Acquia DAM (Widen) vs. Canto

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Acquia DAM (Widen)
Score 8.4 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Acquia DAM (Widen) helps brands manage and distribute assets across teams, tools, and channels. A configurable metadata schema provides business-specific search and workflow capabilities. Plus, AI-powered auto tagging makes assets instantly findable. Content can be synced across systems using the API or pre-built integrations with over 50 tools, from creative suites to project management. Product-based companies can use Acquia DAM to build a unique 360º view of their product content. It…N/A
Canto
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
Canto delivers digital asset management capabilities while offering an intuitive experience for teams. Canto's AI Visual Search enables users to search their brand libraries using natural language.N/A
Pricing
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredOptional
Additional DetailsGuided or full-service implementation options and annual subscriptions based on capabilities required. Workgroup and unlimited user options available. Storage with Amazon Web Services. Professional services available for strategy consulting, change management, administration services, design services, and managed integrations.Canto's platform, supported by a flexible and transparent pricing structure, caters to a diverse array of industries. It empowers companies ranging from teams of 50 employees to global enterprises to fuel their content delivery, maximizing their ROI.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Considered Both Products
Acquia DAM (Widen)
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
More fully-featured (and expensive) than Portfolio, less expensive than Canto (when we last looked at it).
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
No other similar solutions tried in our company. But I made an online research and found out that Canto is a great digital asset management system for sharing files with external parties, that is extremely important to us.
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
While Canto Cumulus is a reputable DAM, users cite potential drawbacks such as a complex interface, customization challenges, integration limitations, scalability concerns, and reported issues with support responsiveness. These aspects should be considered based on specific …
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
I'm constantly evaluating other DAMs to see if it could be worth switching to something new. As of now, Acquia still fulfills our needs appropriately.
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
Acquia DAM (Widen) had all the features we needed at a price that was not unaffordable. Also, having unlimited users and Admins is something few others have.
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
I've personally found the user experience with Acquia DAM (Widen) to be more intuitive and easy to learn. Once you get the hang of how to search the metadata, I think it's easier to find the assets you are looking for and truly narrow down your search.
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
I inherited this system when I joined my company but I would like to do some comparison shopping.
Chose Acquia DAM (Widen)
There are a number of features that competitors provide that I would love to see incorporated into Acquia DAM (Widen) but the pricing for Acquia DAM (Widen) is the best value for us.
Canto
Chose Canto
Canto was one of the most cost effective options and was the only one that included all of the features that we were looking for (AI tagging, facial recognition, PMS integrations, OCR text recognition, etc)
Chose Canto
Canto functions a lot like our existing server/file storage system, so the transition was smooth. Canto was supreme in searching/tagging. The salespeople were also the easiest to work with.
Chose Canto

