Notedis vs Pastel: Simple Bug Tracking at $16/Month vs $29-$350/Month

If you're looking for visual feedback tools, you've probably found Pastel. It's a popular choice for designers and agencies collecting feedback on live websites with its sticky note-style commenting system.

It's also 2-20x more expensive than Notedis, with canvas and user limits that hit fast.

Notedis captures client feedback with annotated screenshots and automatic technical context—no canvas limits, no time windows, no per-user charges.

Let's compare what you're actually getting.

What They Have in Common

Both Notedis and Pastel solve the same problem: getting clear visual feedback from clients without endless email chains.

The basics are similar:

• Visual feedback on websites
• No login required for clients giving feedback
• Screenshot capture with annotations
• Dashboard to manage feedback
• Integration with project management tools

If that's all you need, the question is whether you want simplicity or a design-review-specific workflow.

Where Pastel Focuses on Design Review

Pastel was built specifically for designers and developers in the website review phase:

Canvas-based workflow: Each website becomes a "canvas" where people leave sticky note-style comments. Navigate pages with commenting mode off, click to leave feedback. Built around the design review process.

Premium vs Free Canvases: Free canvases have a 3-day commenting window, then go read-only. Premium canvases (on paid plans) have unlimited commenting time. This creates complexity in managing which projects are "active."

Project management integrations: Export comments to Trello, Jira, Asana, monday.com. Direct integrations for pushing feedback into your workflow.

Video feedback: Record screen + voice to show issues. Great for complex UX problems. Adds storage limits to pricing tiers.

User vs Guest Reviewer system: Users can create/edit canvases and export comments. Guest reviewers can only leave comments. This distinction affects pricing.

Per-user pricing: Studio and Enterprise plans charge per seat. Add team members = higher monthly cost.

Canvas/project limits: Solo plan limited to 3 premium canvases at a time. If you have more than 3 active projects, you need Studio plan.

Time-limited free canvases: Every canvas on the free plan expires after 3 days. Have to upgrade or create new canvases to continue.

Pastel has optimized for the design review workflow with its canvas metaphor and commenting approach. If you're primarily reviewing visual designs with stakeholders, that workflow makes sense. If you're just fixing bugs clients report, it's extra complexity.

Where Notedis Stays Simple

Notedis does one thing: captures bug reports from clients with screenshots and technical context.

Email-first workflow: Feedback goes to your inbox with screenshots and browser details. Reply via email—client gets the response. No canvases to manage, no commenting windows that expire.

No artificial limits: Unlimited websites. Unlimited feedback submissions. Unlimited team members. No "premium" vs "free" project distinction. Everything just works.

Bug-focused, not design-focused: Built for "the button is broken" not "does this shade of blue work?" Technical context (browser, device, console errors) automatically captured.

Team roles without complexity: Manager and team member roles. That's it. No user vs guest reviewer distinction to manage.

Zero per-user charges: $16/month total whether you have 1 team member or 20. Add people without increasing your bill.

True unlimited: No canvas limits, no commenting time windows, no project caps. One website or fifty—same price.

5-minute setup: Add JavaScript snippet. Done. No creating canvases, no managing premium vs free projects.

Notedis is built for client communication about bugs, not internal design review. If your main problem is clients saying "it's broken" without details, Notedis solves that without the canvas workflow overhead.

The Pricing Reality Check

Pastel Free Forever:

• $0/month
• 1 user
• Unlimited free canvases (3-day commenting window each)
• After 3 days, canvases go read-only
• Good for: Quick one-off projects, testing the tool

Pastel Solo ($29/month, $24/month annually = $290/year):

• 1 user only
• 3 premium canvases (unlimited commenting time)
• Unlimited free canvases (3-day windows)
• File attachments in comments
• Export to CSV
• 100GB video storage

Pastel Studio ($99/month, $83/month annually = $990/year):

• Starts at 5 users
• $24/user/month for additional users
• Unlimited premium canvases (no time limits)
• User mentions, private comments
• Organize with project spaces and labels
• Export to Trello, Asana, Jira, etc.
• 500GB video storage

Pastel Enterprise ($350/month, $4,200/year):

• Starts at 10 users
• $45/user/month for additional users
• Everything in Studio
• Single sign-on (SAML SSO)
• SOC 2 Report
• Custom terms
• Dedicated account representative

Notedis ($16/month annual, $20/month monthly = $192/year):

• Unlimited team members
• Unlimited websites
• Unlimited feedback submissions
• No canvas limits
• No time windows
• No upgrade tiers

Real-World Cost Comparisons

Solo freelancer managing 8 client websites:

