Air.inc is a creative operations platform: conversational AI search, Kanban boards, version stacking and native integrations with Figma, Slack and Notion, billed in credits that storage and AI generation share, with unlimited seats on every plan. Its published plans are Free (120 credits, about 20 GB), Starter at $25 a month (about 100 GB) and Business from $900 a month billed annually (about 5 TB), with Enterprise on quote (verified 2026-09-21). An Air.inc alternative is any platform that lets a creative team store, find, review and deliver its files, and in 2026 the ones most often shortlisted are Playbook, Dash, Filecamp, Canto, Brandfolder, Bynder and Brault.
Three things send teams looking. The billing unit: credits are hard to forecast when a month of AI generation and a terabyte of footage draw from the same pool. The gap: there is no plan between Starter at $25 and Business at $900, so a studio that outgrows 100 GB jumps 36 times in price. And delivery: Air shares through Air links, with no branded transfer page, so agencies keep a second tool for handing files to clients. This guide compares seven alternatives on those three things; the head-to-head with Brault is in Air.inc vs Brault, and the small-team buying guide in DAM for small teams without an enterprise contract.
TL;DR
- Closest all-in-one replacement for a creative team of 1 to 20: Brault, $0 to $70 a month billed annually with search, Boards, review, branded delivery and 250 GB transfers in the plan.
- Closest for visual browsing: Playbook, Free then $10 to $20 per member a month, 2 TB included on Pro.
- Published flat prices with unlimited users: Filecamp ($29 to $89 a month, up to 100 GB) and Dash ($109 to $589 a month, portals included).
- Enterprise DAMs by quote: Canto ($25,000 a year on its one public listing), Brandfolder (about $500 a month at entry, reported) and Bynder ($20,000 to $40,000 a year on small deployments, reported).
- Nothing here matches Air's native Figma, Slack and Notion layer; Bynder comes closest by integration count, Brault by API and automation.
Why do teams look for an Air.inc alternative?
Air is a good product for the team it is built for: a creative operations group that designs in Figma, talks in Slack, plans in Notion and wants the assets, the boards and the ad-performance data in one layer, with seats that never cost extra. The reasons to look elsewhere are structural rather than about quality. Credits are one pool for storage and AI generation, at about 6 credits per GB a month, 5 per generated image and 20 per generated video, so a heavy month of AI eats into the library. The plan ladder has one rung between Free and Enterprise for individuals (Starter, $25) and one for growing teams (Business, $900 billed annually, $1,100 month to month), with nothing between them. And client delivery runs through Air share links, not through a branded transfer page, so agencies keep WeTransfer or Dropbox Transfer next to it.
None of that is a defect for a 40-person marketing team with a 60 GB library, which pays $25 a month for unlimited seats. It is a mismatch for a studio with terabytes of footage and a handful of people, and the alternatives below are sorted from the closest creative fit to the enterprise end.
Which are the best Air.inc alternatives in 2026?
Seven tools, each with the buyer it serves best. The numbers navigate the list; the right pick depends on the size of the library, the size of the team, and whether the workflow runs through integrations or through the files.
1Playbook: best visual library for solo creatives and small studios
Playbook is the alternative closest to Air's feel: a Pinterest-style visual grid, AI tagging, deduplication and published pages, with a price list that reads in seconds. Free gives 100 GB or 300 assets for 3 members; Pro is $10 per member a month with 2 TB included; Team is $20 per member with 3 TB and AI tagging; Enterprise adds 15 TB and SSO on quote. Guests are unlimited. Playbook bills by storage and members rather than credits, which is the first thing an Air team notices, and its 2 TB on Pro is twenty times Air Starter's typical storage at less than half the price for one person.
- Best forSolo creatives and small studios that browse visually and share pages
- PricingPro $10, Team $20 per member a month billed annually; Enterprise custom (verified 2026-09-21)
- Free planYes; 100 GB or 300 assets, 3 members, unlimited guests
- Watch outNo workflow boards, no review and approval, no transfer tool, no white-label delivery
Where Playbook stops is the workflow: there are no boards, no approval stages and no transfer product, so a team that used Air's boards to run production will feel the gap. Where it wins is the library itself, for a photographer, illustrator or design studio whose problem is finding the right image among fifty thousand.