CANTO is the best balance of functionality, performance and cost for a company like mine that has started a digital transformation programme. Adobe Experience is best in class but too expensive.
Chose Canto
Canto proved to be the simplest and cleanest user interface in our opinion. The price was much less than many of the other options that offered the features (bells & whistles) we found unnecessary.
Chose Canto
Widen was incredibly difficult to search through and the organization and interface was not user friendly. AEM didn't allow more than a small handful of users, so we never got to actually use it as intended.
Chose Canto
Canto has created their own Adobe plugin while Widen utilizes a third party vendor. The Canto plugin is much more reliable and Canto is extremely responsive on issues and suggestions whereas Widen has to rely on a vendor.
Chose Canto
Canto's customer service and the ability to adapt to our needs is one thing that sticks out over some of the competition. Many of the other platforms that were comparable to Canto's robust feature list and ease of usability were much expensive. Canto is continuously adding new …
Chose Canto
Canto had the best features compared to the price of anyone and met our essential needs of ease of use, portals, meta data completeness. Libris came close to Canto in these features, but overall, canto won with pricing terms and portals. Brandfolder was a contender as well but …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Acquia DAM (Widen)
7.6
60 Ratings
16% above category average
Canto
6.6
10 Ratings
1% above category average
Dashboards7.757 Ratings6.710 Ratings
Standard reports7.552 Ratings6.69 Ratings
Custom reports7.341 Ratings00 Ratings
Data exportability7.942 Ratings00 Ratings
Content analytics7.644 Ratings6.59 Ratings
DAM Features
Comparison of DAM Features features of Product A and Product B
Acquia DAM (Widen)
8.1
79 Ratings
2% above category average
Canto
7.1
24 Ratings
11% below category average
Uploading assets8.578 Ratings7.523 Ratings
Downloading assets8.479 Ratings8.224 Ratings
Categories8.276 Ratings7.223 Ratings
Asset storage9.278 Ratings8.123 Ratings
Asset sharing8.978 Ratings7.924 Ratings
Asset search8.079 Ratings7.424 Ratings
Tagging system8.075 Ratings7.223 Ratings
Content editing7.463 Ratings6.416 Ratings
Embed codes8.353 Ratings7.010 Ratings
Metadata8.869 Ratings6.720 Ratings
Collections7.872 Ratings7.421 Ratings
User access8.074 Ratings7.023 Ratings
DAM Integrations7.855 Ratings6.713 Ratings
DAM API7.340 Ratings6.88 Ratings
Workflow automations7.339 Ratings5.69 Ratings
Related asset discovery7.847 Ratings6.613 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Small Businesses
Adobe Bridge
Adobe Bridge
Score 8.8 out of 10
Adobe Bridge
Adobe Bridge
Score 8.8 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
Enterprises
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
MediaValet
MediaValet
Score 9.8 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Likelihood to Recommend
8.4
(183 ratings)
8.0
(253 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
7.6
(10 ratings)
9.1
(18 ratings)
Usability
7.2
(9 ratings)
8.3
(95 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Performance
7.3
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
8.0
(174 ratings)
6.5
(157 ratings)
Online Training
9.1
(1 ratings)
8.3
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
6.4
(3 ratings)
8.3
(12 ratings)
Configurability
9.1
(1 ratings)
3.6
(1 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
4.5
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
7.3
(1 ratings)
6.4
(1 ratings)
Professional Services
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Acquia DAM (Widen)Canto
Likelihood to Recommend
Acquia
Widen is a great digital asset manager internally. I loved the framework that the platform has. However, we created a main portal to share with our external partners so we could control what was private and what was public. The portal framework was not as user-friendly and we tried too much to make it like a website when it was meant to be a DAM. The main reason we switched providers is that we wanted to have the option to have a consistent framework internally and externally that was more user-friendly with better search capabilities.
Read full review
Canto
Canto is an excellent tool for organizing assets and searching for them in one location. I also really enjoy using the mobile version of Canto on my smartphone when I am on the go. Canto is robust and fast and it has been a major advancement in the way that my organization stores and shares assets.
Read full review
Pros
Acquia
  • They offer valuable guidance and educational resources to Administrators
  • Their I.T. support is knowledgeable and responsive. And friendly!
  • They build community among Acquia DAM (Widen) Admins
  • They aren't as salesy and pushy as many of the other DAM Vendors that we considered. I don't feel like they are constantly trying to upsell me or take advantage. I hope this continues to be the case with the acquisition by Acquia.
  • They're just plain nice people to work with.
Read full review
Canto
  • Ability to manage several portals and allow different users access to each.
  • Ability to customize each Canto platform or portal to suit all needs.
  • The platform is very easy to use, and while there are more complex components to the platform, users are able to use only the basics and remain very successful.
Read full review
Cons
Acquia
  • Improvements in the cropping and editing features within Acquia DAM are essential to ease the workload for our graphic designers. The current functionality falls short in providing the necessary tools and precision required for efficient asset manipulation, not helping with that time management at all.
  • Enhancing the onboarding experience, we propose creating more video tutorials for Acquia DAM. These visual guides, covering topics from account setup to collaboration features, offer dynamic, step-by-step learning.
  • To improve the onboarding experience, we recommend expanding introductory tools and templates in Acquia DAM. Introducing more user-friendly features and providing a variety of templates will empower new users to navigate the platform with ease, fostering quicker proficiency and enhancing overall usability.
Read full review
Canto
  • The brand templates add-on is very difficult to use. It sounds great on paper, but when you actually try to use it you find out it's very clunky and limited.
  • Adding fonts to style guides is difficult. Would love to see some sort of integration with Adobe and Google fonts.
  • Duplicate finder only finds exact duplicates, so if a file has been run through processing of any sort it doesn't find it (ie Photoshop, Lightroom). Would be great if it could have some sort of optical duplicate finder.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Acquia
Acquia DAM (Widen) is changing its pricing model and at this point, we are unsure whether it is a good thing for us or not. While we consider this a robust tool, we will take our time to evaluate the competitors.
Read full review
Canto
