papirfly hosts on AWS in Stockholm, and Frontify offers Frankfurt hosting to enterprise customers. Brandfolder names US and European storage without stating how a customer selects it. Lytho's privacy policy places its hosting servers in the Netherlands, so confirm that this covers the product. Air names AWS for storage and backups without publishing a storage region.
Sources
- Air: how storage, credits and plan limits work together
- Air: what users are actually paying for
- Air: when you need to upgrade your plan
- Air terms of service
- Air privacy policy
- Air security
- Brandfolder Smart CDN
- Brandfolder panel in Smartsheet EU
- Brandfolder security
- Blackstone and Vista complete acquisition of Smartsheet
- Brandfolder pricing
- Frontify Adobe CC Libraries integration
- Frontify security
- Frontify pricing
- Papirfly pricing
- Papirfly digital asset management
- Papirfly technical and architectural overview
- Papirfly ISO certification
- Papirfly CEO appointment, January 2026
- Lytho pricing
- Lytho digital asset management
- Lytho AI Teammates
- Lytho privacy policy