Verdict
An API-first, developer-configurable content platform with DAM features, built for enterprise teams (100+ users) with in-house developers, not a low-code tool for non-technical editors.
A free, self-hosted GPLv3 DAM used by French public-sector, cultural and broadcast institutions with in-house technical staff, now being sunset by its vendor in favor of a paid successor, Phrasea.
An image and video API for real-time resizing, compression, and format conversion via URL parameters, built for developers at ecommerce, media, and agency teams.
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.
Price published
No
Yes
Yes
No
Billed on
Quoted per customer
No licence fee; implementation and support services may be paid
Consumption-based credits, sold in monthly tiers ($25–$500/mo self-serve, custom above that). Credits are spent on Management (2 credits/GB/month for stored assets), Delivery (1 credit/GB bandwidth), and Transformation (variable by operation). Per-credit rate drops as plan tier rises ($0.25 down to $0.12, monthly billing; slightly cheaper on annual commitment). Each plan also states an implied storage/bandwidth cap in GB.
Self-hosted: no licence fee. Hosted: a user ceiling per tier
Deployment
Cloud
On-premise
Cloud
Cloud, On-premise
Free plan
No
Yes
No
Yes
Free trial
No
No
No
No
Transparency index
10%
90%
Not checked
60%
Most common complaint
No prices, and no explicit confirmation of on-premise on the product page
The product is mid-generation: Phrasea is announced to replace Phraseanet in 2026
Not checked
The free route is genuinely free of licence fees but moves hosting, upgrades and support onto you