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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Shade vs LucidLink at a glance

Where Shade is different

Where LucidLink is a better fit

FAQ

Key Takeaways

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One source of truth for your entire creative team. Consolidate your workflow and cut costs.

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Comparisons

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LucidLink

Shade vs LucidLink: cloud NAS with search and review built in, or file streaming alone (2026)

LucidLink streams files; Shade streams files and adds AI search and review from $29.75/seat. Compare pricing, storage caps and NLE support.

Shade vs LucidLink at a glance

Shade vs LucidLink: cloud NAS with search and review built in, or file streaming alone (2026)

TL;DR: Both Shade and LucidLink mount cloud storage as a drive so editors can cut without downloading. Pick Shade if you also want AI search, review and client delivery in the same place: from $29.75 per seat per month with 500 GB per seat. Pick LucidLink if you only need a fast shared drive and already pay for separate review and search tools. The biggest difference: LucidLink is the drive; Shade is the drive plus the tools around it.


Shade

LucidLink

Starting price

$29.75/seat/mo (annual), $35 monthly

Starter $7/member/mo; Business $27/member/mo (annual), $32 monthly

Storage included

500 GB active per seat, pooled (1 TB on Enterprise)

Starter 100 GB per member (1 TB workspace cap); Business 400 GB per member, pooled

Extra storage

Add-ons available

$7 per 100 GB (Starter), $8 per 100 GB (Business) per month

Team size limits

Up to 15 seats on Growth; unlimited on Enterprise

Starter 10 members; Business 25 members; Enterprise unlimited

Mounted drive

Yes: macOS, Windows, Linux; block-level streaming

Yes: macOS, Windows, Linux; block-level streaming

AI search

Included: transcripts, faces, scene descriptions, natural-language search

Not built in; pairs with tools like iconik

Review and approval

Built in: frame-accurate, timestamped comments

Not built in; pairs with tools like Frame.io

NLE integrations

Premiere Pro panel; Resolve, Avid, Final Cut via the drive

Any NLE via the drive

Bring your own storage

No (Shade-managed storage)

Enterprise only

SSO

Enterprise

Enterprise only

Security

SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, TPN

Zero-knowledge encryption; enterprise controls on Enterprise

Best for

Teams that want one tool for storage, search and review

Teams that want only a fast shared drive

What is LucidLink?

LucidLink is a cloud file-streaming service that makes object storage look like a local drive. Editors open large media files on demand instead of syncing them, which made it a standard for remote post teams. Since 2026 it is priced per member, with pooled storage included in each plan.

Where Shade is different

Search the footage, not the folders

On LucidLink, finding a shot still means knowing the folder. Shade transcribes, tags and indexes every file as it uploads, so editors search by spoken words, faces or a plain description ("drone shot over the stadium at night") and get the clip.

Review happens where the files already are

LucidLink teams usually export cuts and upload them to Frame.io or another review tool. In Shade, the same file on the drive gets a review link with frame-accurate comments, and client delivery collections are built from the same library.

More storage per dollar for the working set

Shade's 500 GB per seat is 25% more than LucidLink Business's 400 GB per member, at $29.75 versus $27 per month. Past the included pool, LucidLink charges $80 per extra TB per month on Business.

A Premiere Pro panel, not just a drive

Shade's panel lets editors search inside Premiere and drop the exact sub-clip onto the timeline. [Customer quote: one sentence from a team that moved off LucidLink.]

Where LucidLink is a better fit

LucidLink is the better choice if your team only needs a drive. Starter costs $7 per member for small, light projects, Business allows 25 members versus 15 on Shade Growth, and Enterprise can run on your own S3 bucket. It is also a long-established name with deep reseller and integration support in large facilities. If your search and review tools already work well and nobody wants to change them, LucidLink alone is simpler.

Ready to switch?

One source of truth for your entire creative team. Consolidate your workflow and cut costs.

Book a Demo

LucidLink streams files; Shade streams files and adds AI search and review from $29.75/seat. Compare pricing, storage caps and NLE support.

Choose Shade if…

You also want AI search, review and client delivery in the same place: from $29.75 per seat per month with 500 GB per seat.

Choose LucidLink if…

You only need a fast shared drive and already pay for separate review and search tools.

The biggest difference

LucidLink is the better choice if your team only needs a drive. Starter costs $7 per member for small, light projects, Business allows 25 members versus 15 on Shade Growth, and Enterprise can run on your own S3 bucket. It is also a long-established name with deep reseller and integration support in large facilities. If your search and review tools already work well and nobody wants to change them, LucidLink alone is simpler.

Shade vs LucidLink at a glance

Where Shade is different

Where LucidLink is a better fit

FAQ

Key Takeaways

Join 100,000+ who have
already switched to Shade

Comparisons

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LucidLink