If you’ve been researching digital asset management (DAM) tools, Canto has likely been on your radar. It’s a well-known DAM built for large enterprises, but is it the right fit for your brand?
For growing DTC companies, a DAM should be affordable, intuitive, and designed to help you organise, share, and deploy content seamlessly. Canto, however, comes with hidden pricing, a clunky interface, and missing key ecommerce features. While it does offer a separate PIM tool, it’s an add-on with unclear pricing, making it hard to gauge what you’ll actually pay.
That’s why we’ve put together this Canto comparison guide. We’ll break down Canto’s pros and cons, explore alternatives, and show you how Dash—a DAM designed for ecommerce—stacks up.
What is Canto digital asset management?
Canto is a digital asset management (DAM) system designed to help businesses store, organise, and share digital content. It’s a popular choice for large enterprises that need a structured way to manage brand assets across multiple teams and external partners.
With Canto, you can tag, search, and control access to files, and it integrates with various marketing and creative tools. However, it’s not the most accessible DAM for ecommerce brands. For example, it doesn’t have some essential ecommerce features like a Shopify integration, built-in image resizing for your marketing channels and feedback tools. Plus, pricing isn’t transparent—you’ll need to book a call just to find out the cost—and customer reviews suggest it has a clunky interface with a bit of a learning curve. If you’re looking for a more intuitive, cost-effective DAM that’s built for ecommerce, Dash might be the better fit. (But more on that later 😉).
Canto's pros and cons
Let’s look at some of Canto’s pros and cons. We’ll go into a little more detail when we compare Canto against Dash (further on in the article), but this gives you a summary if you don’t have time to read the entire article.
Canto’s pros
Canto has several promising features ideal for big businesses who need to manage their marketing assets. Here are some things that Canto does well:
- Serves a wide range of industries: From healthcare and manufacturing to travel and education, you can browse Canto’s website and see which industry aligns with your brand. This will help you know whether it’s a good fit for your business. Bear in mind that more is not necessarily better. If you’re a growing ecommerce brand, you might want to take a look at DAMs that are better focused on your industry (like Dash 😇).
- Detailed reporting: Canto’s reporting feature seems impressive. You can compare assets against each other and view the top keywords and search terms in your DAM. This shows how your teams are using the system and whether there’s any training that needs to be done. This is ideal if you’re an enterprise with teams all around the world, otherwise you’ll probably be okay with a more simplified reporting system.
- Style and branding guides: Canto has a branding suite that lets you customise a style guide directly from your DAM. You can add your colours and typography so your teams and external contributors can easily access approved branding.
- Facial recognition: Canto uses facial recognition technology to remember the people in your photos. Whilst this is a great feature, we believe it’s risky. After data privacy warnings about facial recognition, we decided to remove this feature from Dash to protect our customers. But if facial recognition is a dealbreaker for you, Canto may be the right tool for your business.
- Connect with Canto’s PIM tool: It’s worth noting that Canto also has a PIM tool as a part of its suite of software tools. This is not part of the standard digital asset management offering, so you can either purchase the PIM separately or buy both as a package.
Canto’s cons
With any research into a new product, it’s important to take a look at the drawbacks too. Here are some of Canto’s:
- Clunky interface: Many of Canto’s customers complain that Canto's user interface is clunky and complicated to use. The look of the platform also isn’t very inspiring (we’ll show you an example later on). Just remember: this is where you’re storing all your creative assets. Your DAM should do them justice and make you and your team feel inspired every time you log in to the system.
- A big learning curve: As a result of the interface, customers report that it can take a little while to get to grips with the system. Canto does offer onboarding, but it can take several hours to complete - not ideal if you want to get started quickly or if you’re a small team with little time on your hands.
- Unclear and expensive pricing: Like most DAMs (except Dash) it’s unclear how much Canto will set you back every month. Some websites suggest it’s likely to set you back about $600 a month ($7200 a year), but you’ll need to get in touch if you want to find out for sure.
Canto digital asset management alternatives
Not yet sure whether Canto is for you? Take a look at these Canto competitors and alternatives to see what else is on the market.
Dash - for ecommerce brands
Dash is designed specifically for ecommerce businesses, giving you the features, usability, and integrations that support your workflow.
