Filestage
Filestage is a Stuttgart-based online proofing SaaS platform that streamlines review and approval workflows for documents, videos, images, websites, and audio. It serves 20,000+ marketing, creative, and content production teams across enterprise and mid-market organizations globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersStuttgart, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Filestage does
Filestage is an online proofing SaaS platform that streamlines the review and approval workflow for creative assets such as documents, videos, websites, images, and audio. Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, the company operates as a fully remote organization with 11–50 employees distributed globally. The platform serves creative operations, marketing, and content production teams who need to collect feedback, manage version control, and obtain stakeholder sign-off on creative work in a single system, replacing fragmented email threads and ad-hoc file sharing with a structured, auditable review process.
The core product is built around a centralized review workspace where internal and external reviewers leave contextual annotations, compare versions, track approval status, and resolve comments in real time. The platform integrates with productivity tools such as Asana, Slack, and Adobe Creative Cloud, and supports multiple file types including documents, videos, images, websites, and audio. In November 2025, Filestage launched AI Review Agents — built on a partnership with OpenAI — alongside a new website reviewer capability, signaling an investment in automated review assistance. The company maintains ISO 27001 certification and GDPR compliance, supporting enterprise and regulated-industry procurement requirements.
Filestage monetizes via a tiered SaaS subscription model with a free plan, paid plans starting at $99 per month, and custom enterprise pricing. A 14-day free trial is available without requiring a credit card. The customer base spans more than 20,000 users across mid-market and enterprise organizations, including Kärcher, dm drogerie markt, B. Braun, Sharp, Siemens, Sixt, FANUC Europe, Publicis Health France, Capri-Sun, Ogilvy, and GroupM, with notable penetration into industrial equipment, pharma/medical devices, FMCG/CPG, automotive, and agency verticals. The company has raised two disclosed funding rounds: an initial HTGF-led seed in November 2016 and a $3.4 million Series A led by Newion in January 2021.
Filestage firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Filestage
- Legal name
- Filestage GmbH
- Website
- https://filestage.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Filestage is a Stuttgart-based online proofing SaaS platform that streamlines review and approval workflows for documents, videos, images, websites, and audio. It serves 20,000+ marketing, creative, and content production teams across enterprise and mid-market organizations globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Filestage is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Stuttgart
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Filestage business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- SaaS Subscription (Cloud Service): Core revenue stream from subscription-based access to the Filestage online proofing platform. Plans include a free tier for small teams, paid plans starting at $99/month, and Enterprise plans with custom pricing. Subscription fees are non-refundable and billed monthly or annually. Annual billing typically offers a discount vs monthly. Enterprise license fees may increase by up to 9.3% per year to compensate for inflation and increased product value.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free plan for small creative teams |
| Subscription | Monthly | Paid plans starting at $99/month |
| Subscription | Annual | Business plan with data residency add-on |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Enterprise plan with data residency standard |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Filestage product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Filestage is a cloud-based online proofing software platform that enables brands and agencies to centralize creative asset review and approval. The platform supports review of multiple file types including PDFs, artwork, videos, live websites, and interactive HTML, with contextual annotations, version control, automated reminders, and AI-powered Review Agents that pre-scan assets for errors, brand inconsistencies, and compliance risks. It is delivered as a SaaS subscription with plans ranging from a free tier to custom-priced Enterprise contracts.
Product overview
Filestage is an online proofing software platform offering a unified solution for creative review and approval workflows. The core platform is complemented by modular components including Project Workflow Management, File Proofing (smart annotations), Insights (analytics), Review Agents (AI-powered automated reviews), Integrations, Security features, and Automations. The platform supports all file types including PDFs, artwork, videos, live websites, and documents. Data Residency is available as an add-on for Business plans and standard for Enterprise. The platform is built on AWS infrastructure with data centers in the EU (Frankfurt/eu-central-1) and offers 99.9% uptime SLA for Enterprise customers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Filestage Online Proofing Platform
Quantifiable outcome
- 30% faster creative approvals
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Filestage
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Filestage technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration16 records
AI capability7 records
Feature7 records
Filestage partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS is used for application hosting and cloud infrastructure. Data is stored in AWS Frankfurt (eu-central-1) and EU Multi-AZ regions. AWS DPA and Trust Center documentation available. Part of Filestage's core infrastructure stack.
- OpenAIcoreOpenAI API is used to provide in-app AI features including AI-assisted reviews (Review Agents). Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) used for data transfer. AI model training is explicitly not applied to customer data without separate consent.
- StripecoreStripe is used for payment processing. Stripe DPA and Trust Center documentation available. Handles debit/credit card processing for subscription billing.
