If two editors need to work on the same project, sharing the .prproj or .drp file over Dropbox is how good footage and good will get destroyed. Postlab and DaVinci Resolve Project Server both solve this, but they solve it for different shops in completely different ways.
Postlab is a SaaS that works with Premiere, Final Cut Pro, and Resolve. Resolve Project Server is free, self-hosted, and Resolve-only. Choosing between them isn't a feature comparison, it's a question of what your shop actually looks like.
Here is the side-by-side and the workflow each one fits.
The Two at a Glance
| Postlab | Resolve Project Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | $15-30/seat/month | Free (you provide hardware) |
| Hosting | Hosted SaaS | You run it (PostgreSQL on your network) |
| NLE support | Premiere, FCP, Resolve | Resolve only |
| Setup time | Sign up, install | PostgreSQL install, network config, backup setup |
| Remote/distributed teams | First-class (it's the point) | Possible with VPN, not the design intent |
| Cloud media included | Postlab Drive bundled (extra cost) | None; you handle media separately |
| Backup responsibility | Postlab | You |
| Best for | Multi-NLE shops, remote teams | All-Resolve teams in one location |
These two tools start with the same problem (multiple editors collaborating on the same project) and split immediately on architecture. Postlab decided to host it for you. Blackmagic decided to give you the database and let you run it.
What Each One Actually Is
Postlab is a SaaS for project files. You install a Postlab desktop app, sign in, and your team's project files live in a shared cloud workspace with version history, locking, and per-user permissions. When you check out a project, no one else can edit it until you check it back in. The project files sync to local disk so the NLE itself sees them as normal files.
Resolve Project Server is a PostgreSQL database that holds the Resolve project database. It doesn't manage media; that's separate. It manages the project database itself, which is the file Resolve uses to track timelines, bins, color grades, and edit decisions. Multiple Resolve users on the same network point at the same database server and can open the same project library, with database-level concurrency handling.
Same problem (concurrent project access), totally different mechanism. Postlab is a file lock + sync layer. Resolve PS is a real database server.
Postlab: Hosted, Multi-NLE, Remote-Friendly
Postlab is the path of least resistance for almost any team that isn't all-Resolve in one room. The pricing is $15 to $30 per seat per month depending on tier. For a 5-person team you're looking at roughly $1,200/year on the entry tier.
What you get for that:
- Project file version history (so you can revert when an editor breaks something)
- Project locking (so two editors don't open the same project and clobber each other)
- Cross-NLE support (Premiere, FCP, Resolve all work)
- Cloud-hosted, so remote and distributed teams just work
- Postlab Drive (an add-on) bundles cloud media too, competing with LucidLink at a similar price point
Postlab Drive is worth its own consideration. If your team is remote and you also need a shared media layer, Postlab Drive lets you put media in the cloud with streaming behavior similar to LucidLink. It costs more (the bundle isn't cheap) but it's one bill instead of two and the integration with Postlab project sync is genuinely tight.
The downside is the recurring cost. For a 10-person team using Postlab + Drive, you're easily spending $5,000+/year. That's real money but it's also real value if your team is distributed.
Resolve Project Server: Free, Powerful, You Host It
Resolve Project Server is what Blackmagic ships for free with Resolve Studio. It's a PostgreSQL database that you install on a Mac mini, a Linux box, or any reasonably permanent machine on your network. You point Resolve at the database, and multiple editors can now open the same project library concurrently.
The cost is zero. The catch is that you are now in the database administration business.
You need:
- A machine that's always on (Mac mini works, Linux NUC works, any server works)
- PostgreSQL installed and configured
- Network reachability between editors and the server
- A backup strategy (PostgreSQL dumps, ideally automated)
- Someone willing to deal with it when something goes wrong
For a Resolve-only colorist team in one room with a competent IT person (or a TD who knows their way around PostgreSQL), this is genuinely free and powerful. The database handles concurrent access elegantly. Multiple colorists can be in the same project working on different reels.
For a team that doesn't have someone comfortable running a database server, this is a slow-moving disaster. The day you need to recover from a corrupted database without a recent backup is the day you wish you'd paid for Postlab.
Resolve Cloud (the Third Option)
Worth mentioning: Blackmagic also offers Resolve Cloud, which is essentially a hosted version of Resolve Project Server that they run for you. It costs roughly $5/user/month and removes the self-hosting burden. If you're a Resolve-only team and don't want to run PostgreSQL yourself, Resolve Cloud is the middle ground between free PS and paid Postlab.
It doesn't include media (you still bring your own cloud storage), but it handles the project database hosting and is significantly cheaper than Postlab if all you need is project sync.
Which to Pick by Shop
All-Resolve, one location, IT-comfortable: Resolve Project Server. Free is hard to beat when you have someone who can run it.
All-Resolve, distributed or no IT: Resolve Cloud. Cheaper than Postlab, no hosting burden.
Mixed NLE shop (Premiere + FCP + Resolve): Postlab. It's the only one that supports all three.
Distributed team needing media + project sync: Postlab + Postlab Drive. The bundle simplifies the bill.
Two-person freelance pair, occasional handoffs: Honestly, neither. A shared Dropbox folder with a discipline of "tell each other before opening" is enough. Postlab and Resolve PS are designed for teams big enough that informal coordination breaks.
What This Doesn't Solve
Project sync solves the "we both opened the project" problem. It doesn't solve the "our shared drive is full of media nobody's using" problem.
Most shared editing setups, regardless of which project sync tool you pick, are sitting on 30 to 60 percent unused source media. This is media that got imported into a project, considered, and never placed on a timeline. It's eating your shared storage budget whether you sync projects with Postlab or Resolve PS or pieces of paper.
Clip Sweeper reads Premiere project files (Resolve support is on the roadmap) and tells you what's actually used on a timeline versus what was imported and forgotten. For shared-storage setups it can save real money by trimming the active project size before you scale your storage further.
The calculator can help model the storage side of a Postlab Drive vs LucidLink decision if you're sizing a remote workflow.
Pick the project sync tool that matches your NLE situation, then audit what's actually on disk separately. They're two different problems.