Digital Asset Management

Keeping your company organized is a huge time and money saver. By storing your digital assets in a centralized location, digital asset management (DAM) software can help you and your team find and share assets quickly and easily. This can shave dozens or hundreds of hours of wasted time off your bottom line.

Is the increased efficiency worth the cost, though? This depends on many factors, including your company size, what vendor you decide on and what features you plan on using. Read on to get a better idea of DAM pricing among popular vendors and see what solution may best fit your company’s needs.

How Much Does DAM Software Cost?

The marketplace for digital asset management software is largely nontransparent about pricing. Many companies hide their pricing behind quote requests, and little marketplace research exists.

A 2018 survey from DAM News collected pricing information from 13 providers and came up with the following averages:

1 year hosted: $51,999
1 year non-hosted: $71,746

While the sample size is small and averages are likely skewed by enterprise-level providers, it still provides some insight into affordability. Generally, hosted plans are less expensive than non-hosted plans, a trend that was also seen in their 2016 survey.

Between what little marketplace research exists and customer reviews, one thing is clear: There is a wide price gap between low-price and high-price vendors. The most affordable offerings start free for a limited number of users, while the most expensive offerings soar into hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Software Price Comparison

The following table compares popular vendors based on the pricing information provided on their websites. Where clear pricing is unavailable, an estimation is provided when possible. Estimations are based on consumer and software review services.

What To Ask When Quote Shopping

With DAM pricing often hidden behind quotes, it’s important to know what to ask when shopping around. This can help ensure you understand the full pricing picture before committing to a service.

Here are a few questions to help you compare quotes:

What is your pricing model? Many vendors offer monthly or yearly pricing subscriptions, but some price their products by which features are included. If you don’t need all their product offerings, you may be able to save some money.
Do you have any setup, licensing or maintenance fees? Some vendors charge hidden fees to set up your account. This can help cover fees for migrating data or hosting products (like servers) if you choose a cloud-based DAM. It’s important to know all associated fees with your account, as some of them could be thousands of dollars.
Do you have cancellation fees? While hidden fees can increase costs upfront during setup, they can also surprise you if you want to cancel. To deter users from switching providers, vendor cancellation fees can be expensive.

3 Money-saving Tips

Having an asset management software that meets your needs is important, but it’s even more important to stay within your budget. If you’re looking to get the best bang for your buck, here are a few money-saving tips to help you when shopping for DAM software.

Start with companies that offer free trials. Making sure you like the product before you pay can give you peace of mind.
Sign up for yearly subscriptions over monthly when possible. Many companies offer discounts to yearly subscribers over monthly. At Lingo, you can get two months free when you become a yearly subscriber.
Opt for a hosted plan over a non-hosted plan. Not only does this save you money on average, but it also adds convenience by allowing your team to access your account from any internet browser.

Making sure you get the best price possible on a DAM solution can be hard. Between nontransparent pricing models and hidden fees, it’s difficult to get the full price picture. At Lingo, we offer transparent pricing for businesses of all sizes. That means whether you need a DAM solution for your small business or enterprise operation, you can shop with peace of mind.

Start your free trial today.