In this blog post, we compare 14 of the best online proofing tools for creative teams and web development agencies.
Revisions and edits are a normal part of the proofing process.
However, the last thing you need is for proofing and edits to drag on for weeks or months.
You want to get a project signed-off quickly, so you can start the next one.
So, you need online proofing software that makes this work easier.
In this post, we compare the 14 best online proofing tools on the market based on features, functionality, use cases, and pricing.
Let’s have a look at some of the best ones out there!
14 Best Online Proofing Tools
Here’s a list of 14 of the most popular online proofing platforms and software on the market.
These should make your collaborative and creative projects easier to manage, helping you publish in quicker iterations while maintaining a higher level of quality.
1. Marker.io
Annotate web pages and send feedback straight to your project management tool, without leaving your website.
Online proofing tools should provide easy-to-implement, actionable feedback from colleagues and clients.
In other words, you need a proofing software that’s:
- Simple for colleagues, clients, and other stakeholders to use;
- Powerful enough to produce high-quality feedback. Capture the whole page, include a screenshot, then highlight the issue. It should be immediately clear what needs fixing or changing;
- Effective and does everything you need to reduce back-and-forth for all parties involved.
- Able to capture technical data. Console and network logs, custom metadata, URL, environment info—you name it. All these help development teams fix bugs faster.
Marker.io ticks all of those boxes.
Here are a few reasons why Marker.io is awesome as an online proofing tool.
Visual feedback and annotations that make your devs go “aha!”
When working collaboratively on a project, you need markup tools that make it clear what needs changing or fixing—something to get your point across.
Fortunately, Marker.io has it all:
- Arrows
- Shapes
- Text over screenshots
- Blur (for sensitive information…)
- Different colors
- Emojis
It doesn’t get much more visual than that!
Everything you need to say can be overlaid onto screenshots. Plus, you can leave a more detailed note too.
And if that’s not enough, Marker.io also has file sharing—which means reporters can leave files and docs in different formats for devs to action.
Sending online proofing feedback and revision requests with the widget is a simple, 3-step process:
- Notice something that needs changing, click the button
- Fill out the report and input details
- Click “Create issue”—done!
You can install the widget via a Javascript snippet—or, if more convenient for you, via a browser extension (like Chrome).
Check it out in action:
Marker.io also lets you create more detailed forms for internal users.
For example, you can customize form fields to “Assignee”, “Priority”, or “Category” for your QA team or other logged-in users.
2-way sync with project management tools
One of the advantages of Marker.io is the deep 2-way integrations with project management tools and software.
Unlike other online proofing tools, you don’t need to jump back-and-forth as every piece of feedback is in constant sync with your PM tool.
Marker.io integrates with Jira, Trello, Linear, and loads of others!
The benefit of this is:
- Every piece of visual and proofing feedback automatically goes into your PM tool;
- Nothing gets overlooked or lost in email chains or Slack threads;
- Because our sync works both ways, every time an issue is marked as “Done” in your PM tool, that same issue will be marked as “Resolved” in Marker.io.
Project managers can also enable notifications to ensure reporters are kept in the loop when an issue has been resolved.
Check out our 2-way sync in action:
Data-rich bug reports
Not everyone knows what technical data is needed when sending in a bug report.
It takes too much time to remember everything. Non-technical people will forget or miss details.
Instead, you need a tool that captures the following automatically:
- What URL they were on (for staging as well as live sites);
- Environment (OS, device, browser, etc.) and console logs so devs can reproduce the bugs easily;
- Metadata;
- Session replay/recording, etc.
With Marker.io, this data is automatically collected—and sent off to your PM tool with the rest of the report.
Session replay: see feedback in real-time
Even when bug reports contain a lot of detail, there’s always something missing.
To make it easy to reproduce bugs, devs and designers need to see exactly what happened and what a user did when submitting said report.
Well—Marker.io's toolkit includes the Session Replay feature for that reason.
Simply click the “Watch replay” link straight from your PM tool.
You can then watch the last 30 seconds (or more) before the report was submitted.
Check out session replay in action:
Want to give Marker.io a go?
Try Marker.io free for 15 days as an easy-to-use online proofing software suite.
Pricing: starts at $39/mo.
2. GoVisually
Online proofing software for creative agencies.
GoVisually is an online proofing software suite that’s ideal for visual, marketing teams, and design agencies. With this, you can:
- Review visual work faster;
- Collaborate during the proofing process and design a new version together;
- Share, review, and approve everything from live websites to PDFs and videos.
Pricing: From $26/mo per user.
3. Aproove
A cloud-based online proofing and collaboration tool.
Aproove is a platform for managing creative projects with team members, from briefing to completion, including the proofing process. This tool allows you to:
- Streamline creative collaborative projects with an end-to-end management suite;
- Manage previous versions of a project with ease;
- Work on project approval internally and with clients;
- Track delivery timescales.
Pricing: From $750/mo for small and medium businesses.
4. Adobe Workfront
Streamline online proofing with this PM tool for creative teams.
