PlumePack vs Clip Sweeper
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.
Side-by-side comparison
The PlumePack column records its May 2026 v3.1.1 listing; check the vendor for current pricing and compatibility. The Clip Sweeper column reflects the release facts checked on 24 September 2026.
| 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 14+ (Windows not available) |
| 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; HEVC transcoding is a separate operation |
| Transcode output formats | H.264, ProRes (422, LT, HQ, 4444), Cineform 10/12-bit | HEVC via Transcode & Replace |
| 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 | Scanning, previewing and staging free with no time limit |
| Paid tiers | $79 (PRO, 2 TB cap) · $199 (Unlimited) | One-time unlock, no project size limit |
| License model | One license = two computers, not used simultaneously | Perpetual unlock; direct-download license or Mac App Store purchase |
| Distribution | autokroma.com download + license key | Signed, Apple-notarized direct download or Mac App Store |
| // Compatibility and scope | ||
| Other NLEs | Premiere only — no announced plans | DaVinci Resolve metadata CSV import ships; Final Cut Pro and Avid do not |
| Other platforms | Windows + Mac shipping today | Mac shipping today; Windows not available |
| Trim & transcode | Shipping today as the core engine | HEVC Transcode & Replace ships; no lossless-trim engine |
Sources: autokroma.com/PlumePack (verified May 8, 2026) and the Clip Sweeper press kit (facts checked September 24, 2026).
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.
Common questions
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 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 offers HEVC Transcode & Replace to reduce file size, but not lossless trimming or a newly consolidated project.
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.
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 unlock with no project size cap.
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