Cage

Cage is a collaboration workspace for creative review and project management. It fits freelancers, agencies, studios, and in-house teams that need feedback, approvals, and delivery coordination in one place. Its strongest advantage is breadth across media and workflow; the main trade-off is a very restricted free workspace.

Overview

Cage supports annotation of images, video, audio, PDFs, and more than 150 other file formats, making it practical for teams whose work is not limited to static design files. Projects, tasks, messages, calendars, milestones, and activity streams add operational structure around each review. Timestamped approvals and version history connect decisions to particular moments and revisions, which is useful when files pass through several rounds of feedback.

Branded presentations let teams package design files for clients and colleagues instead of sending disconnected proofs. The combination is more suitable for an ongoing creative workflow than for a single-purpose markup tool. However, the free plan allows only one user and one project, so it is best viewed as a permanent solo trial rather than a functioning team hub.

Key features

Review and approval workflows

Media annotation covers a broad range of formats, including video proofing, while version history preserves successive file states. Multi-stage approval workflows suit work that moves from internal review to client sign-off or other sequential gates. Unlimited reviewers on every plan are especially valuable for agencies: clients and other stakeholders can participate without consuming paid user seats. That benefit matters less on Free, where the account still has only one user and one project.

Project coordination

Tasks, project messages, calendars, milestones, and activity streams keep scheduling and discussion alongside the files being reviewed. This is a meaningful advantage for teams that otherwise split proofing from project management. It also means Cage can support work after feedback collection, rather than ending at approval.

Presentations, integrations, and capture

Custom branding applies to client-facing presentations, helping agencies present work in a consistent identity. Integrations are listed for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe XD, Slack, and Dropbox. The Chrome extension captures a file with one click, allowing it to be downloaded or added to a Cage project for annotation. These connections favor creative teams already using Adobe and common collaboration services.

Security and support

Cage says it uses 256-bit SSL encryption, PCI-compliant payment processors, and daily backups. Copies are stored in multiple data centers, with each copy distributed across physical storage devices using erasure encoding. In-app live chat and email support respond within minutes during normal business hours, Monday through Friday Central Time.

Pricing

Paid subscriptions are month-to-month. Users can cancel, upgrade, or downgrade at any time, and the Free plan does not require a credit card.

Standard removes the Free plan's project bottleneck and raises storage substantially, while Professional is chiefly a storage upgrade at the same 25-person ceiling. Enterprise is the route for unlimited people, but its cost must be obtained from sales.

Platforms

Cage is offered through the web, iOS, and an extension. The Chrome extension is particularly useful for capturing files into projects, while the web application provides the broadest project and review workspace.

Who it's for

Freelancers can use Free for one user and one project, although anyone handling concurrent client work will likely need Standard. Agencies and studios benefit from unlimited reviewers, branded presentations, approval stages, and integrations with Adobe, Slack, and Dropbox. In-house creative teams can use the project tools to connect review with schedules and milestones. Organizations beyond 25 people should evaluate Enterprise rather than assuming Professional will cover them.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad file coverage: Annotation spans video, audio, PDFs, images, and more than 150 formats.
• Workflow depth: Tasks, calendars, milestones, messages, activity streams, approvals, and version history sit beside review.
• Client-friendly sharing: Branded presentations and unlimited reviewers support external feedback without extra reviewer seats.
• Flexible billing: Paid plans are month-to-month and can be changed or cancelled at any time.
• Substantial paid storage: Standard offers up to 500 GB and Professional up to 2 TB.

Cons

• Severe Free limits: One user and one project exclude most team workflows.
• Professional's main upgrade is storage: It retains the 25-person limit, so larger teams must move to Enterprise.
• Enterprise pricing requires contact: Budgeting is less transparent for organizations needing unlimited people.

Alternatives

Ziflow is a better fit when a free account needs unlimited proofs and reviewers for up to two users, with one workflow stage and 60 days of review history. Choose Ashore if a one-user free plan with 30 files per month and 1 GB storage matches a lighter workload. Artwork Flow suits teams wanting three free users, unlimited guest reviewers, and 20 creative reviews per month. QuickReviewer offers a forever-free one-member workspace with unlimited files and proofs, but only 100 MB storage. WebProof is aimed at users who prefer four free users, unlimited projects, and page-flip limits. StreamWork provides a free two-user workspace with one project and unlimited proof links. Filestage is worth considering for a free plan with 10 team members but only one active project and five new files per month. Flatproof is a simpler web option with unlimited creators and reviewers on its free plan.

For category browsing, see Design Proofing Software, Online Proofing Software, and Video Review Software.

Verdict

Choose Cage when your creative team needs media annotation, structured project work, staged approvals, and branded client presentations together. Standard is the practical starting point for most small teams; Professional earns its price when storage is the constraint. Look elsewhere if you need a genuinely collaborative free plan, a lower storage footprint, or transparent pricing for a team larger than 25 people.