Bynder is a digital asset management (DAM) tool designed to help enterprise teams manage and distribute digital content. In addition to helping teams organize their digital assets, Bynder’s DAM allows users to customize access and determine parameters for sharing their assets.

Bynder’s digital asset management platform belongs to a robust suite of workflow and automation products, so it also serves as an alternative to project management tools like Asana or Click Up.  

This “martech landscape” makes Bynder a solid choice for enterprise marketing teams with many employees and functionality needs. In fact, Bynder can automate content distribution from its DAM platform directly to customer channels, like a website, and prides itself on helping large teams scale.

While these features can work perfectly for enterprise teams, they may be too in-the-weeds for smaller marketing teams that need to onboard, work, and iterate quickly. 

So how do you know if Bynder is the right choice for your team?

Bynder Digital Asset Management Limitations

Bynder is one of the most popular digital asset management tools for marketers, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for your team and it’s goals. The time and investment it takes to start using (and maintain) a tool like Bynder may demand more frustration than its worth.

Enterprise complexity

Tools made for enterprise teams are designed with complexity in mind. Bynder’s product suite is great for larger teams who rely on specific workflows and processes to keep everything running; however, smaller teams may find themselves confused when trying to learn the product. This often leads to miscommunication, frustration, and the inability to use the product correctly (or at all).

Long, complicated onboarding

Large teams already have resources to train employees and get everyone on board with new software. If you’re a smaller marketing team, such onboarding resources likely don’t exist. This can make a tool like Bynder hard to use from the start, especially when you want to provide access to partners, freelancers, interns, or anyone else on a short notice.

Confusing pricing structure

Large companies benefit from many tiers of pricing, because they can find the exact solutions that’s right for them. But a more complicated pricing structure can hold leaner marketing teams back from getting a straight answer. For example, Bynder doesn’t offer prices on their website but requires teams to reach out to see how much a solution could cost, which only adds murkiness to the whole process.

High prices for unnecessary features 

Another downside to the complicated pricing structures of enterprise tools? Lean marketing teams can wind up paying high prices for features they don’t even need (and not even realize it). Features like automatic tagging and resizing are one of the core benefits of DAM tools, but platforms like Bynder are so complex they have baked-in features like customizable homepages, dynamic asset transformation, advanced workflows, and more—many of which won’t make sense for a team that simply wants better organization and communication.

The 7 Best Bynder Alternatives for Lean Marketing Teams

If you’re dismayed by the complexity and high price of an enterprise tool like DAM, fear not. You know what’s best for your team, and if your marketing team has specific needs, consider these digital asset management alternatives to Bynder—all of which may be better suited for a smaller, more nimble marketing team.

1. Sparkfive

Designed specifically for lean teams in mind, Sparkfive is one of the best DAM tools for marketing teams. It has only the features you need, all at the right price. In fact, it’s perfect for the kind of team who values the ability to iterate quickly, improve your effectiveness, and collaborate clearly. Unlike complicated enterprise solutions, Sparkfive is extremely easy to set up and use, so it starts delivering value immediately.

Sparkfive’s features were developed with input from actual marketing teams, so they’ll intuitively meet your needs.

Pros

• Intuitive and easy to use by everyone on your team
• Easily and quickly import your files into collections with smart filtering 
• Set rules and establish an organized, easy-to-navigate asset library, creating a single source of truth for your brand
• Maintain version control with an easy-to-use Adobe plugin
• Share branded collections of assets with external partners
• Ability to set sharing permissions and review assets uploaded by third parties
• A dedicated account manager included even at the lowest price point
• Affordable for smaller teams, with flexible pricing options 

Cons

• Designed for lean, small teams who iterate quickly rather than for enterprise teams
• Minimal enterprise-level integrations

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2. Filecamp 

Filecamp is a DAM solution with a few core features. First, users can determine varying levels of visitor permissions with their granular access feature. Second, users can create collections and group assets by tags, which can be automated. Last, Filecamp offers a white labeling plan as well as customized folder branding. This simple, low-cost tool can be great for marketing teams, but their emphasis on branding folders and limited discovery adds frustration for users.

