Frame.io is a great tool for review-and-approve workflows and many companies use both Frame.io and the Signiant Platform. As with many tools, there is some overlap and we get the question, do I need both? Often the answer is ‘yes’ as the two are very different things. The core value proposition of the Signiant Platform is making content flow more efficiently between people, with partners, across systems, or to and from the cloud. You can send a file with Frame.io but only with assets uploaded into their storage. That’s a huge distinction. It would be highly unusual and very costly for any media company to store all their assets in Frame.io storage. Signiant makes it easy to access and move assets to and from any storage, on-prem or in the cloud.
Signiant vs. Frame.io: Pricing
Signiant
Signiant subscription plans provide simple, no-surprises pricing. We pride ourselves on being easy to do business with and we work with companies of all sizes to meet their business needs. When you connect Signiant to on-prem storage, you get unlimited transfers with no file-size limits. Every subscription includes a healthy allowance of cloud payload, when using cloud storage.
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Frame.io
Frame.io pricing is based on per GB storage and transfer fees. That can be appealing for smaller projects or one-time use cases but those fees add up quickly when working with large media assets and big projects. Many Frame.io customers end up having to put rules in place so it doesn’t get abused and then use Signiant alongside Frame.io for moving media. Customers who try to use Frame.io for high volume storage and transfers experience very high costs.
Signiant vs. Frame.io: Speed & Reliability
Signiant
The Signiant Platform is built on patented transport technology that can move any-size file over any IP network with speed, security and lights-out reliability. We were recently awarded a patent for a new intelligent transport architecture that uses machine learning to adapt to network conditions in real-time and is capable of multi-Gbps transfer speeds. Checkpoint restart will automatically restart any interrupted transfer from the point of failure. Files are delivered unaltered with byte for byte accuracy. There is simply nothing faster or more reliable on the market when it comes to moving large files and datasets.
Frame.io
Frame.io can send a file but that’s really not what it was built for. At its core it is a review- and-approve tool and does that very well. Frame.io customers often complain about poor speeds and reliability issues when moving large files into and out of Frame.io storage. That is why many companies use Frame.io for review-and-approve but rely on the Signiant Platform for all their file movement between people, between systems and to and from the cloud.
Get the Guide: 10 Reasons to Choose Signiant
Signiant vs. Frame.io: Storage Independence
Signiant
Unlike Frame.io, Signiant does not bundle or resell storage but rather we connect to your storage. With Signiant, assets always remain 100% in your control. In fact, there is no additional cost to connect to any number of storage locations and so the Signiant Platform acts as an abstraction layer, making it easy, fast and secure to access assets across any and all of your storage.
Frame.io
With Frame.io, files are uploaded into storage that is bundled and operated by them. This is not only a security concern, but it also means you can’t easily provide access to assets across storage locations. Most media companies have assets in multiple storage locations and want to keep assets in their storage under their control. That isn’t an option with Frame.io.
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Why Signiant is better than Frame.io for large file transfers — but you may need both!
Before you compare Signiant and Frame.io, remember these are two very different things. Any company working with large media assets will need a solution to move and access assets. Whether sending and sharing files between people, automating transfers between systems, exchanging content with partners or moving content to, from and between clouds, the Signiant Platform has it covered. That is why more than 50,000 media companies and over one million professionals rely on the Signiant Platform to move their valuable content. On the other hand, Frame.io is a great review-and-approve tool. If your workflows involve frame-accurate comments and collaboration, Frame.io is a great choice. Sure, you can send a file from Frame.io to a person but it would be very unlikely and very expensive for a company to keep all its assets in Frame.io — which is why many companies use Signiant for transfers alongside Frame.io.