Short answer: ShotDeck is the industry standard library of film stills: more than 1.6 million hand tagged frames, mostly from feature films, searchable by lens, lighting, camera, location and much more. Draftt is a workspace for film, advertising and music video work whose catalog focuses on commercials and music videos with full credits, and which adds boards, slide decks, your own searchable library and AI assistants. If you need the deepest pool of feature film frames, ShotDeck is the better library. If your references end up in a treatment or a board your team works on together, Draftt covers more of the job.
This page is written by Draftt, so read it knowing that. We have tried to say where ShotDeck is better, and every price links to its source.
Pick ShotDeck if
- You want depth in feature films. ShotDeck holds over 1.6 million stills, per its App Store page, most of them from movies.
- You search by technical detail. Each image carries 50 or more keywords across 20 or more categories (lens, camera, lighting, frame size, time of day, location, composition, emotion), plus cast, crew and aspect ratio.
- You want the tool your DP, production designer and film school already know.
- You want an iPhone or iPad app, or you build your decks in Canva, which has integrated ShotDeck since November 2024.
- You are a student: ShotDeck has a discounted plan with an ID check.
Pick Draftt if
- Your references are commercials and music videos. Draftt's catalog is curated by hand around them, each frame credited to its director, cinematographer, production company, agency or label.
- You want to see movement: some frames come with a short loop.
- You search by feel rather than by tag: describe what you see, pick a color, or ask for frames like one you like.
- You also collect your own references, and want them found the same way as the catalog's.
- Your references become a board or a presentation your team edits at the same time.
- You work with Claude or ChatGPT, or you prefer to work in Spanish.
Side by side
| ShotDeck | Draftt | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A library of film stills, with decks to collect them | A workspace: boards, slide decks, your library and a catalog |
| Catalog focus | Mostly feature films, some TV, music videos and commercials | Commercials and music videos, plus films |
| Catalog size | Over 1.6 million stills | Much smaller, curated by hand |
| Moving image | Stills | Stills, some with short loops |
| Search | By tags: lens, camera, lighting, location, color and more | By text, color and lookalike |
| Your own images | Built around its own library | Web clipper and uploads, searchable like the catalog |
| Collaboration | Decks shared by email, view or edit; everyone needs an account | Real-time boards and decks, pinned comments, public links, free guests |
| Presentations | Decks of stills, and a Canva integration | Slide decks built in, PDF export, Canva import |
| AI assistants (MCP) | No | Claude, ChatGPT and others search and build boards |
| Apps | Web and iOS | Web |
| Languages | English | English and Spanish |
| Free plan | No, a free trial | No, a 7 day free trial of Pro; invited people join free |
| Price, one person | US$12.95 a month, US$99.95 a year | US$12 a month, US$96 a year |
Prices checked on October 31, 2026, on ShotDeck's pricing page and Draftt's pricing.
What ShotDeck does well
ShotDeck was started in 2014 by Lawrence Sher, ASC, the cinematographer of Joker, as a passion project, and it still feels made by someone who works on set. The library is huge, the frames are in HD, and the tagging is the real strength: you can combine frame size, time of day, lighting, lens and location in one search. No Film School called it an "invaluable tool for reference, planning, and collaboration", and on many productions it is what everyone opens first.
Its decks and sub-decks are shared by email with view or edit access, it has an iOS app, and it works with Canva. Its terms say its images are for reference, research and education: internal pitch decks are fine, external commercial use is not.
The complaints we found are mostly about the iOS app, rated 3.2 out of 5 from 46 ratings. Reviewers mention crashes on iPad, saved images not showing in decks, and the price, which one called "absurd".
Where Draftt is different
Commercials and music videos first. ShotDeck's center of gravity is the feature film. Draftt's catalog is curated around the work many directors and DPs shoot week to week: spots, brand films and music videos, credited down to the colorist, the agency and the label.
Search without the right tag. Describe the image in your own words, pick a color, or click a frame to see its lookalikes. Open a work to see all of its frames together.
Your references and the catalog in one library. Draftt's web clipper saves images and videos from any page, several at once. Everything you save is described and indexed by AI, so a frame from Instagram and a frame from the catalog are found the same way.
A canvas and real slides. A ShotDeck deck is a collection of stills. In Draftt, boards mix frames with notes, video, files and sub-boards, and decks are real presentations with present mode, public links and PDF export. Your team edits both at once and comments on the canvas.
AI assistants on your work. Through Draftt's MCP server, Claude, ChatGPT and others can search your library and the catalog and build boards and decks with you.
Where Draftt falls short
- The catalog is much smaller. It grows every week, but it is nowhere near 1.6 million frames, and for feature films ShotDeck has far more.
- No technical tags like lens, camera or lighting setup.
- No apps in the stores and no offline mode.
- Draftt is young and made by a small team; ShotDeck has years of standing in the industry.
- No open free plan. New accounts start with a 7 day free trial of Pro; people invited to someone's board or team use Draftt free.
Which one for a commercial, which one for a feature
For a feature, start in ShotDeck. Its depth in movies and its technical tags are hard to beat when you build a look scene by scene, and your department heads probably use it already.
For a commercial or a music video, start in Draftt. The references are closer to what the client will see, the credits tell you which directors and DPs to look at, and the treatment can be built as a deck from the same frames. Many people will use both; if you bring ShotDeck frames into a board, keep its usage terms in mind.
FAQ
Is Draftt a ShotDeck alternative?
For commercials and music videos, yes. Both give you a searchable catalog of credited frames. ShotDeck is far larger and centered on feature films; Draftt is smaller, centered on advertising and music videos, and adds boards, slide decks and your own library.
Is Draftt cheaper than ShotDeck?
Slightly: US$12 a month or US$96 a year against US$12.95 or US$99.95. ShotDeck has a student discount; Draftt has per seat team pricing.
Does ShotDeck have a free plan?
No, it offers a free trial, and so does Draftt (7 days of Pro). Anyone invited to a Draftt board or team uses it free.
Does ShotDeck have video clips?
ShotDeck is built around stills. Some frames in Draftt's catalog come with short loops, and videos up to 100 MB play inline on a Draftt board.
Can I use ShotDeck images in a pitch deck?
Its terms allow internal pitch decks but not external commercial use. Check its usage page before sharing one.
What is the best ShotDeck alternative for commercials?
For spots and music videos, Draftt's catalog is made for that, with credits for director, DP, production company and agency. Start a treatment from a template.