How they compare
| Feature | Frame.io | Aspect |
|---|---|---|
| Review and approval (comments, annotations, versions) | Yes, Frame.io delivers an excellent frame-accurate review workflow with comments, annotations, and stacked versions. | Yes, Aspect ships the same full review stack including frame-accurate comments, annotations, version stacking, and a Premiere Pro panel. |
| Stream and mount projects into your NLE | No, Frame.io is a review destination you upload videos to rather than a mounted drive you edit from. | Yes, Aspect mounts your project as a drive and streams media into your NLE so your editors can work with large files without downloading them. |
| Downloads preserve your folder structure | No, Frame.io downloads arrive as unpacked folders that do not follow your project hierarchy. | Yes, Aspect preserves your exact structure on every download so what lands on disk mirrors the platform. |
| Custom typed metadata | Limited, Frame.io gives you a fixed set of defined fields to describe assets. | Yes, Aspect lets you build typed custom attributes across a project the way Notion or Attio does. |
| AI beyond transcription (search, faces, objects) | Limited, Frame.io leans on transcription for its AI features. | Yes, Aspect indexes the media itself with semantic search, facial recognition, custom object detection, and transcription in 160+ languages. |
| All-in-one (store, stream, review, AI, deliver) | No, Frame.io centers on the review loop and leaves storage, editorial access, and delivery to other tools. | Yes, Aspect combines storage, streaming, review, AI, and delivery in a single platform. |
What is Frame.io?
Frame.io is a cloud video review and approval platform, now part of Adobe. Teams upload videos, share them for feedback, and collect frame-accurate comments, annotations, and approvals against stacked versions, with tight Premiere Pro and After Effects integration. It is the tool that defined modern review and approval, and for good reason: the workflow is fast, the interface is polished, and your clients understand it without training. What Frame.io is built around is the review loop itself. It is where a cut goes to be commented on and signed off, which means storage, editorial access, and organization mostly happen in other tools before and after your file gets there.How Aspect is different
The storage and mount that live around review
Frame.io is where you send a cut once it's finished, so the work of building that cut still happens somewhere else, and every round means uploading a new version and downloading feedback or media back out. Aspect mounts your project as a drive and streams bytes on demand into Finder and your NLE with intelligent prefetching, so editors cut directly off cloud media instead of shuttling files in and out of a review tool. Review then happens on the same media that is already mounted, not on a separate copy you pushed up for approval.Downloads that keep your real folder structure
Pull assets down from Frame.io and you get an unpacked set of folders that does not follow the hierarchy your project actually uses. Aspect preserves your exact structure on every download, so what ends up on disk mirrors what you see in the platform, and nobody has to reassemble a project by hand.A review stack that matches Frame.io, honestly
Aspect is not trying to win on review by claiming Frame.io is weak here, because it is not. Aspect ships the same full stack you expect: frame-accurate and timestamped comments, annotations and markup, checkboxes, threaded replies, in-app and email notifications, version stacking, and a Premiere Pro panel. The point is not that Aspect reviews better, it is that you get that quality of review without giving up storage and mount to a separate platform.Structured metadata, not just fixed fields
Frame.io gives you a defined set of fields to describe assets. Aspect lets you build typed custom attributes across a project the way Notion or Attio does, so status, shoot day, rights, talent, or any field your team needs becomes a real column you can filter and organize by.AI that reads the footage, not only the audio
Frame.io leans on transcription for its AI. Aspect indexes the visual media itself: that includes plain-language semantic search, facial recognition, custom object detection you can train, prompt-driven auto-metadata, and transcription in 160+ languages. You search for the shot you remember instead of scrubbing folders to find it.Switching from Frame.io?
Your review workflow comes with you, and we will move your projects and history over without disrupting active reviews. Book a demo
When to choose Frame.io
- Review and approval is the entire job, your storage and editorial access already live in tools you are happy with, and you just want the best-known place to collect client feedback.
- You are deep in the Adobe ecosystem and want review that sits as close as possible to Creative Cloud billing and identity.
When to choose Aspect
- You want Frame.io grade review, but you also want your editors working off a mounted, streamed drive instead of uploading and downloading around every round.
- You are tired of paying for review in one tool, storage in another, and a MAM in a third, and you want them in one platform.
- Your team needs downloads that keep the real folder structure, structured metadata, and AI that finds shots by content, not just by transcript.
FAQ
Aspect ships the full stack Frame.io is known for: frame-accurate and timestamped comments, annotations and markup, checkboxes, threaded replies, notifications, version stacking, and a Premiere Pro panel. The difference is that this review sits on top of streamed storage and a mounted drive, not in a standalone tool.
Aspect mounts your project as a drive and streams media into your NLE, preserves your folder structure on download, supports Notion-style custom metadata, and adds AI beyond transcription, including semantic search, facial recognition, and custom object detection.
Yes. Aspect has a Premiere Pro panel for review, and its mounted drive streams project media into your NLE with prefetching, so editors cut off cloud media directly instead of downloading it first.
Frame.io downloads arrive as unpacked folders that do not follow your filespace hierarchy. Aspect preserves your exact structure on every download, so what ends up on disk matches what you see in the platform.
Our team handles the migration with you, moving your projects, versions, and history over without interrupting active reviews.