With guest uploads, you can collect UGC from creators and influencers without adding extra users. Portals make it easy to collaborate with retail partners and agencies, giving them instant access to approved assets. The Shopify integration helps teams update product listings quickly, meaning you can launch products faster.
Dash is also affordable and transparent. Plans start at £79 / $109 per month, with all features included and unlimited users. There are no hidden costs or expensive upgrades.
Check out our digital asset management guide for ecommerce or keep scrolling for a direct Dash vs. Canto comparison.
Brandfolder - for enterprise brands
Brandfolder is an enterprise-level DAM through-and-through. They’re used by big-named brands like Slack, Mastercard and McLaren. In addition to managing digital assets, Brandfolder excels in handling product data, which is crucial for retail and manufacturing marketers to enhance brand consistency and improve efficiency. As well as the standard DAM features, you can send assets directly to your printer. They also support content creation by providing design templates within the app. They’re expensive - costing about $1,600 to get started - so this is only feasible if you’ve got the money to spend.
Read our full article that covers Brandfolder alternatives.
Bynder - an alternative to Brandfolder for enterprise brands
Bynder is another digital asset management tool that’s ideal for enterprise businesses. It’s one of the most well-known DAM systems on the market and is used by brands like Zendesk and Boohoo. Bynder also offers professional services for batch importing and exporting of metadata, which can be a valuable support option when built-in capabilities are lacking. Bynder is especially useful if you’re a large company who needs to deploy digital media files to locations all over the world. For a basic package, Bynder will set you back around $450 a month.
Take a look at Barney’s post for a full comparison of Bynder
Photoshelter - for your creative workflows
Often compared to Canto, Photoshelter is another DAM tool that's built for enterprise businesses. Their mission is to help you with your brand storytelling, so they've put particular focus on building creative workflows. However, some customer reviews suggest they are pricey, especially when it comes to giving new users access to basic DAM functions.
Acquia DAM - for templating and project management
Previously called ‘Widen', Acquia DAM is another big DAM tool best suited to enterprise companies. On top of its essential DAM features you can add on templating tools and connect with project management software. It's unclear how much the essential DAM package will cost you, so it's hard to tell how much extra these add-ons will be.
For more digital asset management comparisons, take a look at our full list of articles:
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Dash vs Canto: which is better for your brand?
How does Canto compare to our very own digital asset management platform, Dash? Let's take a look. 👀👇
Dash vs. Canto: Features
When choosing a digital asset management (DAM) system, you want something that fits seamlessly into your ecommerce workflow, not just a one-size-fits-all tool designed for enterprises. Let’s take a closer look at how Canto and Dash compare. 👇
Organising your content
Both Dash and Canto offer tagging, folders, and collections to help you structure and organise your visual content. Auto-tagging suggests labels based on the content of your images, while custom fields let you categorise assets in a way that makes sense for your team. The key difference is that Dash also provides visual tags, making it even easier to scan and browse your content. Instead of relying solely on text-based search, you can quickly spot the right asset at a glance, helping your team move faster and stay organised.
Searching for assets
A well-organised DAM makes finding assets faster and easier. Here’s how Dash and Canto compare when it comes to search.
Searching in Canto
Like any good DAM, Canto’s metadata-driven search system lets you filter assets by tags, categories, and fields. However, the user interface (which we'll look at later) makes searching tricky. This customer says:
“Canto's user interface is not the most user-friendly or intuitive. It feels a bit outdated and there are a lot of buttons and menu items to sort through to find what you need.”
Searching in Dash
Dash is designed to make searching simple and intuitive. You can jump between folders and subfolders or use tags and filters to quickly find the right product shot, lifestyle image, or video. The simple interface also means people who don’t regularly use Dash can quickly grab what they need. Take BrewDog for example. They work with hundreds of bars and partners around the world, so they need their DAM to make sense to anyone needing to grab assets quickly. Jack, the brand’s Campaign Activator said:
“We just needed our DAM to be really intuitive. A person who's never worked at BrewDog or been on our DAM site before just needs to be able to go in and find what they're looking for. We don't have the capacity to constantly teach people how to use the system.”
Luckily Dash’s features like easy search and portals was just what they were looking for. ✨
Sharing content with teams and partners
Your DAM should do more than store files—it should make it easy to share assets with internal teams, retail partners, agencies, and influencers. Here’s how Canto and Dash stack up:
Canto’s sharing features
Canto lets users share files via portals and public links, making it possible to distribute content to external partners. However, some users mention that updates don’t always sync in real-time, meaning recipients may end up viewing outdated assets unless you manually refresh the links.
