Shade
Claim this toolAll-in-one cloud NAS with AI search and collaboration for creative teams.
From $29.75/seat/mo, billed yearly, free trialThe Bottom Line
- Price
- From $29.75/seat/mo, billed yearly, free trial. Compare plans
Key facts
- Combines cloud NAS, AI search, and collaboration tools into one platform, replacing multiple services.
- Offers semantic search, facial recognition, automated transcription, and metadata tagging for media libraries.
- Provides local drive mounting and file streaming for remote editing without downloading or syncing.
Pros
- All-in-one platform reduces tool stack and costs by up to 70%.
- AI search and metadata automation save significant time in media management.
- Local drive mounting enables seamless remote editing without file transfers.
Cons
- No free tier available; only a free trial and paid plans.
- Per-seat pricing can become expensive for large teams with many guests.
What is Shade?
Ratings Across the Web
Shade holds an aggregate rating of 3 out of 5 from 580 reviews across Capterra, last checked October 27, 2026.
What people say
“A decent QMS for Bio-Pharma clients with room for improvement” via Capterra
Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more
Preview
Key Features
- Semantic AI search using full sentences, facial recognition, and transcripts.
- Automated metadata tagging with custom fields per drive and asset type.
- Time-stamped comments, annotations, and reply threads for collaborative review.
- File streaming that mounts cloud storage as a local drive for direct editing in NLEs.
- Automatic transcoding and credit-based transcription for audio and video files.
- Granular role-based access control with permissions for internal and external sharing.
Pricing Plans
Free TrialPricing checked Oct 28, 2026. Source: shade.inc/pricing, read Oct 28, 2026
| Plan | Price | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Growth | $29.75 / seat/mo (billed annually) |
+3 more Show less
|
| Enterprise | Custom |
+6 more Show less
|
Is Shade worth the price?
Shade's Growth tier at $29.75 per seat per month is a premium price for a cloud NAS, but the unlimited AI indexing and collaboration features justify the cost for creative teams that need intelligent asset management.
The Enterprise tier's custom pricing with SSO and dedicated support is typical for larger organizations. This is best for mid-sized creative teams that value AI-powered search and are willing to pay above standard storage rates.
Hidden Costs & Gotchas
Growth tier limited to 15 seats
500 GB active storage per seat cap
How Shade's pricing compares
Shade starts at $29.75/seat/mo, billed yearly. Its direct competitors are priced on a different basis (per user, or in another currency), so each entry price below is shown with its own unit and currency and is not ranked against the others.
Entry paid plan, monthly price (billing term shown per row), in each tool's own currency. Pricing checked Oct 28, 2026.
Shade by the numbers
Toolradar data: Shade's entry paid plan ($29.75/seat/mo, billed yearly) ranks #5 of 8 for price among the AI & Automation tools with a verified entry price per seat, where the median is $29.38/seat/mo. As of Oct 2026.
| Metric | Shade | Peer median | Position (1 is best) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $29.75/seat/mo, billed yearly | $29.38/seat/mo | #5 of 8 tools priced per seat, verified price |
| Free plan | No | 36% have one | n/a |
| User rating | 3.0/5 (across the web, 580 ratings) | 4.5/5 | #453 of 461 tools with 20+ reviews |
Each position is counted among the tools that have data for that row, as noted under it. A lower entry price ranks higher; prices are read on vendor pages and compared only with tools priced on the same basis. All AI & Automation data · How we compute this. Advertising and placement fees are not inputs to any position.
Cite this: Toolradar, “Shade by the numbers”, Oct 2026.
Reviews
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Shade FAQ
How does Shade's AI search work?
Can I edit video files directly from Shade?
What file formats does Shade support for metadata extraction?
Does Shade integrate with other tools?
How does Shade handle security and compliance?
Can I use my own cloud storage with Shade?
What is the difference between Shade and traditional cloud storage like Dropbox?
How does Shade handle guest collaboration?
How does Shade pricing compare with other AI & Automation tools?
Source: shade.inc