Ark and the tools you already know
Great tools. Just not built for agencies.
Notion, Asana and the rest are excellent at what they were built for. Here is what an agency still has to build on top of them to run client work, and what Ark ships with.
Out of the box
Seven things an agency does every week, and who does them without extra work.
We start with the one every tool is good at, so you can see we are not grading on a curve.
| What an agency needs | Notion | Asana | Trello | ClickUp | Frame.io | Sheets + chat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A board with a stage and an owner for every taskThe thing every project tool does well. | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Built in | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on |
| Written procedures for each step of client workOnboarding, approvals, publishing, the monthly report. | Built in | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for | Not what it is for |
| Clients comment on and approve copy line by lineSuggest, accept, decline, in the script itself. | Built in | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for | Not what it is for |
| Comments pinned to a moment in the video“0:42, cut this earlier.” | Built in | Not what it is for | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for | Needs setup or an add-on | Built in | Not what it is for |
| Post dates, shoots and meetings, synced with Google CalendarEveryone invited, nothing double-booked. | Built in | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for | Needs setup or an add-on |
| Client logins that only see their own workNo seat to buy for every client. | Built in | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Needs setup or an add-on | Not what it is for |
| Contracts signed inside the same placeE-signature, kept next to the client. | Built in | Not what it is for | Not what it is for | Not what it is for | Not what it is for | Not what it is for | Not what it is for |
| Ready on day oneShare of the list above, built in or half-built. | 100% | 43% | 50% | 36% | 50% | 29% | 14% |
- Built in
- Needs setup or an add-on
- Not what it is for
Scored on each product as it comes, with no add-ons or custom building, as of October 2026. Where we were unsure we gave the other tool the benefit. These products change; if we got something wrong, tell us at support@ark-agency.app.
The glue
Five tabs open, and you are the one keeping them in step.
- Notionthe board
- Frame.iovideo review
- Google Docsscripts and SOPs
- Google Calendarpost dates and shoots
- A contract appsignatures
The board, scripts, SOPs, calendar, review and contracts, with your clients logged in.
One stack we hear about a lot. Each tool is fine. The cost is the copying between them, and the day a client asks a question that needs three of them to answer.
Tool by tool
Pick what you use now, and get the honest version.
Docs and databases
What Notion does well
Pages, wikis and databases that bend to whatever you describe. It is a lovely home for knowledge, and fast to shape.
For an agency
Where it gets heavy
- You build the pipeline: a database of content, relations to clients, a status for each stage.
- Approvals are comments on a page. There is no post preview, no timecode on a video and no contract to sign.
- A client sees whatever you share with them, so you keep track of who can see what.
Stay with Notion if
your work is mostly internal writing and knowledge, and client content is a small part of it.
Choose Ark if
client content is the business and you want the process running on day one.
One tool at a time: Ark vs. ClickUp · Ark vs. Notion · Ark vs. Frame.io · Ark vs. Trello · Ark vs. Asana
Where Ark is not the answer
Ark is built for agencies that make content for clients: social, content, design and video. It doesn't run ad campaigns, and its CRM is a light one for prospects and client follow-ups, not a sales suite with email sequences. If you run software sprints, or a company of two hundred, a general tool will fit you better. We would rather you pick the right one.
Skip the setup. Start with the process.
The Free plan covers a team of two. No card needed.