Overview

Pastel is a visual review tool for websites and creative files, best suited to teams that need clients or other outside reviewers to comment in context. Its guest access and workflow controls make shared approvals practical, but the one-canvas Free plan is restrictive for concurrent projects.

Reviewers can comment on a website canvas in a browser on any device; teams can also share live sites, upload images and mark up PDFs. Real-time updates and team-only comments help keep internal discussion alongside feedback, while unlimited guest reviewers can contribute without accounts. That combination makes Pastel a natural fit for client review, though teams with several reviews in progress will need a paid plan or an archiving routine.

Key features

Pastel adds workflow structure to visual comments: teams can assign and label feedback, set deadlines, pause comments, record approvals and test responsive layouts. CSV export provides a way to move review data out of the canvas. These controls suit teams managing feedback through multiple rounds; for occasional informal reviews, they may be more process than necessary.

Integrations include Trello, Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Monday.com and Zapier, plus custom webhooks and API-based integrations. Cursor, Claude and ChatGPT can act on feedback through Pastel's MCP. This is useful when reviews need to connect with project tracking or AI-assisted work, rather than remain isolated annotations.

Pastel says it overlays comments on live websites without logging or storing canvas requests, while it does store comment content and related metadata. Its privacy policy describes safeguards including encryption, firewalls, restricted employee access and requirements for service providers. Enterprise adds a SOC 2 report and SAML single sign-on, which may matter to organizations with formal security and identity requirements.

Pricing

The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes 1 user and 1 canvas. Only one canvas can be active at a time, but users can archive it to make another and later unarchive it. That works for a single ongoing review or intermittent projects, not several active engagements.

Pro costs 29.00 USD per month, billed at $350/year, and includes 2 users, 3 canvases and 100GB video storage. It is the smallest paid step for a compact team that needs a few concurrent canvases and substantial video storage; it still caps the team at two users.

Team costs 99.00 USD per month, billed at $1,190/year, starts at 5 users and includes unlimited canvases and 500GB video storage. Additional users cost $24 each. This is the more suitable tier for teams handling concurrent reviews, though its starting seat count and annual billing make it a larger commitment than Pro.

Enterprise costs 450.00 USD per month, billed at $5,400/year, billed yearly, and starts at 10 users. It includes unlimited canvases, a SOC 2 report, SAML SSO, custom legal terms and a dedicated account representative; contact Pastel about the plan. It fits larger organizations needing those security and service provisions, rather than teams seeking only more canvas capacity.

A 14-day trial provides access to any paid plan without requiring a credit card. Pastel's pricing note says paid plans start at $35/mo, while the plan prices above give the stated monthly amounts and annual billing terms.

Platforms

Pastel supports web, Android, iOS and API platforms. Website review happens in a browser, including on mobile devices, so external reviewers can respond without needing a desktop-only workflow.

Who it's for

Pastel is a good match for design, development and marketing teams that collect approvals from clients or other guests, especially when they review both websites and creative files. Teams with a steady stream of simultaneous projects should look beyond Free; organizations requiring SAML SSO and a SOC 2 report have a specific reason to consider Enterprise. It is less compelling for a solo user who needs several active projects or does not need structured review controls.

Pros and cons

Pros: Unlimited guest reviewers can comment without accounts, lowering friction for client feedback.
Pros: Assignments, labels, deadlines, approvals and pause controls bring review management into the same workflow as annotations.
Pros: Website, image and PDF review, plus video storage on paid plans, cover multiple creative formats.
Cons: Free allows only one active canvas, requiring archiving to switch projects.
Cons: Pro includes only two users, while Team starts at five users and charges $24 per additional user.
Cons: The listed paid-plan prices use annual billing, so they represent a commitment beyond a month-to-month trial.

Alternatives

For education-focused annotation, Hypothesis offers a free plan with core annotation and private groups, and supports API, extension and web platforms. Choose Annot if its $9.00 USD per month Freelance plan's one active project, unlimited guests, file uploads in comments and Slack integration better match a solo workflow. AnnotationBase is worth considering for a free Lite plan with five active projects, up to five collaborators and guest commenting. dotts offers a free Testing plan for up to three projects and unlimited reviewers, or a $15.00 USD per month Pro plan with unlimited projects. Ruttl has a free plan with five users, one project, five pages and unlimited guests, which may suit a small review with limited page needs. SiteDots is another web and extension alternative. Annot8 has a free plan with two projects, three team seats and three guest reviewers, and no free trial. Huddlekit is another web and API alternative.

Browse Web Annotation Tools or Online Proofing Software for broader categories.

Verdict

Choose Pastel if your team needs visual feedback across websites and creative files, with guest reviewers able to comment without accounts and approvals managed in the same workflow. Its clearest drawback is capacity at the low end: Free permits one active canvas, and Pro stops at two users. Teams with concurrent projects or formal enterprise security needs have sensible upgrade paths, but solo users and teams unwilling to archive work or commit to annual billing should compare alternatives first.

	eMargin	Pastel
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial		Yes
Paid from	Free	$29/mo
Platforms	Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Annotation modes	both	comments
Collaborative review	Yes	Yes
Document support	webpages	both
Export options	Printable versions of annotated texts	CSV, webhook, Trello, Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Monday.com, Zapier, API
Guest access		Yes
Browser capture		Yes
Team seats		2 seats

eMargin vs Pastel

eMargin

Pastel