Adobe Workfront, which is now part of Adobe Creative Cloud, is a project management tool that includes online proofing solutions:
- Manage collaborative projects at scale;
- Plan and iterate creative work;
- Use campaign milestones and loads of other Adobe Creative Cloud features.
Pricing: Custom quote.
5. ReviewStudio
Implement simplified workflows for smarter collaborative working.
ReviewStudio is an online proofing platform for creative teams, studios, and agencies. The platform offers:
- A collaborative environment: centralize your content, then review and annotate it together;
- A comprehensive set of markup and annotation tools;
- Advanced version control, to easily manage multiple iterations of a project.
Pricing: From $24/mo per user, up to $336/mo for a team of 50.
6. PageProof
Online feedback and proofing streamlined.
PageProof is a powerful online revisions solution to manage the proofing process. This platform allows you to:
- Collaborate and provide feedback in real-time on any file type;
- Keep track of changes made during the proofing process with version control;
- Take full advantage of automation and simplify task management with automated reminders, notifications, and task assignments.
Pricing: From $249/mo.
7. Ziflow
A creative workflow platform for feedback and project asset completion.
Ziflow supports over 1,200 creative assets and file types. Some of the functionality includes the ability to:
- Capture and review across multiple file types in one platform;
- Collaborate together during the review process;
- Ensure everyone involved has signed off on creative assets, and much more!
Pricing: From $50/mo for businesses (free for personal use).
8. ProofHub
Collaborate more effectively with this creative platform, replacing 6-7 apps with one.
ProofHub is a project planning software suite with extensive functionality for creative teams and agencies. The platform allows you to:
- Create customizable proofing workflows to define your own review and approval processes;
- Maintain a version history of all your files, so you can easily go back and track changes made;
- Solid markup and annotation features for documents, images, and designs.
Pricing: From $50/mo.
9. ProjectHuddle
Gather project feedback on WordPress sites more easily.
ProjectHuddle is a WordPress plugin for website dev and design feedback. With this tool, you can:
- Keep your clients in the loop and collect their feedback with a client feedback portal;
- Simplify the feedback collection process on WordPress websites;
- Use version control features to easily compare changes and switch between iterations.
Pricing: From $109/mo (or $599 for a lifetime subscription).
10. ScreenLight
Capture simple, clear-cut feedback on video projects.
ScreenLight solves the problem of disorganized, time-consuming client feedback that slows down video production schedules.
You can use this tool to:
- Easily review and markup videos, designs, and other;
- Comment on videos at specific timestamps and frames in designs;
- Collaborate with project management features such as projects, tasks, deadlines, and more.
It’s ideal for video production companies.
Pricing: From $9/mo per user.
11. ConceptShare
Digital proofing for creative assets and campaigns.
ConceptShare, a Deltek company, is an online proofing software solution. You can:
- Review and share dozens of different file types;
- Collaborate on the approval process internally and externally;
- Integrate it with other Deltek software, Jira, and several more PM tools.
Pricing: Custom quote (free trial provided).
12. InVision
All-in-one collaborative whiteboard.
InVision’s Freehand has everything creative teams need to work together and with clients. With this tool, you can:
- Create interactive prototypes for websites and apps to collect early stakeholder feedback;
- Comment and draw directly on designs, annotate specific areas;
- Maintain a history of reviews and iterations.
Pricing: From $4.95/mo per user (or free for individuals).
13. Ashore
Online proofing software for creatives.
Ashore is a creative collaboration platform and online proofing solution. Teams can:
- Work together on anything from PDFs to audio files;
- Ask clients for feedback within the tool;
- Benefit from having a branded proofing dashboard for the sign-off process.
Pricing: From $18/mo per user (or free for individuals).
14. Filestage
Online proofing and review software in one powerful package.
Filestage describes itself as “The review and approval platform that runs itself.” With Filestage, you can:
- Communicate and work together on creative projects;
- Get the feedback you need on any file type;
- Make reviews and approvals easier for everyone.
Pricing: From $24/mo per user ($120/mo for a team of 5).
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are online proofing tools?
Online proofing tools, or online proofing software are SaaS platforms that make it easier for collaborative creative teams to work together on projects.
Teams that use online proofing software include developers, marketers, designers, and a combination of those, whether they’re agency or in-house.
Online proofing accelerates collaborative working on web design, marketing, or publishing projects.
In other words, anything that needs to be published to a high standard where quick iterative changes are required.
Online proofing software makes the whole end-to-end process for this easier and quicker to manage, for everyone involved, including stakeholders, senior managers, and clients.
2. What features do I need from an online proofing tool?
Here are the features you should be looking for:
- Any tool or software you use should make online proofing easier and more streamlined for collaborative teams;
- Automate the collaborative, editing, and sign-off process for creative projects;
- Integrate this tool with others, such as project management software.
So there you have it: 14 of the best online proofing tools on the market.
Did we miss your favorite tool? Let us know on Twitter or via e-mail!
