NowComment vs Pastel
NowComment
nowcomment.com
Pastel
usepastel.comSide by side
| Figure | NowComment | Pastel |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $25/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 8 |
| Spec score · Web Annotation Tools | 7.4 (#28) | 9.0 (#2) |
| Integrations | The FAQ says NowComment can integrate with Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai, Canvas, and other school LMSs through LTI authentication. | Documented integrations include Trello, Jira, Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp, Zapier and custom webhooks. |
| Privacy controls | Documents are private by default and visible to invited people or groups; public documents can be read by anyone online and are indexed by search engines. | Canvas visibility can be restricted and comments can be private to team members. |
| Purpose | NowComment is a group collaboration app for discussing and annotating online documents, with threaded comments shown in context alongside the document. | Pastel collects visual feedback and approvals on websites and other creative work, including PDFs, images, and videos. |
| Support | The support page directs users to an online troubleshooting guide and provides a tech support email for problems it does not resolve. | GetApp lists chat and email/help-desk support options for Pastel. |
Plans
Pastel
- FreeFree
- Free ForeverFree
- Pro$25 a month
- Pro$29 a month
- Team$84 a month
- Team$99 a month
- Enterprise$383 a month
- Enterprise$450 a month
In their own words
NowComment
NowComment has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Pastel
Pastel is a visual feedback and approval tool for websites and creative files, including PDFs, images, and videos. Users create a canvas from a website to place comments directly on the page in a browser, or share live sites and upload files for review. Updates are real time, and teams can keep comments private while inviting guest reviewers who do not need accounts. Review workflows support assignments, labels, deadlines, approvals, pausing comments, responsive testing, and CSV export. Listed connections include Trello, Asana, Jira, ClickUp, Monday.com, Zapier, custom webhooks, and API-based integrations. Pastel also says Cursor, Claude, and ChatGPT can act on feedback through its MCP. The Free plan allows one active canvas at a time, though users can archive one canvas and restore it later. The 14-day trial gives access to any paid plan without requiring a credit card. Pro is $29 a month, billed at $350/year; Team is $99 a month, billed at $1,190/year.