Pastel's canvas-based review flow has a loyal following, especially among teams managing video alongside web and design work. It's also priced and shaped for a specific kind of team, paid seats stacked on top of a canvas limit, that doesn't fit everyone. Here's a fair look at the alternatives, written in the same spirit as our markup.io comparison and BugHerd comparison.

One disclosure up front: we make Roundmark, one of the tools below. Where another tool is the better fit, we'll say so.

What Pastel actually does well

Pastel's pitch centers on a shared canvas: drop in a live site, an image, or a video, and reviewers click to pin comments directly on it. It handles video review better than most tools in this space, with scrubber-linked comments that land on the exact frame, and it plugs into Trello, Asana, Jira, ClickUp, and Zapier for teams that want feedback routed straight into an existing board.

As of November 2026, Pastel's pricing runs seat-and-canvas based, according to Pastel's own pricing page: the Free plan covers 1 user and 1 canvas, Pro is $35 a month for 2 users and 3 canvases with 100GB of video storage, and Team starts at $119 a month for 5 users with unlimited canvases, 500GB of video storage, and the project-management integrations, with each extra seat costing $24 a month on top. Every paid plan includes a 14-day trial. Check Pastel's own pricing page before committing, seat and storage limits shift.

Alternatives worth a look

  • Roundmark - pins comments on live sites, images, and PDFs with a magic-link flow, so reviewers never create an account or take up a seat. Priced flat per plan with unlimited reviewers on every tier, which suits agencies adding and dropping client contacts project by project.
  • markup.io - broad format support including video, with an optional login for reviewers rather than a hard requirement.
  • BugHerd - sidebar-widget bug tracking with a Kanban board, a better fit if most incoming feedback is genuine bugs headed for a dev workflow.
  • Ruttl - live-site and design commenting with a lighter footprint, aimed more squarely at agency client review than at video-heavy teams.
  • The zero-budget option - a shared doc and a Loom link. Free, fine for a single short project, and it falls apart the moment you're running review rounds across several active clients at once.

We're not listing exact numbers for the others beyond what's above, plans change and we'd rather you confirm current pricing directly than read something stale here.

Canvas versus per-project review

The practical difference between Pastel and a tool like Roundmark isn't really the pinning mechanic, most tools in this category do that the same way. It's what a "canvas" costs you. Pastel's canvas limit means a growing agency either pays for more canvases or starts archiving old projects to free one up. A per-project, unlimited-reviewer model sidesteps that trade entirely: you don't pay more because a client project needed a fourth or fifth stakeholder added partway through.

Where video changes the calculus

If video is a real part of your review workflow, motion graphics, product walkthroughs, ad cuts, Pastel's frame-linked commenting is a genuine strength and worth the seat price on its own. If video is occasional rather than core, paying for 100GB or 500GB of video storage every month to review a handful of website and design projects is a cost most agencies don't need to carry.

Switching is less disruptive than it feels

Agency teams often delay switching tools because active projects feel too entangled to move. In practice most open threads are just a handful of outstanding notes per project, quick to close out before a switch rather than painstakingly migrated. Starting your next new client engagement on a different tool, rather than moving every live project at once, is the lower-friction path.

Where Roundmark fits

Roundmark is built for agencies and freelancers reviewing live sites, images, and PDFs with clients who aren't tracking seats or canvases, just trying to leave a note on a page. The free plan covers three projects with no card required, enough to see whether a flat, unlimited-reviewer model fits your workflow better than a seat-and-canvas one.

FAQ

Is Pastel good for website feedback specifically?

Yes, Pastel handles live-site and image review well. Its canvas limit and per-seat pricing matter most once an agency is running several client projects with a changing list of reviewers at the same time.

What's the cheapest Pastel alternative for agencies?

For agencies mainly reviewing live sites, images, and PDFs without a seat or canvas cap, Roundmark's free plan (three projects, unlimited reviewers, no card required) is the lowest-cost starting point. Heavier video review workflows will likely still need a paid plan somewhere.