Additionally, some customers have found Canto’s permissions and access settings confusing, making it harder to control who sees what. If you’re working with multiple retail partners or agencies, this could slow down your workflow.
Dash’s sharing features
Dash makes sharing seamless and frustration-free. You can create dedicated portals for retailers, agencies, and influencers, ensuring they always have access to the right, up-to-date brand assets.
Dash also has a guest uploads feature, which lets influencers and content creators upload UGC directly to your DAM—without needing a full user account. This is a game-changer for ecommerce brands that regularly work with influencers, photographers, and freelancers.
Getting assets web-ready
A good DAM should make it easy to prepare and deploy assets for your website, social channels, and ecommerce platforms. Here’s how Dash and Canto compare when it comes to getting assets web-ready.
Getting assets ready in Canto
Whilst Canto offers a number of core asset management features, it falls short when it comes to helping you deploy content to your channels. For example, if you need to crop or resize images, you’ll have to integrate with a Content Delivery Network (CDN) through its Media Delivery Cloud (MDC). This sounds rather complicated if you don’t have dedicated IT support. Plus, once you’ve got this set up you have to navigate the clunky admin section in order to set up your preset and crop sizes. 😅
Getting assets ready in Dash
Dash is designed to help ecommerce and marketing teams move fast. Instead of relying on awkward CDNs, you can resize and crop images directly within Dash. Whether it’s a banner image for your website, a product shot for Shopify, or a perfectly sized asset for social media, Dash’s download presets will ensure your team members always have the best asset for your channels. Plus, it’s really easy for admins to access the crop presets via the asset page.
Canto vs Dash: user interface
When it comes to the usability and look of your DAM, you should expect something that does your visual content justice. You wouldn't present your holiday pics in an old, tattered and poorly laid out photo album, would you? So why compromise when it comes to your brand's digital asset?
A quick search on G2 shows me that Canto's user interface is not their strongest feature. Customers are saying that it's ‘clunky' and hard to navigate. This may be okay for people who are using the asset library regularly, but as this customer points out, it's not ideal for users who only need to grab assets every now and then:
“The UI is confusing. A lot of buttons don't have labels and unclear icons…The portals take a long time to update when you make changes. The main organization page looks overwhelming to new users and the default view is sorting by newest assets.”
Now let's compare it with Dash.
Our goal is to make digital asset management super simple for growing DTC brands, so we've deliberately designed the interface to be clean and intuitive. You can easily get started without the need for lengthy onboarding calls.
Dash lets your beautiful brand assets do the talkin'. Having them front and centre brings your brand to life and encourages your team members to jump straight in. It doesn't just look good, but helps you make the most of those assets you've spent time and money creating and sourcing. Just see what one of our customers, Forthglade, has to say:
“For the cost, Dash is really competitive. We've got people in the business who haven't used a DAM system before, so Dash's simple usability and UX was a major selling point. It meant it was really easy to get everyone using the system quickly and effectively.”
But aesthetics are subjective, right? Here's a side-by-side comparison of Dash's UX and an official screenshot from Canto's G2 profile so you can make your own mind up. 😉
Canto vs Dash: pricing
If there's one thing that's lacking in the digital asset management industry, it's transparent pricing. And yes, Canto is yet another DAM that doesn't offer clear pricing on its website. Supposedly it has the “simplest pricing model” on the market, yet you have to fill out a form and talk to an employee if you want to find out how much it's going to cost.
Some websites suggest Canto will set you back about $600 a month ($7200 a year). And G2 reviews suggest that Canto is a little pricey for the quality of the product.
Luckily, it couldn't be easier to see how much you'll need to set aside for Dash.
Dash pricing starts at £79/$109 a month. You get all features as standard along with unlimited users. Your subscription fee will only increase if you decide to add more assets or increase the number of monthly downloads. We've priced our DAM with small businesses in mind, which means you don't have to fork out for an enterprise solution if you want a good system.