- SlackcoreSlack integration allows sharing files, comments, and review decisions in Slack channels. Email notifications and review reminders can be sent to Slack. Part of Filestage's native integrations ecosystem.
- Microsoft TeamscoreMS Teams integration allows receiving notifications and review updates directly in Teams channels. Part of Filestage's native integrations for enterprise customers.
- ZapiercoreZapier integration allows creating custom automations and integrations. Customers can connect Filestage with thousands of other apps via Zapier's no-code integration platform. Part of Filestage's workflow automation strategy.
- CloudflarecoreCloudflare is used for domain name server (DNS) services. Data centers in the US with EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework adequacy decision and Standard Contractual Clauses for data transfer.
- AsanacoreAsana integration allows assigning review tasks to teammates and tracking file statuses within Asana project management workflows. Part of Filestage's project management integration ecosystem.
- JiracoreJira integration allows tracking review tasks and file statuses within Jira issue tracking workflows. Targeted at enterprise teams using Jira for project management.
- Adobe (Premiere, Photoshop, InDesign)coreIntegrations with Adobe Creative Suite allow uploading files and seeing comments within Adobe tools, enabling faster iteration and approval for creative workflows.
- MongoDB (MongoDB Atlas)coreMongoDB Atlas is used as the user database for Filestage's application. DPA and Trust Center documentation available.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Filestage competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ReviewStudio: ReviewStudio provides online proofing and creative collaboration tools for agencies and brands, directly comparable to Filestage's annotation, version control, and approval workflow features.
- Ziflow: Ziflow is a direct competitor offering online proofing and creative approval software for brands and agencies, with similar workflow, version control, and annotation features targeting the same creative review use case as Filestage.
- ProofHQ: ProofHQ is an online proofing platform that provides centralized review and approval workflows for creative teams and agencies, directly competing with Filestage in creative asset review and approval.
- Wipster: Wipster is a video review and approval platform specializing in frame-accurate feedback and collaborative video workflows, overlapping with Filestage's video review and approval capabilities for creative and marketing teams.
- PageProof: PageProof is an online proofing platform offering creative review and approval workflows with strong emphasis on compliance and audit trails, positioning it as a close alternative to Filestage for regulated industries.
- Approval Studio: Approval Studio is an online proofing tool focused on creative review and approval for design teams and agencies, offering annotation and version control comparable to Filestage's core offering.
Broad incumbents
- Frame.io (Adobe): Frame.io, acquired by Adobe, is a leading video collaboration and review platform now embedded in Adobe Creative Cloud. It competes with Filestage's video review capabilities but as part of Adobe's broader creative suite.
- Adobe Workfront: Adobe Workfront is a marketing work management platform that includes review and approval workflows as part of a broader enterprise marketing operations suite, competing with Filestage's enterprise review and compliance positioning.
- Asana: Asana is a leading work management platform with task tracking, approvals, and integrations that overlap with parts of Filestage's review workflow. It competes indirectly as teams consolidate collaboration into broader project management suites.
- Box: Box is a cloud content management and file collaboration platform with annotation, approval, and workflow features that overlap with Filestage's enterprise file review and approval use cases, particularly for regulated industries.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Filestage social profiles
Digital presenceFilestage compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Filestage financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Filestage leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Filestage funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Filestage M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Filestage
What does Filestage do?
Filestage is a cloud-based online proofing software platform that enables brands and agencies to centralize creative asset review and approval. The platform supports review of multiple file types including PDFs, artwork, videos, live websites, and interactive HTML, with contextual annotations, version control, automated reminders, and AI-powered Review Agents that pre-scan assets for errors, brand inconsistencies, and compliance risks. It is delivered as a SaaS subscription with plans ranging from a free tier to custom-priced Enterprise contracts.
Is Filestage a public or private company?
Filestage is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Filestage founded?
Filestage was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Filestage based?
Filestage is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Filestage make money?
One revenue line is on record: saaS Subscription (Cloud Service).
Who are Filestage's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ReviewStudio, Ziflow, ProofHQ, Wipster, PageProof and Approval Studio. Broad incumbents are Frame.io (Adobe), Adobe Workfront, Asana and Box.
Does Filestage have an API?
Yes. Filestage offers a public API that allows developers to customize their Filestage experience. The API is governed by the API Fair Use Policy and specific usage limits (e.g., calls per minute/day) are defined in the Documentation, Order, or API Fair Use Policy. The company reserves the right to throttle or temporarily suspend API access if usage exceeds limits or threatens the security, integrity, or stability of the Services. Developer documentation is at developers.filestage.io.