Verdict
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.
A DAM offered as both cloud and on-premise, aimed at small-to-mid teams that want fast metadata-driven search over large asset libraries and want files to stay on their own infrastructure.
An enterprise DAM module within Adobe Experience Manager, for large organizations managing thousands to millions of brand assets across marketing channels.
A visually organized, board-based DAM for photo/image-heavy creative and marketing teams, with a genuinely usable free tier and a history of shifting, steep paid-tier pricing.
Price published
Yes
No
No
No
Billed on
Bandwidth, storage and user seats, with published per-unit rates above the limits
Annual subscription covering all features, integrations, updates and support
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.
Credits; users are not billed
Deployment
Cloud
Cloud, On-premise
Cloud, On-premise
Cloud
Free plan
Yes
No
No
Yes
Free trial
Yes
No
No
Yes
Transparency index
70%
30%
Not checked
60%
Most common complaint
Several units are metered at once: bandwidth, storage, video units and seats
Like the platforms it competes with, it asks for a form submission before naming a price
Not checked
The free tier is described in detail while the paid tiers are named only