Simple Approvals vs Filestage
A simpler, more affordable way for agencies to send work for review and get a clear approval back. Here is how the two compare, honestly.
Filestage and Simple Approvals do the same core job: send creative work to clients and stakeholders, collect feedback in context, and get a clear approval. The difference is scope and price.
Filestage is a mature online proofing platform built for larger teams, with automations, integrations, AI review, and enterprise controls, priced from $199 per month. Simple Approvals is a simpler, far more affordable take on the same workflow, made for independent agencies and small teams that want clean review and approval without the platform overhead.
| Feature | Simple Approvals | Filestage |
|---|---|---|
| Starting paid plan | $24/mo | $199/mo (billed annually) |
| Free plan | Full app, 3 active reviews | 1 project, 5 files/mo |
| Comments & annotations | ||
| Free external reviewers (no account) | ||
| Version history & re-review | ||
| File types | Images, PDF, video, docs | Images, PDF, video, audio, web |
| Team members on paid plan | Up to 3, plus seats | From 10 (bundles of 5) |
| Storage on paid plan | 50 GB, expandable | 1 TB and up |
| Automations, integrations & AI review | ||
| API & webhooks | Business plan and up | |
| SSO, audit logs, data residency | Enterprise |
Why teams choose Simple Approvals
A price that fits a small agency
Pro is $24 a month with a 7-day trial. Filestage's paid plans start at $199 a month with a ten-member minimum, so for an independent studio or freelancer the gap is hundreds of dollars every month.
A free plan you can run on
The free tier is the whole product with three active reviews and unlimited one-off review links, not a one-project, five-files-a-month trial.
Light by design
Submit, annotate, decide. There are no automations, integrations, or admin to set up before your first approval. If a bigger proofing suite felt like overkill, this is the lean version.
When Filestage might be the better fit
Filestage is the more powerful, established platform. If you need workflow automations, integrations and an API, AI-assisted review, audio or web proofing, or enterprise controls like SSO, audit logs, and data residency, Filestage is built for that and Simple Approvals deliberately is not. It also suits larger teams that need terabytes of storage and many reviewer groups.
Compare for yourself at Filestage.
See it on your own work
Start free in minutes. Invite a client or reviewer and run a real approval, no credit card required.