2Dash: best published prices for brands that share assets widely
Dash is a DAM with a price list built for consumer and e-commerce brands: $109 to $589 a month, unlimited users on every plan, branded portals included and free onboarding, with a free trial instead of a demo. Storage starts at 10 GB and downloads are metered below the top plan, so a video-heavy library moves up the tiers quickly. For an Air team, the appeal is the portal: retailers, press and partners browse a branded surface without accounts.
- Best forConsumer brands that distribute product assets to retailers, partners and press
- Pricing$109 to $589 a month, unlimited users, free onboarding (US list, verified 2026-09-21)
- Free planNo; free trial on every plan
- Watch outDownloads metered below the top plan; storage starts at 10 GB; no review or transfer workflow
Dash does not do AI search in Air's conversational sense, review and approval, or a transfer product; it does portals, permissions and distribution well. Pick it when the job is handing finished brand assets to many outside parties rather than producing them.
3Filecamp: best flat price for a small team with unlimited users
Filecamp charges by storage, not by seat: $29, $59 or $89 a month for 20, 50 or 100 GB with unlimited users and custom branding on every plan, and a 30-day trial with no card. It is the simplest way to give a whole team and its clients a branded library, and its unit, gigabytes, is the easiest of the seven to forecast. The published storage stops at 100 GB, which rules out video archives, and proofing and approval arrive only on the $89 Professional plan.
- Best forSmall teams with a small library and many people who need branded access
- Pricing$29, $59 or $89 a month for 20, 50 or 100 GB (verified 2026-09-21)
- Free planNo; 30-day trial, no card required
- Watch outPublished storage stops at 100 GB; proofing only on the $89 plan; no AI search or transfer workflow
Filecamp is the opposite of Air in the best sense for a small team: a fixed bill, no credits, everyone in. It replaces Air's library, not its boards or its integrations, so it fits teams that ran the workflow elsewhere anyway.
4Canto: best mid-market DAM with review and portals
Canto sells three packages, Core Essentials, Enhanced Collaboration and Advanced, all quoted, and one public number: the AWS Marketplace listing at $25,000 per 12-month contract for 2 TB and 5 power users. Review and approval, dynamic brand templates, AI search and brand portals live in the middle package, which is where most creative teams land. Canto also publishes its own comparison with Air, which tells you who it expects to meet in the shortlist.
- Best forMid-market marketing teams that want proofing and brand portals in a governed DAM
- PricingQuote; $25,000 per 12-month contract on AWS Marketplace (verified 2026-09-21)
- Free planNone; request pricing
- Watch outEvery package is labelled illustrative, so the scope is set in the sales call; onboarding is a project
Canto is a step up in governance and a step away from self-serve. A team leaving Air because credits were hard to size will find a quote harder still; a team leaving because it needs SSO, approval chains and portals for a hundred partners is Canto's buyer. The package detail is in Canto pricing in 2026.
5Brandfolder: best for teams that plan work in Smartsheet
Brandfolder is Smartsheet's DAM: brand guidelines (Brandguide), portals, asset analytics and creative workflow in the product, with a data connector into Smartsheet and links to Wrike, Workfront and Jira. It is demo-led with no public price; buyers report about $500 a month at entry, $1,500 to $3,000 a month on Premium, a $24,999 median contract and $2,000 to $10,000 of implementation, with an average onboarding of 1.6 months. Guests are free and unlimited; anyone who uploads or approves is a named seat.
- Best forBrand and marketing teams that run on Smartsheet and want analytics on asset usage
- PricingDemo-led; about $500 a month at entry and a $24,999 median contract reported (Vendr, February 2026)
- Free planNone; no trial either
- Watch outNamed seats for anyone who uploads or approves; implementation and 1.6 months of onboarding on top
Brandfolder answers the question Air's Enterprise tier answers, analytics on how assets are used, for organizations that already plan in Smartsheet. The product on its own is in the Brandfolder review, and its own alternatives in best Brandfolder alternatives.
6Bynder: best enterprise DAM with the widest integration catalogue
Bynder is the enterprise DAM a procurement team shortlists: a base platform plus paid modules for brand guidelines, creative workflow and content experiences, 160+ integrations, an open API, SSO and 24/7 support. Bynder states that every customer has a unique price point; Vendr's buyer data of February 2026 reports $20,000 to $40,000 a year for small deployments and $40,000 to $90,000 for mid-sized ones, plus 15% to 30% of services in year one. Of the seven, it is the one whose integration catalogue comes closest to Air's native layer.
