Verdict
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An image and video CDN with an API-first asset library, built for fast developer integration, billed on flat monthly tiers with per-GB overage once bandwidth or storage limits are exceeded.
An open-licence, self-hosted DAM for teams with in-house server admin capability, trading a free licence for the time to run upgrades, tune dependencies and troubleshoot it themselves.
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Price published
No
Yes
No
No
Billed on
Cloud service: billed by storage capacity (GB) plus which optional modules you select; user accounts are unlimited/uncapped. No public price list — pricing is obtained via a configurator/calculator or by requesting a quote. On-premise/hosted deployments use Free, Standard, and Enterprise license editions (feature-gated), also quote-only. A non-commercial Free Edition exists with no disclosed price.
Bandwidth, storage and user seats, with published per-unit rates above the limits
Self-hosted: no licence fee. Hosted: a user ceiling per tier
No public price list; sales quote required for both packages (Prime and Ultimate). Adobe's own on-premise product description sheet lists separate license metrics per component — AEM Assets itself is licensed 'Per Instance', 'Users' are licensed 'Per User', Brand Portal is licensed 'Per Brand Portal User', and Dynamic Media/Personalized Media are licensed by 'Page Views per month' — so billing is multi-metric and only available via custom quote, not a single flat per-user or per-GB rate.
Deployment
Cloud, On-premise
Cloud
Cloud, On-premise
Cloud, On-premise
Free plan
No
Yes
Yes
No
Free trial
No
Yes
No
No
Transparency index
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70%
60%
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Most common complaint
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Several units are metered at once: bandwidth, storage, video units and seats
The free route is genuinely free of licence fees but moves hosting, upgrades and support onto you
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