Digital asset management pricing: how much does DAM cost?

Pricing is one of the most important things to consider when shopping for a new digital asset management (DAM) tool, but it can be complicated. You’ll need to collect quotes from different vendors and it’s not always easy to tell which one's a good deal. 

Why? Because DAM pricing varies a LOT. Some have options for businesses with tighter budgets (like Dash), and others cost literally tens of thousands per year. Some charge per user or lock features into more expensive tiers. No wonder it's hard to make a choice. 😤 

An overview of DAM pricing structures

Most digital asset management providers use a tiered or custom pricing system. 

We use tiered pricing at Dash, which is why we have four pricing plans. You get all of Dash’s features and unlimited users regardless of tier, but our more expensive package offers 200GB storage and unlimited download allowance — with the option to add more storage as you grow. 

We’ve structured our pricing like this because Dash is designed for growing businesses. It means you can choose a tier that best meets your needs and budget instead of spending thousands of dollars at once (yes, DAMs like Brandfolder cost that much). You can also upgrade your Dash package anytime and add on extra storage as you grow.

Custom pricing is more common with enterprise digital asset management solutions. like Bynder, MediaValet and Brandfolder. These digital asset management tools come with complex features and requirements to meet the needs of enterprise companies. After you fill out an interest form, their team will contact you to discuss your requirements and create a bespoke plan that matches your needs. 

You can bet any digital asset management software that asks you to fill out a form to get pricing will likely be very expensive. So if you’re a growing business, you’re better off with a DAM with upfront costs and features like Dash. 

DAM pricing comparison table

Whilst many DAMs don’t offer pricing on their website, we’ve spoken to customers and dug around the web to find some rough costs—all of which you can find in our digital asset management software comparison worksheet.

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For a quick glance, here’s how much some of the most popular digital asset management systems cost. 

What determines the cost of your digital asset management system?

1. Features

DAM tools which have lots of add-on features tend to cost more than those that focus solely on helping you organise, manage, and deploy your creative assets. 

You’ll see this a lot with enterprise DAM software. Take Bynder, for example. On top of regular DAM features like uploading and sharing visual assets, it also has a digital content creation studio, print-ready templates, and content automation workflows. So, it’s no surprise that it costs at least $450 monthly.

 Dash doesn’t have these complex add-ons, so our tool costs a lot less — starting at £79/$109 per month. But you won’t be missing out on much as we provide all the DAM features you need to create a single source of truth for all your creative files. 

Here are some key features of Dash: 

• Use keyword searches to find images fast 
• Use AI tags for advanced search capabilities 
• Crop and resize image and video content for your different marketing channels 
• Create portals to share with your resellers and distributors 
• Use guest uploads to get content from influencers
• Give feedback on assets and set up approval workflows 

The best part is you can get all these advanced features at a fraction of Bynder’s costs and complexity.

2. Number of users/seats

Many DAMs charge per seat, meaning the cost of the software increases as you add more people to your account. The downside is that user-based pricing quickly racks up costs. 

Say you go from 10 to 20 users; that’s a 100% increase in DAM expenses. This is not sustainable for many businesses, so we don’t charge by it. As a Dash customer, you can add as many users as you like to your account at no extra cost. They get all the features, too!

3. Integrations

Some DAMs lock integrations out of the lower tiers, meaning you’ll have to pay more to access them. Air, for example, locks its Zapier and Adobe Creative Cloud integrations for enterprise users. 

There are two reasons most DAMs charge more for integrations: 

1. They know these integrations are valuable to you, so you'll be willing to pay more for them. For example, Brandfolder’s integration library has over 100 applications, including workflow tools and content management systems. But that’s one reason it costs around $1600 monthly — nearly ten times Dash's price.
2. Sometimes it costs extra for vendors to sync their DAMs to other tools. For example, Adobe Premiere Pro integrations require CI Hub or Linkr UI which have monthly subscription fees. 

This isn’t the case with Dash. Integrations are included in all of our plans, with the expectation being Adobe CC and Microsoft Office which will require a subscription to LinkrUI in order to connect. We also integrate with the most important ecommerce apps you'll need to create and deploy content to your channels. 

For example, our Shopify and WooCommerce integrations let you import Dash assets directly into your online store’s product listings. You can also send new images from Dash to your social channels via our Hootsuite integration. 

That’s not all. With our Zapier integration, you can connect your Dash with thousands of apps without writing a single line of code.

4. Onboarding costs

A lot of big enterprise DAMs require several weeks of onboarding support whilst you and your users get set up in the system. Because the DAM is complex, it might need some configuration to ensure it works for your business. Vendors will often charge extra for this service as it requires more technical knowledge. 

That’s not the case with Dash. First of all, you can set up your Dash yourself — we’ve designed the software to be intuitive and easy to navigate - meaning it doesn’t require any technical training. Of course if you need any help at all, we offer free onboarding calls during the process. 

Plus you can connect with your Google Drive or Dropbox account and bring all your assets over to Dash. There are also tons of articles and help videos to guide you in our help centre.  

But that’s not all. Our support team is available to answer questions and help you with any issues, free of charge. Say you need help migrating many assets from your hard drive; you only have to let us know, and we’ll take it from there.

5. Storage requirements

The more assets you upload into your DAM, the more you pay. This is because storing a large volume of digital files requires more server space and resources. As a result, DAM providers often scale their pricing based on the amount of storage space required by the user. 

