Honest comparison
Tack vs Pastel
Pastel is a polished website-feedback tool loved for live-site commenting. Tack covers websites too (via pixel-perfect full-page snapshots) and then goes wider — every deliverable format — and deeper on the thing Pastel doesn't do: certified, verifiable approval.
Pastel is best for
Teams whose feedback is almost exclusively on live websites and who want in-context browsing while commenting.
Tack is best for
Designers who deliver more than websites — brand sets, decks, video, emails — and want every approval to end in a certificate.
| Tack | Pastel | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one designer | ✓ $17.99/mo flat (free tier included) | Free tier; paid plans from ~$29+/mo (as of writing) |
| Certified sign-off | ✓ Digitally signed PDF certificate: typed signature, consent, SHA-256 file fingerprints, public verification page | Approval status only — no signed certificate or evidence record |
| Client experience | One link, no account, works on phones; optional verified sign-in per link | Guest commenting via link |
| A/B decisions | ✓ Two variants, client must pick one and give a reason — logged like a sign-off | Not a first-class feature |
| Link security | Password (checked in the database), expiry date, instant revoke, private file storage with short-lived signed URLs | Varies by plan |
| Formats | Live-site snapshots, images, PDFs/decks, video timestamps, email templates, A/B tests | Websites, images, PDFs |
The honest verdict
Pastel is excellent at live-website commenting. Tack trades the live-browsing gimmick for breadth (every format a designer ships) and proof (certified sign-off) at a lower flat price.
Competitor details reflect public information as of writing and may change — check their site for current pricing.