Top 8 Annotation Tools to Use in 2023

Customer retention through a visual aspect is a critical marketing strategy that is being used by nearly all the businesses in the world right now.

Everyone wants to enjoy a perfectly created illustration or an appealing picture with additional information smeared all over by well-crafted text.

And this concept is not just for businesses either, you can create insightful content to educate people or even use some of these strategies in your daily professional life.

It is possible to do this manually, but in this fast-paced market, you don’t have the luxury of wasting time on anything. This is why, in this article, we are going to talk about the best Annotation tools that you can use in 2021 to make your business or overall professional content more appealing and intuitive.

What are the Annotation Tools?

Annotation tools are applications that you can use for drawing or a text-editing tool that you can use to add more information to an image, a database, or any other type of content that you are using in your business workflow or marketing process.

Let’s take a look at the three different types of annotations.

Screen Annotation

This type of annotation is available on different applications like Zoom which allows you to edit the screen that you are sharing with your team members, with texts and different other effects so that you can convey your voice and idea more effectively.

Manual Annotation

Manual annotation is exactly like how it sounds. You have to manually annotate any piece of content that you want to share with your peers or colleagues.

Collaborative Annotation

This type of annotation is used to teach students how to read, write, and think critically. It is a teaching strategy.

The Best 8 Annotation Tools to Use in 2023

Let’s take a look at all of them in detail and find out how they can enhance the attention span of your audience towards your content.

1. nTask

Being the best project management application, nTask is probably the best annotation tool that you can use right now. The application allows you to attach your desired attachment to the task that you are working on, which you can later comment on and assign that task to anyone you want.

We know that the application wasn’t built with annotation in mind, but the application has incredible content editing tools and tricks that allow you to present your content in a more presentable way. Some of the other features that the application has to offer are mentioned below.

Key Features

• Multiple board views
• Checklists
• Public links
• Minutes of meeting
• Activity logging
• Due date tracking
• Task filters
• Meeting follow-ups
• Activity tracking
• Notifications
• Calendar sync with Google
• Issue management
• Project time tracking
• Project risks
• Status tracking
• Prioritizing
• Project budgeting
• Cost estimating
• Email invites
• Risk analytics
• Collaboration tools
• Task comments

Pricing

• A free trial of the nTask is available for use if you want to use the annotation software before you decide to purchase it
• The paid subscription of the application starts at $3/month

2. Filestage

Filestage is an incredible tool that allows you to review the content that you want to convey to your peers or colleagues. This platform is used widely by the marketing agencies, media production companies, and the marketing teams in the organization paradigm.

This application is also used to get the content that you want to publish, proofed, within your team, or even from the internal and external stakeholders that are involved in the working of your business or your project development process.

Some of the features that the application has to offer are as follows.

Key Features

• Collaboration Tools
• Commenting
• External Review Process
• Internal Review Process
• PDF Commenting
• User Management
• Video Proofing
• API
• Collaborative Review
• Document Review
• Image Proofing
• Manage Content Review Process
• SSL Security
• Version Control
• Workflow Management

Pricing

• A free trial is available for use if you want to test out the application before you make a purchase
• The Starter package of the application is priced around $99/month
• The Pro version is around $249/month
• If you want to purchase the Enterprise version of the application then you have to contact the company and they will tailor a package around your needs and requirements

3. Annotate

This is an incredible online annotation tool that you can use to make your whole content annotation process a piece of cake. This application is very useful as you can use it from the first step of your content annotation process to the final stage when you have to project your material to your targeted audience.

One thing that is a major disadvantage in opting to use this application as your daily annotation driver, you can’t use this application on the go and work on your stuff. So, if you are a professional that uses their applications on the go, this application might not be for you.

Key Features

• Image annotation
• Text annotation
• Text box, freehand notes, and polygon annotation
• Note creation
• Task assignment to your desired user
• Document drafting
• Communication tools

Pricing

• A free version of the application is available that offers support for up to 3 users, but you will have limited features and functionalities than the other subscription models
• The Standard version of the application offers many other functionalities than the free version but if you want to purchase it, you will have to contact the company and they will tailor a price quote for you according to your needs and requirements

Related:

Best Advertising Agency Software for Medium to Large Scaled Businesses

4. Drawboard Projects

This application is an incredible PDF markup tool that allows you to markup many different elements of your project or your content through smaller tools like the polygon tool and text tool.

The tool allows you to annotate different types of documents that you are creating and projecting to your clients, peers, or colleagues, using digital ink.

But one drawback that the application has is that it is not intuitive, and the users have reported that they had a hard time understanding the functionalities of the tool. But if you stick to it and power through, the application has enough features to help you complete your work easily.