Like many digital asset management platforms, each Dash plan has a storage limit, but you can purchase additional storage as needed. We’ll inform you ahead of time if you are about to exceed your storage limit so there are no billing surprises. 

You can delete outdated assets to accommodate new ones or let us upgrade your subscription to make room for the additional content you want to upload.

How to evaluate digital asset management pricing

Don’t take DAM pricing at face value. Ask the following questions to make sure you’re getting the best value for money.

1. How many DAM features come with this plan?

Make sure that the essential DAM features you need are included in the tier or package you're considering. Look for limitations in lower tiers that might force you to upgrade to more expensive plans. 

Some DAM tools, like Air, look cheap on the surface, but actually lock away extra user seats and core features such as onboarding support and guest access in higher tiers. You’re forced to upgrade to a more expensive plan to get more value from the tool. 

No need to worry if you’re a Dash user — regardless of your package, you'll get all of our DAM features and unlimited users.

2. Is the pricing transparent?

Like I mentioned earlier, enterprise DAMs like Brandfolder will typically ask you to fill a form to learn how much they cost. This is time-consuming, especially for growing businesses looking to set up and enjoy the benefits of a DAM as soon as possible.

Dash, on the other hand, is transparent about pricing. We'll never ask you to fill a sales form or jump through hoops just to get pricing information. Instead, our website contains a detailed pricing breakdown to help you make an informed decision on time. 

You also need to be mindful of hidden costs. The last thing you want is to spend all your budget on a digital asset manager only to discover that you need to pay for other stuff to make it fully functional. Ask your DAM provider if there are additional costs for implementation, 24/7 customer support (yes, some DAMs charge for this), user licences, and API usage. 

Rest assured that Dash has no hidden pricing. What you see on the website is all you have to pay to use our DAM software.

3. What about long-term contracts?

Most enterprise DAMs lock you into strict contracts. Bynder, for example, has a 36-month contract, which means you’re stuck with them for three years. 

This might work well for large teams with predictable business outcomes. But it’s a nightmare for small businesses. As a small business, your needs are changing rapidly. Long-term contracts can limit the ability to switch to a more appropriate solution, leaving you stuck with an outdated system. 

We understand this at Dash, so we don’t lock you into strict contracts. You can cancel your Dash subscription anytime — all we require is a 30-day notice from your next billing date.

4. What’s the DAM return on investment (ROI)?

This one is a biggie. You need to compare the cost of the DAM to how much ROI you could get from using it. 

Take Dash, for example. One of the benefits of our DAM software is that it cuts down the time spent searching for assets. But how does this impact your business? Let’s look at a few ways.

a. It makes it easier to find and reuse visual assets

Dash helps you avoid the cost of creating duplicate content by making existing assets easier to organise, find and reuse. Consider the potential savings from not having to recreate assets or purchase stock content repeatedly. 

For example, RevAir saves up to 20 hours a month by organising visual assets in Dash. 

“It’s so lovely to go ‘shopping in Dash’ because I can type in different search terms and tags and sort by file type. It not only returns the things I’m thinking of but also shows me other options that might be even better. Sometimes, there are assets I didn’t even remember! Dash just makes us work better.”

b. It improves brand consistency

Consistent brand presentation increases your revenue by up to 20%. Dash ensures that everyone in your organisation is using the most current and approved versions of images and videos, which helps maintain brand consistency across all channels. Beyond revenue, the value of brand consistency can be measured in terms of increased customer trust and loyalty. 

For example, Kinetics uses Dash and Corebook to create online brand guidelines for consistent brand integrity. 

“We’ve managed to create a one-stop shop for assets and brand identity. It makes a lot of sense to keep assets and guidelines in one place. More people are becoming acquainted with our brand guidelines and you can now download assets directly from our guidelines. Dash and Corebook add positively to our brand image and visual identity.”

c. It boosts your team’s workflow and collaboration

Dash allows multiple team members, external collaborators, and resellers to access, edit, and share visual assets in real-time. This improves your workflow, leading to faster content production, delivery and deployment. The ROI here is measured in terms of shorter project timelines and increased team productivity 

Take Gozney, one of our customers, as an example. They've found that managing assets in Dash has significantly shortened their content pipeline, allowing them to deploy new product images and videos in three simple and quick steps. 

“It's just a matter of creating the content, uploading it to Dash, and either distributing it internally (and most of our teams have their own Dash accounts, so they'd have access to it instantly) or adding it to the portals for our external partners. We've significantly shortened the time we spend uploading and preparing the content for use.”

These are only a handful of ways to measure the return on investment on your digital asset management software. For more ideas, check out Amy’s DAM ROI article.

Which DAM provides the best value for my brand?

If you’re looking for a digital asset management tool that guarantees the best value for money, Dash should be your first choice. 

As an ecommerce DAM for growing businesses, Dash measures up nicely to more expensive and complex digital asset management tools. We provide the core features you’ll need to organise and deploy your assets efficiently, including: 

• A public portal of your Dash for sharing up-to-date assets with collaborators like distributors, resellers and PR agencies 

• Fast and easy asset deployment to your Shopify and WooCommerce stores plus social media channels

• Automatic tagging to help you organise and find images and videos for your ecommerce website quickly 

And the best part? You can get all our DAM features for unlimited users starting at £79/$109 per month. There are no hidden fees or lengthy contracts, meaning you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel anytime. 

Little wonder we were voted the DAM with the best estimated ROI at G2’s 2024 summer awards. 😇  

Want a Dash of your own? Try it out for 14 days — free of charge.