• Pastel Solo: 3 premium canvases, need to juggle which 3 projects are "active"
• Cost: $29/month ($348/year)
• Notedis: All 8 sites unlimited
• Cost: $16/month ($192/year)
• Savings: $156/year

3-person design agency with 15 active client projects:

• Pastel Solo: Can't use it (only 1 user, only 3 premium canvases)
• Pastel Studio: 5 users minimum, unlimited canvases
• Cost: $99/month ($1,188/year)
• Notedis: 3 team members, 15 sites unlimited
• Cost: $16/month ($192/year)
• Savings: $996/year

5-person agency with 25 client websites:

• Pastel Studio: 5 users included
• Cost: $99/month ($1,188/year)
• Notedis: 5 team members, 25 sites unlimited
• Cost: $16/month ($192/year)
• Savings: $996/year

10-person agency with 40 client projects:

• Pastel Studio: 5 users + 5 additional @ $24/user = $219/month
• Cost: $2,628/year
• Notedis: 10 team members, 40 sites unlimited
• Cost: $16/month ($192/year)
• Savings: $2,436/year

The savings scale dramatically as your team grows because Notedis doesn't charge per seat.

The Real Question: Design Review or Bug Tracking?

Here's how to decide between Notedis and Pastel:

Choose Pastel if:

• You're primarily doing visual design reviews with stakeholders
• You like the sticky note/canvas metaphor for feedback
• You need video feedback with screen recording
• You want to export directly to Trello/Jira/Asana
• You have fewer than 3 active projects at a time (Solo plan works)
• Your workflow centers on design iterations, not bug fixing
• You want project spaces and labels for organizing feedback
• Budget allows $29-$350/month

Choose Notedis if:

• You're managing client bug reports, not design reviews
• You need unlimited active projects (more than 3 at once)
• You prefer email-based workflow over canvas management
• You don't want 3-day expiration windows on free projects
• You're adding team members and don't want per-seat charges
• You want technical context (browser, device) automatically captured
• You're tired of managing "premium" vs "free" project quotas
• You value flat pricing regardless of team size

What You're Actually Paying For

With Pastel, you're paying for:

• Design review workflow with canvas metaphor
• Video feedback with screen recording
• Project spaces and organizational features
• User mentions and private comments
• Per-user pricing that increases with team size
• Canvas limits (3 on Solo plan)
• Starting at $29/month with strict project/user limits

With Notedis, you're paying for:

• Bug-focused feedback with technical context
• Email-based workflow clients understand
• Unlimited websites, team members, and feedback
• No canvas limits or commenting time windows
• One focused feature done extremely well
• $16/month with no limits, no per-seat charges

The question isn't which has more features. It's whether you're doing design review (Pastel's strength) or bug tracking (Notedis's focus).

The Canvas Limitation Reality

Pastel's canvas system creates real workflow friction:

Solo plan (3 premium canvases): If you're managing 8 client websites, only 3 can be "active" at once. Want feedback on a 4th project? Either:

• Use a free canvas (expires in 3 days)
• Switch an existing premium canvas to free (loses unlimited commenting)
• Upgrade to Studio at $99/month

3-day free canvas windows: Create a free canvas on Monday, by Thursday it's read-only. Client wants to add more feedback on Friday? You need a paid plan or create a new canvas.

With Notedis, there are no canvases. Every website you manage accepts feedback continuously. No juggling which projects are "premium." No expiration windows. Just unlimited feedback on unlimited sites.

When Simple Beats Feature-Rich

Pastel has powerful features for design review workflows. If you're an agency presenting design concepts to stakeholders and need video walkthroughs, user mentions, and organized comment threads, Pastel makes sense.

But if you're a developer or agency who just needs clients to report bugs clearly—without managing canvas quotas, paying per seat, or dealing with 3-day expiration windows—Notedis is built for you.

Notedis gives you what matters for bug tracking:

• Clear feedback with screenshots and technical context
• Team collaboration without per-seat charges
• Email workflow that clients understand
• No project limits or time windows
• Predictable pricing that doesn't increase

No design review features. No canvas management. No user vs guest reviewer distinction.

Just clear bug reports from clients showing exactly what's broken.

Try Both, Choose What Fits

We're not saying Notedis is objectively better than Pastel. For design agencies doing visual review sessions with clients and stakeholders, it's not.

But if you're managing client bug reports across multiple websites and don't want to pay $29-$99+/month with canvas limits and per-seat charges, Notedis is built for you.

Both offer free trials. Try both and see which workflow actually makes your life easier—and which pricing model makes financial sense.