Ethos vs Brandfolder: Comparing Features and Benefits

Branding has become essential for business survival nowadays. Successful entrepreneurs present their businesses as identities rather than just commodities. They provide their audience with a reason to interact with their brand apart from sales, and they maintain a cohesive approach to marketing and brand messaging across several platforms.

But a single human can't overlook all these processes. That's why we have BAM, brand asset management, software platforms that allow you to create, store, and share branding assets and guidelines seamlessly across teams while reducing the risk of misuse and data breaches. 

No doubt, BAM platforms can be a great help in efficient and effective branding. There are countless BAM solutions to choose from in the market today. Most of them focus only on large enterprises, and their pricing models are nearly out of reach for startups. However, there are some BAM solutions, like Ethos, where the pricing starts as low as $4 per month.

This article will compare the features and benefits of two prominent BAM platforms, Ethos and Brandfolder. So, let's get started.

A Brief Introduction to Brandfolder

Brandfolder, launched in 2012, is a top-tier Digital Asset Management (DAM) platform designed to streamline how businesses manage, share, and analyze their brand assets. In 2020, Smartsheet acquired the platform, which has expanded its collaboration features and DAM capabilities ever since.

Brand Folder primarily offers services focused on mid-to-large enterprises. The platform also has an impressive customer base of around 5,000 top brands, including Fairline Yachts, Zoom, Webex, McLaren Racing, and more. 

Key Features of Brandfolder

Centralized Asset Management:

Brandfolder provides a centralized hub where you can store all your digital assets, like images, animations, logos, banners, and other rebranding materials. You can seamlessly send these assets to your team without any risk of data breaches or misuse of materials. 

Advanced Search and Filtering:

Brandfolder programmers have incorporated advanced AI and machine learning into their capabilities. The platform itself will take care of all the taggings and categorization of the content you upload there. You can easily retrieve these assets based on metadata, tags, or file attributes.

Branding Guidelines: 

Branding guidelines are a must if you want to ensure a coherent and unified approach in your branding efforts across all platforms. With Brandfolder, you can effortlessly create these guidelines and share them with your team.

Collaborative Workflows:

Brandfolder offers collaborative workflows where team members and stakeholders can collaborate in real-time, review and approve digital assets with built-in workflow tools.

Powerful Integrations:

One of Brandfolder's best features is its powerful and effective integrations. It offers a complete suite of native tools that enable a seamlessly connected tech stack, including full integration with Smartsheet.

Asset Performance Insights:

Data forms the basis of improved decision-making. Brandfolder allows users to track asset asset usage, engagement, and ROI. These insights will help you make informed and result-oriented decisions for your brand. 

Brandfolder Pricing:

Brandfolder doesn't include pricing on its native website. You'll have to get a quote from the team. However, a review by dash.app states that Brandfoler's most basic pricing starts from a whopping $1600 per month. If this is the introductory pricing, one can only imagine how much their extra packages will cost.

The platform offers two pricing tiers: Premium and Enterprise.

• Premium: Designed for growing teams, with advanced DAM features to manage and organize brand assets efficiently.
• Enterprise: Best suited for large organizations, featuring enhanced customization, integrations, and scalability for complex brand management needs.

Both models allow you access to Brandfoler's core digital asset management capabilities. Brasndfolder's features are undoubtedly well-versed in branding needs. However, the high pricing could pose a significant hurdle for startups and smaller in-house operations.

Who is Brandfolder Best for? 

Brandfolder is best suited for mid to large-sized enterprises that don't have to worry about spending limitations and require the best DAM (Digital asset management) capabilities. Additionally, if your company relies on Smartsheet, Brand Folder will certainly be a great addition to your tech stack, thanks to the strong and efficient integrations between the platforms.

Ethos - What the Platform Has to Offer

Unlike Brandfolder, Ethos doesn't have a decade of experience to show off. But that certainly doesn't mean Ethos lacks brand asset management capabilities. The platform is quickly gaining traction with businesses that prioritize simplicity, scalability, and affordability, as evident from the countless testimonials on its homepage.

Whether you're a growing startup or a large enterprise, Ethos provides flexible solutions to meet your unique needs while maintaining an accessible price point.

Key Features of Ethos

Interactive Brand Showrooms:

Ethos offers a centralized space for brand asset storage, called brand showrooms. You can create, store, and share your branding practices via these interactive showrooms across your team and stakeholders.

Live Team Brand Collaboration:

With Ethos, you can invite team members and stakeholders into your brand room for instant feedback and collaboration. You can manage complete view and edit permissions for each showroom to prevent any misuse of your assets.

User-Friendly Interface:

Brand asset management can often feel cluttered at times. But not with Ethos. The platform prioritizes ease of use with an intuitive and simple interface. The best thing is that you can leverage the platform to its full capabilities without any steep learning curve. 

Fast Brand Audits and Education:

Ethos provides valuable insights into your brand's performance across various platforms. It also offers you a chance to learn from top-performing brands. You can gain practical knowledge without scrolling mindlessly through YouTube videos.

AI-Powered Brand Design:

With Ethos, your brand assets will never feel cluttered again. Ethos offers built-in AI tools to help you create appealing and captivating brand assets, such as taglines and slogans. Additionally, the platform’s AI features generate new color palettes based on predefined criteria.

Ethos Pricing

Ethos' primary vision is to make BAM capabilities accessible to every business or personal brand without considering any momentary constraints. The platform leaves no stone unturned in bringing this vision to life. The basic plan for Ethos starts at just $4 per month and is designed specifically for influencers and solopreneurs.

Influencer Plans:

• Starter Plan: This plan is priced at just $4 per month and includes one brand showroom for individuals who are looking to get started.
• Standard Plan: For only $14, the standard influencer plan supports up to five users and includes five brand showrooms. It also offers access to Ethos’ standard templates.

Premium Plan:

Recently, there has been a growing trend of personal branding among freelancers. With the premium brand, you can ensure your brand stands out. At just 20$ per month, you'll have access to up to 50 brand showrooms. You can include up to 10 users in your team, with a 10 MB file limit for brand assets. Premium users also benefit from custom templates, logo white-labeling, and collaborator invitations, with the "Powered by Ethos" badge removed.

Growth Plan:

Starting at $28, the Growth Plan is perfect for growing agencies. It includes 100 brand showrooms and can accommodate up to 250 users, with a 15 MB file limit for brand assets. Additionally, you will gain access to all premium features and custom domain whitelisting.

Enterprise Plan:

The enterprise plan is designed to fulfill all your branding needs as an industry competitor. For only $44 per month, you'll have access to Ethos's most comprehensive features. The plan includes unlimited brand showrooms, unlimited users, a 20 MB file limit for brand assets, and all the features available in the Growth Plan.

So, is Ethos Good for my Branding Needs?

Without a doubt, yes. Ethos may be a newer entry in the BAM industry, but it certainly doesn't fall short when it comes to brand asset management capabilities. The platform is designed to help you start small, with just a one-person team, and scale to a large enterprise.

If you're still uncertain whether Ethos is the right choice, take advantage of a 30-day free trial and experience the platform firsthand!