Key Features

• Document/photo management
• Contractors
• 2D drawing
• Markup
• Annotation
• Activity feed
• Navigation system
• File sharing
• Notifications
• Native iOS app support
• Live drawing updates
• Secured storage
• Tagging

Pricing

• A free trial of the application is available to use if you want to test out the annotation software before you decide on purchasing it
• The Basic version of the application is priced at $19/month
• The Standard version of the application is priced at $35/month
• If you want to get the Enterprise version of the application, you need to contact the company so that they can tailor a specific price quote for you according to your needs and requirements

5. ClickUp

ClickUp is an amazing project management application but where it truly shines in the context of this article, is the annotation features that you can use in this application and get work done easily.

The application has amazing features that allow it to perform various annotation processes quite effortlessly as it supports different formats like .png, .gif, .webp, and .jpeg.

Key Features

• Assign Comments (turn comments into tasks)
• Chrome-like tabs
• Collaboration
• Custom priorities
• Data import/export
• Email notifications
• Idea management
• Image mockups
• Multiple assignees
• Product road mapping
• Supports Agile
• Supports Scrum
• Task management
• White label option
• 3 different views

Pricing

• A free version of the application is available, but you will have considerably less storage than what you get in the paid subscriptions
• The Unlimited version of the application is priced at $5/user/month which gives you unlimited storage, views, integrations, and reporting among many other features
• The Business version of the application is priced at $19/user/month which gives you all of the features of the unlimited version and on top of that, you get Goal folders, workload management, all of the dashboard widgets, and over 10,000 automation per month
• The Enterprise version of the application is incredible and consists of all of the features that the application has to offer, but if you want to purchase it, you need to contact the company so that they can tailor a price quote for you according to your needs and requirements

6. Hive 

Hive is a project management software package with several team-friendly features. One of these capabilities is that it can be used as an annotation software, which allows users to annotate and alter documents collaboratively in real-time. 

Hive is a project management and annotation application designed to help you and your team stay organized while also working more efficiently. Hive is a simple yet efficient solution for project management from inception to conclusion. 

Hive lets you upload files, assign projects, organize your timeline, annotate documents, and do a variety of other things. It is an excellent tool for everyone who needs to do their tasks swiftly. 

Key Features 

• Capabilities for project management and annotation 
• Messenger within the app 
• Proofreading and approvals 
• Email within the app 
• Automate routine tasks 
• Integrations are excellent 

Pricing

• Solo: Free forever
• Teams: $12/user/month

7. zipBoard 

zipBoard is a web-based annotation and visual feedback tool that can be used with nearly any sort of content. It allows you to annotate on photos, videos, websites (static and live), SCORM, PDFs, and other media, and it streamlines the visual bug tracking and QA process for reviewers. With zipBoard, you can evaluate all of your online evidence on a single platform, eliminating the need for lengthy email chains and screen-sharing meetings. 

With zipBoard’s extensive annotation options, you can make annotations instantly on top of your screen and share them with your team and stakeholders. It offers an easy-to-use, straightforward user interface, which is very effective when gathering input from non-technical customers and stakeholders, which is frequently required. 

All of this without the requirement for guest collaborators to register accounts, allowing you to assign and prioritize jobs from its dashboard. 

ZipBoard ensures unambiguous cooperation for anyone, whether you are an agency or an individual, by tracing all versions and modifications and clearly defining roles. 

Key Features 

• Projects and collaborators are limitless 
• The most comprehensive set of online annotation tools 
• Provide your permission and sign off on the creatives 
• Integrate the product with your ERP system. On-demand API creation 
• The best sharing features in the industry 

Pricing 

• Team (Contact Sales)
• Agency (Contact Sales)
• Enterprise (Contact Sales)

8. Markup Hero 

Markup Hero is a quick and easy online annotation tool for adding arrows, shapes, and text to images and PDFs. Markup Hero allows you to effortlessly annotate images and PDFs without the need to download or install any annotation software. 

It is an online annotation tool designed to help content creators and marketers annotate and share their work on the internet. This application allows you to easily annotate and communicate with your team members in order to generate content rapidly. 

They also provide apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chrome, as well as a FREE plan, which makes it quite convenient. 

Best for Individuals and small enterprises. 

Key Features 

• Screenshots that scroll 
• Annotations using text, arrows, highlighters, and symbols 
• Make your own team or invite others to participate in real-time with you. 
• Receive notifications when someone comments on your annotation. 
• Google Drive and Slack API integration is available. 

Pricing 

• Individuals can use Hero for free and make up to ten markups every month 
• Superhero: $4 for unlimited use, excellent for groups 

Conclusion

The aforementioned tools rounded up on our list for their fancy features.

However, if you have a personal favorite annotation app that isn’t highlighted in this post, feel free to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.