Media storage that just works better.
Grade: A — Score: 94/100
Shade leverages advanced technology to provide a seamless media storage experience. With features like AI-powered search, automatic tagging, and end-to-end encryption, it ensures that creative teams can access and manage their media files efficiently and securely.
The platform enhances workflow by allowing instant access to files, customizable sharing options, and a native review and approval suite. This integration of tools helps streamline processes from production to post-production, making it suitable for various industries including sports, film, and advertising.
Shade also prioritizes risk management with compliance-backed security measures such as SOC II Type 2 certification, GDPR compliance, and HIPAA safeguards. This ensures that sensitive data is protected, allowing teams to focus on creativity without compromising on security.
Growth: $20/seat/month (annual) or $25/seat/month (monthly)
Enterprise: Custom (per seat/month)
Consider switching to Frame.io: Both platforms offer media management solutions, but Frame.io may have a more established user base.
Shade consolidates the functionality of multiple creative tools into one platform. Frame.io handles review and approval but not storage or AI search; Dropbox provides storage but lacks media-specific AI features; LucidLink offers cloud NAS streaming but not review workflows or AI tagging. Shade combines all of these—cloud file streaming, AI neural search, automated metadata tagging, review and approval, and client delivery—in a single subscription. The company reports that customers switching from fragmented stacks of 5+ tools see 55–70% cost savings.
Shade supports video formats including RAW, BRAW, ProRes, and 4K/8K footage, image formats including RAW photos, audio files (mp3, wav, ogg, m4a), and 3D assets. The platform can preview and stream these files instantly without downloading, even at terabyte scale. AI indexing works across all supported media types—generating scene descriptions for video, transcriptions with timecodes for audio, face detection for images and video, and IPTC/EXIF extraction for photos.
No. Shade provides an explicit AI Privacy Guarantee stating that user data is 100% the customer's property and is never used for AI training purposes. This is prominently displayed on their security and features pages. Combined with SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and TPN certifications, this makes Shade one of the few creative cloud platforms with both comprehensive compliance and a clear no-training pledge—critical for studios handling unreleased film, TV, and entertainment content.
Shade holds SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, GDPR, HIPAA, and Trusted Partner Network (TPN) certifications. TPN certification is specifically required for the secure handling of film, TV, and entertainment content—making Shade suitable for studios and production companies working with pre-release material. All files are encrypted end-to-end in transit and at rest. Enterprise plans add SSO/SAML, SCIM user provisioning, and audit logging. Detailed compliance documentation is available at trust.shade.inc.
Shade uses AI neural search that lets you type full natural-language sentences—like 'cinematic shots of people talking outside'—and instantly find matching files from your library. The AI analyzes video scenes, audio transcripts (with timecodes), facial recognition (search by person name), and visual content. It does not rely on manual tags—the AI generates searchable metadata automatically during indexing, including scene descriptions, shot types, jersey numbers, product labels, and face clusters.
Yes. Shade supports connections to local SMB/NAS servers, S3 buckets, and on-premise storage in addition to its own cloud storage. This means teams can search and access their existing on-premise media archives through Shade's AI-powered interface without migrating all files to the cloud. The platform integrates with Finder/file system workflows, so editors can work with local and cloud storage through a unified search experience.
The Growth plan costs $20/seat/month (annual billing) or $25/seat/month (monthly). Each seat includes 500 GB of active storage, unlimited AI indexing, and unlimited drives. A typical 10-person team on annual billing pays $200/month with 5 TB of storage. Shade reports that their average customer contract is $10,000–$15,000 annually for a 10-user, 25 TB setup. Enterprise pricing is custom and includes 1 TB/seat storage, unlimited seats, SSO/SAML, SCIM, and a dedicated account manager.
Shade has 94+ paying customers and claims 100,000+ users. Named customers include Salesforce (which uses 500 TB for Dreamforce event operations), Harry's, and Lennar, along with various creative agencies, production companies, and post-production houses. The platform is particularly strong in film and TV production (TPN-certified), sports media (jersey number tagging), corporate creative teams, and photography studios (AI photo culling for duplicate/blurry detection). Shade was founded in 2022 and is backed by General Catalyst, Contrary, SignalFire, and Bling.