Approval Studio
Approval Studio is a visual review and collaboration platform designed to help creative teams and clients streamline the proofing process for designs, documents, and video content efficiently.
Confluence
Confluence is a remote-friendly team workspace where you can create, collaborate, and organize all your project documents and company knowledge in one centralized, searchable location to keep everyone aligned.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Approval Studio | Confluence |
|---|---|---|
| Website | approval.studio | atlassian.com |
| Pricing Model | Subscription | Freemium |
| Starting Price | $45/month | Free |
| FREE Trial | ✓ 14 days free trial | ✓ 7 days free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✓ Has free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2019 | 2004 |
| Headquarters | Tallinn, Estonia | Sydney, Australia |
Overview
Approval Studio
Approval Studio is a dedicated visual review tool that simplifies how you get feedback on creative assets. Instead of chasing approvals through messy email threads, you can invite clients and team members to annotate designs, PDFs, and videos directly in their browser. It eliminates communication gaps by providing four distinct comparison modes to track changes between versions, ensuring no detail is missed during the revision process.
You can manage your entire creative workflow from a centralized dashboard that tracks the status of every project in real-time. Whether you are an independent designer or part of a high-volume creative agency, the platform helps you reduce the number of revision rounds and get final sign-off faster. It focuses on making the review experience professional for your clients while keeping your internal team organized and accountable.
Confluence
Confluence is a collaborative workspace that changes how your team shares knowledge and handles projects. Instead of losing important information in scattered email threads or private folders, you create a single source of truth where everyone can contribute. You can build structured pages for project plans, meeting notes, and product requirements using a library of pre-built templates that save you time on formatting.
The platform excels at breaking down silos by making information discoverable through a powerful search engine and organized page hierarchies. You can collaborate in real-time with inline comments and @mentions to keep discussions contextual. Whether you are a small startup or a global enterprise, it scales to meet your needs by integrating deeply with Jira and other essential business tools to connect your plans directly to your execution.
Overview
Approval Studio Features
- On-Screen Annotations Point and click anywhere on a design to leave precise comments so your team knows exactly what to fix.
- Four Comparison Modes Compare two versions side-by-side or use the toggle, overlay, and difference modes to spot every pixel-perfect change.
- Video Proofing Review video content with frame-accurate commenting and time-stamped feedback to streamline your motion graphics and film projects.
- Automated Reports Generate full audit trails of all comments and approval actions to keep a professional record for your clients.
- Multi-Language Support Switch the interface between several languages to provide a localized and comfortable review experience for your international clients.
- Guest Reviewers Invite your clients to review projects via a secure link without requiring them to create an account or log in.
Confluence Features
- Real-time Co-editing. Work together on the same page simultaneously with your teammates and see changes as they happen in real-time.
- Advanced Search. Find exactly what you need instantly with a powerful search that scans page titles, content, and attached files.
- Pre-built Templates. Launch projects faster using professionally designed templates for everything from marketing plans to technical design specifications.
- Page Hierarchies. Organize your content logically with nested pages and dedicated spaces for different departments or specific projects.
- Inline Commenting. Provide feedback exactly where it belongs by adding comments directly to text or images within any page.
- Jira Integration. Connect your documentation to your workflow by embedding Jira issues and tracking project progress directly on your pages.
- Version History. Track every change made to your documents and revert to previous versions whenever you need to see historical updates.
- Automated Notifications. Stay informed about relevant updates with personalized alerts when teammates mention you or edit pages you follow.
Pricing Comparison
Approval Studio Pricing
- 5 user seats included
- Unlimited projects and reviewers
- All 4 comparison modes
- Basic proofing tools
- Standard support
- 5GB storage
- Everything in Lite, plus:
- 15 user seats included
- Video proofing capabilities
- Custom branding and colors
- 20GB storage
- API access
Confluence Pricing
- Up to 10 users
- Unlimited spaces and pages
- Best-in-class editor
- Apps and integrations
- 2 GB file storage
- Community support
- Everything in Free, plus:
- Up to 50,000 users
- Page and space permissions
- Archive and restore pages
- 250 GB file storage
- Standard support (9-5)
Pros & Cons
Approval Studio
Pros
- Intuitive interface requires almost no learning curve
- Comparison tool makes tracking revisions incredibly simple
- Clients can leave feedback without creating accounts
- Excellent customer support with fast response times
Cons
- No forever-free plan for solo freelancers
- Mobile browser experience can be slightly limited
- Storage limits on lower tiers may feel restrictive
Confluence
Pros
- Seamless integration with the Jira and Atlassian ecosystem
- Excellent organization through nested page hierarchies and spaces
- Wide variety of templates speeds up document creation
- Powerful search functionality makes finding old documents easy
- Generous free tier for small teams and startups
Cons
- Formatting tools can feel restrictive for complex layouts
- Steep learning curve for setting up advanced permissions
- Search results can become cluttered in very large instances