- Best forMarketing organizations of 25 to 100+ users that buy modules and need 160+ integrations
- PricingCustom quote; reported $20,000 to $100,000+ a year (Vendr, February 2026)
- Free planNone; demo-led
- Watch outAdding users mid-contract is reported to raise the per-user price; services add 15% to 30% in year one
Bynder replaces Air for an organization that has outgrown a creative platform and needs a governed system of record. The plan detail is in Bynder pricing in 2026, and the enterprise pair in Bynder vs Brandfolder.
7Brault: best all-in-one replacement for creative teams on a public price
Brault is a creative file management platform that covers Air's daily layer and the two things Air leaves to other tools, on a storage plan with a public price: $0 (Free, 2 GB), $4 a month (Lite, 200 GB), $12 a month (Pro, 2 TB, up to 3 users at $8 each) and $70 a month (Growth, 5 TB, 4 users included at $4 per extra), billed annually ($5, $15 and $85 month to month), verified 2026-09-21. AI search finds files by what is in them across 50+ formats, including RAW, PSD and AI files; Boards attach status, person, date and other properties to the file itself; frame-accurate review and approval sit on the file; every share link, public board and transfer page carries the brandspace logo, colors and domain; and Brault Transfer sends up to 250 GB with branded download pages, from Free. Enterprise adds SSO, custom roles and dedicated support.
- Best forStudios and agencies of 1 to 20 that want search, Boards, review, branded delivery and transfer in one plan
- Pricing$0 / $4 / $12 / $70 a month billed annually, $6 to $14 per TB (verified 2026-09-21 on brault.app/pricing)
- Free planYes; 2 GB, AI search, Boards, review and Brault Transfer, no card
- Watch outNo native Figma, Slack or Notion apps and no ad-performance analytics; seats beyond the plan cost $8 (Pro) or $4 (Growth)
Brault is the one of the seven that replaces Air and the transfer tool next to it in a single plan, and the only self-serve one with review and approval built in. What it does not replicate is Air's integration layer: automation runs through the public API, an n8n node and Zapier rather than native Figma or Notion apps. The feature-by-feature verdict is in Air.inc vs Brault.
How do the Air.inc alternatives compare on price and features?
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Billing unit | AI search | Review | Branded delivery and transfer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -- |  Air.inc |
Yes, 120 credits | $25 a month; Business $900 | Credits, unlimited seats | Yes, conversational | Comments, approvals, versions | Air share links; no transfer product |
| 1 |  Playbook |
Yes, 100 GB | $10 per member | Members and storage | AI tagging | No | Playbook pages and links |
| 2 |  Dash |
No, trial | $109 a month | Flat, unlimited users | Tagging and search | No | Branded portals |
| 3 |  Filecamp |
No, trial | $29 a month | Storage, unlimited users | Keyword search | On the $89 plan | Custom branding on every plan |
| 4 |  Canto |
No | $25,000 a year, one listing | Quote | Yes | Yes, middle package | Portals in the middle package |
| 5 |  Brandfolder |
No | About $500 a month, reported | Named seats, quote | AI tagging | Yes | Portals on every plan |
| 6 |  Bynder |
No | $20,000 a year, reported | Named seats, quote | Yes | Yes, module | Portals as a module |
| 7 |  Brault |
Yes, 2 GB | $4 a month, $12 on Pro | Storage; 3 users on Pro, 4 on Growth | Yes, 50+ formats | Yes, frame-accurate | Branding on every link and page; transfers to 250 GB |
Air, Playbook, Dash, Filecamp and Brault verified 2026-09-21 on their pricing pages (Air's credits also on its help center); Canto's figure is its AWS Marketplace listing; Brandfolder and Bynder are reported buyer data (Vendr, February 2026). All prices in US dollars, annual billing where the vendor offers it.
Two patterns. The enterprise tier (Canto, Brandfolder, Bynder) sells the same bundle in the same way: named seats, portals, approvals, quote, onboarding. The self-serve tier splits on what it charges for: members (Playbook), a flat fee (Dash), storage (Filecamp, Brault) or credits (Air). Per terabyte, Brault Growth at $70 a month for 5 TB is the lowest of the eight, and it is the only self-serve tool in the table with review, branded delivery and transfer in the same plan.
Which Air.inc alternative is right for your team?
You are a solo creative or a small studio and the problem is finding the image
Playbook: Free for 100 GB, Pro at $10 per member with 2 TB, visual browsing and AI tagging. Keep a transfer tool next to it.