Pros 

• Unlimited users
• Easy to learn
• Free 30-day Pro Plan
• Affordable, low cost pricing

Cons

• Outdated user experience
• Auto tags may not work as intended
• Poor PDF preview quality
• Basic search tool limits discovery
• Limited drag and drop functionality

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3. Canto 

This enterprise marketing tool is specifically designed for larger teams, with a robust feature set to match the needs of larger companies. Canto is especially good for photo and video storing, and its tagging system seems to be based around catering to this need. The downside to using Canto is that it’s made for larger teams with a greater number of assets, but also seems to slow down when larger batches of assets are uploaded.

Pros 

• Intuitive permissions settings
• Good for tagging and finding assets
• Helps larger teams collaborate in one place

Cons

• Lots of features smaller teams probably don’t need
• Long setup and onboarding process, extensive training required
• UX issues, especially in larger asset libraries
• Cumbersome when uploading and sharing in bulk
• High price point, making it a significant investment
• You might pay for features you don’t need

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4. Aprimo 

Known more as a workflow automation tool rather than a true digital asset management system, Aprimo has many of the standard features of a DAM. This includes the ability to plan, create, and distribute content. However, they also have tools for optimizing budgets and managing productivity. As an end-to-end solution helping big brands thrive, smaller teams likely won’t be able to justify the price tag.

Pros 

• Modern, intuitive, user-friendly interface
• API integration to other martech apps
• Extensive reporting and analytics tools

Cons

• Customer service and support lacking
• Outated user documentation and product guides
• Lack of notifications makes it hard for teams to communicate
• Project management tools might be unnecessary for small teams
• Comprehensive team training isn’t always included

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5. Widen 

More than a digital asset management tool, Widen has everything you need to manage the content lifecycle from ideation to publishing. Teams like Widen’s unlimited user pricing tier and their updated interface, but the slow speed and clunky navigation leave much to be desired.

Pros 

• Can be used for both project and asset management
• Makes it easy to share files from your phone
• Categories help organization and discoverability

Cons

• Enterprise marketing focus with robust features small teams don’t need
• Takes longer to set up and start getting value
• Lots of support navigation to sift through with 
• Significant training required

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6. Adobe Experience Manager

Adobe Experience Manager has all the features you’d expect from a powerhouse software provider like Adobe. Users love the seamlessness of standard DAM capabilities like drag and drop functionality; however, Experience Manager has a hefty suite of integrations and a complex workflow that smaller teams struggle to use.

Pros 

• Can be used for both content and digital asset management
• Has automated tools that helps teams scale their content and operations
• Helps rapidly source, adapt, and deliver assets across audiences and channels

Cons

• Comprehensive suite of integrations and features adds complexity
• Hard to onboard and even harder to learn to use efficiently
• Packages come with features that many smaller teams might not need
• UI is hard to navigate and needs updating
• Requires back-end Java skills and other technical expertise

7. MediaValet

This DAM makes it easy for teams to share and collaborate on assets of all types. Users enjoy that the onboarding process was fairly smooth and simple, with strong search and organization abilities. MediaValet still has the enterprise complexity of other large DAM tools, however, and many users report clunky interface, slow downloading and lack of mobile-friendly options.

Pros 

• Unlimited categories, tags and users
• Leverages AI capabilities for faster identification
• Easy to edit imagery directly in the app

Cons

• Slow download speeds and lagging UI, especially with lots of assets
• Lacks mobile-friendly interface and doesn’t have an app
• Multiple ways to download one object with lack of clarity around best practice
• Clunky interface that interferes with workflows and collaboration

Do I need a Bynder Alternative?

If you’re seeking a digital asset management tool but you know you need something that’ll work for smaller, more nimble teams, you may need a Bynder alternative. 

Bynder is created with enterprise complexity, making it harder for smaller teams to learn and resulting in  miscommunication. It also takes much longer to learn, delaying the value of the product, and has a complicated pricing structure that may result in teams paying more for features they don’t actually need. 

If you’re a lean marketing team who wants to iterate and grow with ease, an enterprise DAM like Bynder is probably a lot more expensive, and more complicated, than you need. 

Get Started with Sparkfive 

Sparkfive makes it easy to organize, find, and distribute your most important assets quickly and with ease. To learn more about how Sparkfive can help your organization, and get a free demo, contact us today.