Markup.io is a dependable way to pin comments on files and live websites. Teams usually look for an alternative for one of three reasons: price (plans start at $79 a month and there’s no free plan, only a 14-day trial), formats (they need more than pins on a page) or workflow (they need approvals, stages or a place where clients can see all their work).

The right alternative depends on what you review and who reviews it. Here are six options, what each one is best at and where it falls short. Prices are taken from each company’s pricing page in October 2026. They change often, so check before you buy.

What to look for in a Markup.io alternative

• What you review. Live websites and staging links need a live-site annotation tool. Decks, ads, emails and videos need a tool that presents those formats well.

• How clients get in. Every login you ask clients to create reduces the number who leave feedback.

• Approvals. Some teams need formal approve and reject decisions, review stages and an audit trail. Others just need clear comments.

• Pricing model. Per-user pricing adds up quickly for agencies with many clients. Flat pricing is easier to plan around.

1. Honter: for presenting creative work in context

Full disclosure: this is our product. Honter is built for agencies, studios and freelancers who send creative work to clients and want it signed off in fewer rounds. Instead of showing every file in the same flat viewer, it presents each format where it will live: social ads in Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn feeds, emails in an inbox frame, web designs in a browser window and banners at true pixel size, plus decks, documents, galleries and video.

AI reviewers read the work before the client does and flag weak points, on every plan. Clients comment without creating an account. The free plan includes six projects, and Pro is $19.99 a month for unlimited projects, client portals, a pipeline board and your own branding.

Where it falls short: Honter reviews designs, not live websites, and it doesn’t offer Slack or Teams integrations or SSO. If most of your reviews happen on staging URLs, a live-site tool will suit you better. Honter vs Markup.io goes into more detail.

2. Pastel: for feedback on live websites

Pastel is a friendly tool for commenting on live websites and staging links, and it now handles images, PDFs, emails and video too. It’s a strong fit for web designers and developers in the build stage.

Paid plans start at $29 a month on yearly billing, and the free plan includes one active canvas. Honter vs Pastel compares the two.

3. Filestage: for multi-stage proofing and compliance

Filestage is a capable proofing platform with review stages, due dates, formal approvals and compliance checks. It suits teams where legal or regulatory sign-off is part of every project.

It costs more than most tools on this list: the Starter plan is $199 a month on yearly billing, and the free plan covers one active project. Honter vs Filestage has the details.

4. Ziflow: for enterprise creative operations

Ziflow is enterprise-grade proofing, with automated workflows, support for more than 1,200 file types and deep Adobe integrations. It’s built for in-house creative operations teams with long approval chains.

The Standard plan is $199 a month billed annually, and the free plan includes two users, with proofs that last 60 days. Honter vs Ziflow compares them.

5. Frame.io: for video post-production

If most of your feedback is on video, Frame.io is the standard. It offers frame-accurate comments, panels inside Premiere Pro and After Effects, and plenty of storage. Paid plans start at $15 per member a month, and the free plan includes two members and 2 GB of storage.

It’s less suited to the rest of an agency’s work, like decks, emails and banner sets. Honter vs Frame.io covers where each one fits.

6. Planable: for social content approval and publishing

Planable is built for social media teams that plan, approve and publish posts in one place, with a content calendar and scheduling across many platforms. If you need publishing, it does something review tools don’t.

Plans start at $39 per workspace a month, and approvers need a free account. Honter vs Planable explains the difference.

A note on InVision

If you’re replacing InVision rather than Markup.io: InVision closed its design collaboration services on December 31, 2024. Figma is the usual replacement for prototyping. For sharing designs with clients and collecting feedback, any of the tools above can fill the gap, and our InVision page covers the options.

How to choose

• Mostly live websites and staging links: Pastel or Markup.io.

• Regulated work with formal, multi-stage approvals: Filestage or Ziflow.

• Mostly video post-production: Frame.io.

• Social posts that need scheduling and publishing: Planable.

• A mix of client creative (decks, ads, emails, web designs, banners) that you want clients to see in context: Honter.

Most of these tools have a free plan or a trial, so the quickest way to decide is to send one real project through your top two and see which gets you a clear answer from the client sooner. You can try Honter free, no credit card needed.