You hand brand assets to many outside parties and want a fixed bill
Dash from $109 a month with unlimited users and portals, or Filecamp from $29 a month if the library is under 100 GB and branding is enough.
You buy through procurement and need SSO, analytics and governed approvals
Canto for proofing and portals in the mid-market, Brandfolder if the team runs on Smartsheet, Bynder for modules and 160+ integrations. Budget the onboarding either way.
You want Air's search and boards plus branded delivery and transfer, in one plan
Brault: AI search, Boards on files, frame-accurate review, white-label links and Brault Transfer up to 250 GB from $0, $12 on Pro and $70 on Growth for 5 TB, live the minute the first folder is imported.
The category comparison, including what a traditional DAM does that Brault does not, is on Brault vs traditional DAM, and the cost per terabyte across the market in how much DAM software costs.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best Air.inc alternatives for a creative team in 2026?
The seven most shortlisted Air.inc alternatives in 2026 are Playbook (visual library, $10 to $20 per member), Dash ($109 to $589 a month, unlimited users, branded portals), Filecamp ($29 to $89 a month, unlimited users), Canto, Brandfolder and Bynder (enterprise DAMs sold by quote) and Brault ($0 to $70 a month billed annually, with AI search, Boards, frame-accurate review, white-label delivery and Brault Transfer up to 250 GB in the plan). For a creative team of 1 to 20 that delivers files to clients, Brault is the closest all-in-one replacement; Playbook is the closest for visual browsing; Canto, Brandfolder and Bynder are for procurement-led organizations.
Is there a free alternative to Air.inc?
Yes. Brault Free ($0) includes 2 GB, AI search across 50+ formats, Boards, review and branded Brault Transfer with no card; Playbook Free gives 100 GB or 300 assets for 3 members. Air itself has a Free plan with 120 credits a month (about 20 GB) and unlimited seats. Dash and Filecamp offer trials rather than free plans; Canto, Brandfolder and Bynder are demo-led with no free tier (verified 2026-09-21).
What is the cheapest Air.inc alternative for a small team with a large library?
Brault. A 5 TB library is Brault Growth at $70 a month billed annually with 4 users included ($4 per extra), against Air Business from $900 a month billed annually for about 5 TB of credits. Brault Pro at $12 a month covers 2 TB for up to 3 users. Playbook Pro includes 2 TB at $10 per member; Filecamp stops at 100 GB on its published plans; Dash starts at 10 GB.
Which Air.inc alternative has built-in file transfer and white-label delivery?
Brault is the one of the seven with both in every plan: Brault Transfer sends up to 250 GB with a branded download page, password from Lite and expiration from Pro, and share links, public boards and the app carry the brandspace logo, colors and domain from Free. Dash and Filecamp include custom branding or portals but rely on a separate transfer tool; Playbook publishes pages and links under Playbook; Air shares through Air links.
Which Air.inc alternative keeps the Figma, Slack and Notion integrations?
None of the seven matches Air's native Figma, Slack and Notion layer exactly. Bynder has 160+ integrations and an open API, Brandfolder ships Adobe, Salesforce and Smartsheet connectors, Canto integrates with Adobe and Microsoft, and Brault connects through its public API, an n8n node and Zapier. A team whose approvals happen in Slack threads and whose designs live in Figma should verify parity before moving; the reasons to move are elsewhere, in the billing unit, the delivery and the branding.
Key takeaways
- Air.inc bills credits that storage and AI generation share, has no plan between Starter ($25) and Business ($900 billed annually), and shares through Air links; those three facts are why teams look at alternatives.
- The self-serve alternatives publish a price in a unit you can forecast: Playbook $10 to $20 per member, Filecamp $29 to $89 a month by storage, Dash $109 to $589 flat, Brault $0 to $70 a month billed annually by storage.
- The enterprise alternatives, Canto, Brandfolder and Bynder, sell by quote with named seats and onboarding; they answer governance questions Air's Enterprise tier answers, not the price question.
- Free plans exist at Brault (2 GB with review and transfer), Playbook (100 GB, 3 members) and Air itself (120 credits).
- For a creative team of 1 to 20 that delivers to clients, Brault is the only alternative with AI search, Boards, review, white-label delivery and 250 GB transfers in one plan, at $6 to $14 per terabyte.
Ready to move the library and drop the transfer tool next to it? Try Brault free.