It's a fantastic product and we get a lot of mileage out of Canto. I would 100% say that we plan to renew our subscription and have not explored any other digital asset management tools. It has all the tools we need, seamlessly connects with Adobe products (out primary design tool) and continues to innovate.
Read full review
Usability
Acquia
We used to have to respond to any email questions from our library users about how to find assets. With Acquia DAM (Widen), the system is similar to online shopping, workable with keywords for those who like to search that way, or with filters for those who like to browse.
Read full review
Canto
Canto is about as easy to use as it gets. I have personally trained a handful of employees who are unfamiliar with DAM/marketing SaaS technology on how to use the platform for their needs. These trainings only take about half an hour (given they are using a very limited set of Canto's features), and afterward, they are pretty well-equipped to use the platform.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Acquia
Never had an issue where I was unable to access Widen.
Read full review
Canto
Canto is usually available, though sometimes goes down for 30 min - 1 hr. Usually resolved quickly
Read full review
Performance
Acquia
There have been a couple of rare instance where after I uploaded an asset, I was unable to rename it, or after uploading it it took a while before it actually appeared and can be viewed in the DAM.
Read full review
Canto
I've satisfied with the performance
Read full review
Support Rating
Acquia
It's very seldom that I have to reach out for support, but when I have, there are quick solutions and follow-ups to make sure the system is working how it should be. My customer support team is also great at reaching out on a regular basis to keep me up to speed on emerging features I may be able to leverage to improve my experience.
Read full review
Canto
I think Canto's onboarding process was really helpful. Our employees were able to utilize the system without excess training sessions which isn't always the case with some software. I also think that their customer support has proven to be super helpful when minor issues arise
Read full review
Online Training
Acquia
The training was very thorough. The recordings for all our traning sessions were provided to us so that we could go back and review. Our trainer was always available for follow up questions. Our trainer shared a spreadsheet with us as a checklist for all things that needed to be done to ensure proper import and setup of our assets and DAM.
Read full review
Canto
Very knowledgable and accommodating trainers who listen to what you're asking and provide detailed yet simple instructions.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Acquia
It was a lot of work! But worth the effort to get our assets cleaned up and organized. Enough time and personnel need to be allotted for any implementation, but we had some advantage in having our assets in a previous DAM with attached metadata in XML, and our users were prepared with knowledge of our existing DAM at that time. Though old habits present their own issues, a company that is starting from scratch with no DAM has to think farther ahead about how it will organize and collect assets. Far more pre-planning with stakeholders would be needed for a company starting an implementation from scratch.
Read full review
Canto
We didn't have a thorough enough plan for ownership of uploading and tagging and some of our tags were inconsistent which led to some regression in our usage. We tightened up that plan on our end and spoke with support team on Canto's end to establish some best practices and have a much better workflow now.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Acquia
Compared to Google Drive, the DAM platform stands out as a significantly advanced solution, offering additional features that elevate the user experience and functionality. While Google Drive excels in basic file storage and sharing, the DAM platform goes beyond these fundamentals, providing enhanced capabilities that cater to diverse needs.
Read full review
Canto
Dropbox is not as organized as Canto is. This is very impactful to help us stay consistent and to stay proper when managing our digital assets. Moreover, the ease of navigation is a lot better than Dropbox ever was, this is a big reason why our company has been using Canto for SEVERAL years.We do not want to leave Canto!
Read full review
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Acquia
Can not give an accurate rating.
Read full review
Canto
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Acquia
No answers on this topic
Canto
Canto is based on the West coast, so occasionally patches and planned outages happen during East coast working hours
Read full review
Return on Investment
Acquia
  • The central area for all images and videos is excellent. It has helped improve brand visuals and reduced requests on creative teams.
  • Due to our small user base (50), many features are not fully used by our business, the small user base is mainly down to costs and budgets set at the start of the year which is a shame as the benefits would be great but the step in costs is too great to transition effectively.
  • Uploading photoshoots can be tricky due to restrictions on upload and edit counts.
Read full review
Canto
  • Covid: We all worked from home. It was a major impact for us to stop using a sketchy VPN that is slow and painful. We all became so much more efficient in our work.
  • Sharing assets: Our company has grown substantially in the past 3 years. Having Canto means that we can easily share assets with our worldwide divisions. We are leading the way on this as the companies we acquired are using archaic servers. We will bring everyone in the Canto world to better manage our assets.
  • Control: Prior to Canto, people were misusing images - not using the right ones, not using watermarks. Now it's all preventable and we are seeing better quality images used appropriately.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Acquia DAM (Widen) Screenshots

Screenshot of Dashboard can be customized to provide users with a springboard to popular assets, collections, and portals.Screenshot of Custom-branded portals to share curated collections of assets and microsites.Screenshot of Asset performance tracking including downloads, embedded asset views, and shares.Screenshot of Custom analytics dashboards to display system reports for all usage data.Screenshot of Any asset type can be searched, downloaded, shared, and embedded.

Canto Screenshots

Screenshot of the Canto AI Visual Search to discover digital assets faster.Screenshot of asset discovery with AI Visual Search, using natural language to instantly find the most relevant images and videos in Canto.Screenshot of Canto's integrations, including Adobe Creative Suite, Hootsuite, Canva, and monday.com.Screenshot of sharing tools to push on-brand digital content to teams, channels, and platforms while maintaining control with access controls and digital rights management.Screenshot of the organized, searchable content hub, where everyone can always find what they need, when they need it.