Better yet, Dash has the best ROI for growing businesses. So it'll be an easier sell to your boss. 😇 This is something Kim from RevAir says has been a game changer for her brand:
“I would absolutely recommend Dash. For what it costs per month, I easily get ten times the return in productivity from my team members, in addition to happier team members and better quality work. I encourage anyone, especially anyone working with agencies, to look at Dash and think about how they could do things differently.”
Canto vs Dash: integrations
Canto offers more native integrations than Dash, but it’s not just about quantity—it’s about the right fit for your workflow. Since Dash is built for ecommerce and DTC brands, it includes integrations that help you manage, share, and deploy assets faster across your key marketing and sales channels.
What Dash and Canto have in common
Both tools integrate with:
- Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator)
- Google Drive
- WordPress
- Box
- Canva
- Hootsuite
- Zapier (for connecting with hundreds of other apps)
What Canto integrates with that Dash doesn’t
- Mailchimp
- Monday.com
- Outlook
What Dash integrates with that Canto doesn’t
- Shopify (essential for DTC brands managing product listings)
- SharePoint
- Asana
- Sketch
- Dropbox
Dash also makes it easy to embed assets directly into tools like Klaviyo using share links, so you can quickly drop product images and videos into emails and campaigns.
If you’re running a DTC brand and need a DAM that integrates with your ecommerce and marketing stack, Dash is designed to support the way you work—helping you get content to the right places without unnecessary complexity.
Canto vs Dash: onboarding
Getting up and running with your new DAM is important in helping you get the most out of it. With Dash, it's super easy to get started. Our onboarding team will help you migrate your assets from Google Drive, Dropbox or another DAM system for free. And we can set up a training session with your team to show you how the system works.
Canto's onboarding looks pretty straightforward according to G2 reviews. In fact, many customers encourage you to make the most of it because the interface, once you start using it, can be clunky and complicated.
Canto vs Dash: customer support
Customers consistently praise Dash for our high level of customer support. and Just take a look at what Abi, the brand manager at COAT Paints has to say: 🥰
“The Dash team is incredibly responsive to any queries and always quick to find a solution. In my experience, no other platform has matched the level of customer service that Dash provides.”
If you want to get in contact with us, all you'll need to do is send us a message directly via the app and a real person will get back to you. And if you have any ideas on feature enhancements or new functionality, you can drop your thoughts in our feedback portal. If lots of people vote on it, we'll take it into our product roadmap.
Canto also rates well for customer service - they get a 4.6 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot
Picking the right digital asset management software for your brand
After going through everything above, you should have a clearer idea of what kind of DAM will work best for your business. One thing to remember: you don’t need to spend thousands on an enterprise-level system to get a powerful DAM.
There are affordable options—like Dash—that provide all the essential features without the hefty price tag. Dash is designed for ecommerce and DTC brands, so you get a system that fits your workflow, helps you organise and deploy assets efficiently, and doesn’t lock features behind expensive plans.
Still unsure? Here are a few things to look for when researching DAM vendors:
1. Budget
Pricing transparency is key. Some DAM providers don’t publish their costs and require lengthy sales calls to get a quote. Others lock essential features behind enterprise plans, forcing you to pay more just to get the tools you actually need.
With Dash, pricing starts at just £79/$109 per month, with all features included and no long-term contracts—so you can cancel anytime if it’s not the right fit.
2. Learning curve
The easier a DAM is to use, the faster your team can get up and running—which means a quicker return on investment. On average, it takes one month to get fully up and running with Dash. With Canto, it takes two months. This is due to Canto’s clunkier interface and complex structures.
Dash, on the other hand, is intuitive and user-friendly, so your team can jump straight in without hours of training. Everything is designed to be quick, simple, and efficient—helping you get your product content out to channels faster.
3. Seamless workflows
A DAM should fit seamlessly into your team’s workflow and make content management easier. For example, do you need to approve content before it goes live in your DAM?
With Dash, you can set up approval workflows, so your designers, marketers, or product teams can collaborate effortlessly. This saves time, keeps everything organised, and ensures only approved content is used across your channels.
Try Dash’s ecommerce DAM for free ✨
If you need a DAM that’s easy to use, fits your ecommerce workflow, and doesn’t cost a fortune, Dash is designed to give you all the tools you need.
You try it for yourself with a 14-day free trial (no credit card required). ✨
Amy Burchill is the SEO and Content Manager for Dash. She works with ecommerce experts to create articles for DTC brands wanting to improve their campaigns.
