// comparison · updated may 8, 2026

PlumePack vs Clip Sweeper

Q: Is Clip Sweeper a PlumePack alternative?

Not exactly — they solve different jobs. PlumePack consolidates one Premiere project for archive or handoff with lossless trimming. Clip Sweeper audits your entire drive and shows which media is unused across every project, so you can reclaim space without per-project bundling. Many editors use both: PlumePack for delivery handoffs, Clip Sweeper for ongoing drive hygiene.

Q: I hit PlumePack's 60GB free tier. What now?

PlumePack's free tier caps at 60GB per project, which most modern projects exceed quickly. If you need to consolidate one project for delivery, the $79 PRO tier is the fix. If your actual problem is a full drive across many projects, Clip Sweeper is the better tool — it audits the whole drive in one pass and is a one-time App Store purchase with no project size limit.

Both tools live in the same neighborhood — Premiere Pro, full drives, editors who want their storage back. They are not the same tool. PlumePack consolidates one project for archive or delivery. Clip Sweeper audits your whole drive to show what is safe to delete. This page is an honest, side-by-side view so you can pick the right one for the job in front of you, or use both.

PlumePack

Bundles one finished project

Premiere extension that produces a new project + folder containing only the media you used, with lossless trimming for ProRes, BRAW, R3D, H.264/265, DNxHD, and more. Built for archive and handoff.

Clip Sweeper

Audits the whole drive

Standalone Mac app that scans every Premiere project on a drive at once, cross-references linked After Effects comps, and flags only the media no timeline anywhere depends on. Built for ongoing cleanup.

Side-by-side comparison

The table below is current as of May 2026 based on the public PlumePack v3.1.1 listing and the Clip Sweeper Mac App Store release. Everything in italics reflects roadmap items rather than shipping features.

	PlumePack	Clip Sweeper
// Job to be done
Primary use case	Bundle one project for archive, delivery, or handoff	Decide what is safe to delete across all projects on a drive
Scope of analysis	One project at a time	Library-wide / multi-project
Output	New consolidated project + folder (additive)	List of unused media + safe-delete workflow (subtractive, three safety gates)
App type	Premiere Pro extension panel	Standalone Mac app
Premiere required to run?	Yes — must be installed and working	No — reads .prproj directly
Operating system	Windows 10/11 + macOS 12-26	macOS 13+ (Windows on roadmap)
Premiere version range	Premiere 23.0 (2023) through 26.x (2026)	Premiere CC 2017 and later
Sees other projects on the drive	No — by design, single-project	Yes — indexes every .prproj on the drive before flagging
After Effects comp awareness	Copies AE assets when consolidating	Refuses to delete media used in any linked AE comp
Pre-delete safeguards	N/A — additive workflow, originals untouched	Virtual Recycle Bin, cross-project check, explicit user confirm (three gates)
Risk profile	Low — original files are never modified	Higher in theory, mitigated by the three gates above; user keeps the final decision
Lossless trim engine	Yes — ProRes, BRAW, R3D, H.264/265, DNxHD, ARRIRAW, image sequences, more	No (Transcode & Shrink on roadmap)
Transcode output formats	H.264, ProRes (422, LT, HQ, 4444), Cineform 10/12-bit	Not today
Batch / multi-project processing	Queue (Unlimited tier only) — process multiple projects in series	Native — scans every project on the drive in a single pass
Free tier	Projects under 60 GB only	Free trial via App Store policies
Paid tiers	$79 (PRO, 2 TB cap) · $199 (Unlimited)	One-time App Store purchase, no project size limit
License model	One license = two computers, not used simultaneously	Apple ID — works across your devices per App Store policy
Distribution	autokroma.com download + license key	Mac App Store (sandboxed, Apple-reviewed)
// Roadmap
Other NLEs	Premiere only — no announced plans	DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Avid in v2 (not yet shipped)
Other platforms	Windows + Mac shipping today	Mac shipping today; Windows in development
Trim & transcode	Shipping today as the core engine	Transcode & Shrink in design — not aimed at competing on lossless trim

Sources: autokroma.com/PlumePack (verified May 8, 2026) and the public Clip Sweeper App Store listing. Roadmap items reflect public statements, not shipping behavior.

Which one is right for the job in front of you?

This is a workflow question, not a feature question. The decision tree below covers the three most common situations editors are in when they search for either tool.

// I just finished a project and want to archive it

→

PlumePack. One project, lossless trim with handles, new self-contained folder. This is exactly what their tool was built for, and it's good at it.

// My drive is full and I don't know which projects are safe to delete from

→

Clip Sweeper. The question is library-wide. PlumePack can't see across projects, so running it on each one in turn would still miss shared B-roll, reused stock plates, and recurring-client footage that is unused locally but load-bearing somewhere else.

// I want to deliver a project to a colorist or audio post house

→

PlumePack. Lossless trim with handles, new project pointing at the new folder, codec preserved. That is the delivery shape your handoff partner expects.

// I have a shared B-roll drive that's getting cleaned up

→

Clip Sweeper. Shared libraries are the canonical case for cross-project analysis. Single-project tools will mark library clips as unused — they are unused in any one project, and used by ten projects in aggregate. Run a drive-wide audit first. (See shared B-roll cleanup.)

// I just hit PlumePack's 60 GB free-tier limit

→

It depends on which problem you're actually solving. If you genuinely need to consolidate one project for delivery, the $79 PRO unlock is the right purchase. If your drive is the problem and you reached for PlumePack because it was the first tool that came up, Clip Sweeper is closer to the job — drive-wide audit, no per-project size cap, one-time App Store purchase.

Common questions

Is Clip Sweeper a PlumePack alternative?

Not exactly. They solve different jobs. PlumePack consolidates one Premiere project for archive or handoff with lossless trimming. Clip Sweeper audits your entire drive and shows which media is unused across every project, so you can reclaim space without per-project bundling. Many editors use both.

What does PlumePack do that Clip Sweeper doesn't?

PlumePack runs as a Premiere extension and supports lossless trimming across ProRes, BRAW, R3D, H.264/265, DNxHD, ARRIRAW, and image sequences. It outputs a new consolidated project plus folder. Clip Sweeper does not trim or transcode media today. Transcode and Shrink is on the v2 roadmap.

What does Clip Sweeper do that PlumePack doesn't?

Clip Sweeper analyzes every Premiere project on your drive at once and only flags media that no timeline anywhere references. It also checks linked After Effects compositions before flagging. PlumePack works on a single project at a time, so it cannot tell you whether a clip is reused in another project on the same drive. That cross-project view is the core gap Clip Sweeper closes. More on the cross-project problem.

I hit PlumePack's 60 GB free tier. What now?

PlumePack's free tier caps at 60 GB per project, which most modern projects exceed quickly. If you need to consolidate one project for delivery, the $79 PRO tier is the fix. If your actual problem is a full drive across many projects, Clip Sweeper is the closer fit — it audits the whole drive in one pass and is a one-time App Store purchase with no project size cap.

Does Clip Sweeper require Premiere Pro to be installed?

No. Clip Sweeper reads .prproj files directly. PlumePack runs as a Premiere extension panel and requires Premiere to be installed and working. This matters if you've offloaded a project drive to a machine without your Adobe license, or if your Premiere install is broken.

The actual reclaim number is whatever's truly unused across your whole drive. See it before you buy more storage.

Clip Sweeper on the App Store