Verdict
An on-premise DAM known for deep metadata and search, for existing Portfolio users who size and maintain their own server, now under Axle AI ownership after a March 2026 acquisition.
A PIM platform with a built-in DAM module, used by manufacturing and ecommerce companies to manage product data and assets; also available as a free open-source Community Edition.
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 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
No
Yes
No
Billed on
Quoted per customer; the licensing model was preserved through the change of owner
No genuine dollar pricing is published. The vendor's package-comparison page lists four tiers: Community Edition (free, open-source, self-hosted), Growth (SaaS, shown only as "Starting at $0 Annually" with a free-trial CTA — no real recurring price disclosed), Advanced and Premium (both "Call for a quote"). No billing unit (per user, per SKU, per asset, per GB) is stated anywhere on the site for the paid tiers.
No licence fee; implementation and support services may be paid
Self-hosted: no licence fee. Hosted: a user ceiling per tier
Deployment
On-premise
Cloud, On-premise
On-premise
Cloud, On-premise
Free plan
No
No
Yes
Yes
Free trial
No
No
No
No
Transparency index
25%
Not checked
90%
60%
Most common complaint
It changed hands in March 2026, so anything written before that date describes it as an Extensis product
Not checked
The product is mid-generation: Phrasea is announced to replace Phraseanet in 2026
The free route is genuinely free of licence fees but moves hosting, upgrades and support onto you