Haystack vs Kontino
Kontino keeps your continuity on a phone. Haystack puts costume and Hair & Make-up on one wall - web and mobile, fully offline, with no caps on projects, items, image uploads or users.
The short version: Kontino is a tidy, affordable way to capture continuity sheets on your phone - and if that's all you need, it's good at it. But a film department isn't one person with a phone. Haystack gives costume and Hair & Make-up a shared web-and-mobile wall, true offline capture, and the bits that live before and after the shot - script import, NFC tags, boxes and wrap - with no caps on users, uploads or items to bump into mid-shoot.
Where we're better, we'll show you. Where Kontino has the edge, we say so further down.
| Funzionalità | Haystack | Kontino |
|---|---|---|
| APlatform & access | ||
| Web app | Full web app | Mobile onlyiOS & Android, no browser app |
| iOS & Android apps | Native iOS & Android | Native iOS & Android |
| Works fully offline (capture & edit) | Capture & edit offlineauto-syncs | Works offlinemanual or auto sync |
| BDepartments & workflow | ||
| Departments covered | Costume + Hair & Make-upin depth | Five departmentsArt, Hair, Make-up, Props, Wardrobe |
| Department-native language | Changes/Looks, Garments/Products | Generic sheetsacross departments |
| Principals vs crowd/background | Modelled separatelyprincipals and crowd | Cast linkingno crowd model |
| Episodic & multi-block support | Episodes, acts, story days | Scenes, episodes, acts, story days |
| COn-set continuity | ||
| Continuity stills with featured frame | Unlimited stillsper scene | Capped by tier3-15 shots per sheet |
| Wear notes & prep notes | Wear + prep notesper scene & department | Notes on sheets |
| Pin & annotate details on photos | Pinned asset noteson images | Not documented |
| Real-time multi-user sync | Live, multi-user wall | Cloud syncupload / download |
| DBefore & after the shot | ||
| Script import (PDF & FDX) | PDF & FDXextracts scenes + characters | Manual entry |
| Revision re-import with change control | Field-level change control | |
| NFC tagging (garments & boxes) | Tap to findgarments & boxes | |
| Boxes, storage & wrap | Built inboxes, storage & wrap | |
| Reports & exports | Garment / product reports | Polished PDF exportscustomisable |
| ELimits, pricing & trust | ||
| Project / item / image limits | No capsitems, uploads & storage | Caps per tieritems/category, shots/sheet, 250MB-400GB |
| Users per project | Unlimited users | 1-4 devicesby tier |
| Pricing model | Per productionby budget band & duration | Annual tiers$0-$229/yr |
| Free trial (no card) | Free trialno card | Free tier1 project, 20 items |
| Data, security & support | UK GDPR + SLAencryption, 99% uptime, human support | AES-256 encryption |
Competitor details reflect publicly available information at the time of writing and may change - check Kontino's current site before relying on any single row.
The three things we hear most from departments that made the switch.
Kontino lives on iOS and Android, and caps how many devices share a project. Haystack runs on the web too, with unlimited users, so the designer, supervisor and trainee see the same wall on whatever they've got open - no "can you AirDrop me that?".
No limits on projects, items, photo uploads or the people on the wall. Add the 401st garment - or the fifth person - in week six without an upgrade prompt.
Changes and Looks, garments and products, NFC tags, boxes and wrap - the costume and H&MU workflow, not a generic image grid.
One wall, every screen
Kontino is mobile-only, and limits a project to between one and four devices by tier - great for the person holding the phone, harder for everyone else. Haystack gives the whole department a web app and native mobile apps off the same live data, with no cap on users, so the fitting captured on set is on the supervisor's laptop before the next setup.
Built for the truck
Kontino captures sheets across any department, which means none of them get the depth. Haystack speaks costume and Hair & Make-up natively: Changes and Looks reused across scenes, garments and products with real attributes, principals kept apart from crowd, and the wear notes that break a shot pinned right beside the look.
Tag it, box it, wrap it
When the shoot's done, Kontino's job is over. Haystack keeps going: NFC-tag garments and boxes so a tap finds them, import the shooting script to seed scenes and characters, and run the department all the way to wrap and inventory - no second tool, no spreadsheet handover.
We'd rather you pick the right tool than the one we sell. Kontino is a genuinely good fit for some teams.
“Haystack is going great, my team are finding it super easy to use!”
Step 01
No card. Pick your departments and you've got a wall in under five minutes.
Step 02
Import the script PDF or add a scene by hand, drop in its looks, and pin a few stills. Export your sheets from Kontino as PDF and we'll help you bring the photos over.
Step 03
Send the team a link. They're on the same wall - web or mobile - in minutes, with the right edit permissions and no per-seat limit.
The questions we hear most, torn straight from the notebook.
Yes - especially for costume and Hair & Make-up departments who need a shared web-and-mobile wall, true offline capture, and no caps on users, items or shots. If you only need a solo phone app across many departments, Kontino may be enough.
There's no one-click importer, but you can export your sheets and photos from Kontino and we'll help you bring scenes, characters and stills across - most teams start with one live scene and build out.
Yes, and on more screens. Both capture offline; Haystack also edits offline on web and mobile and syncs the moment you're back on a network.
Costume and Hair & Make-up, in real depth - Changes/Looks, Garments/Products, boxes and wrap. We don't try to cover Art, Props and Set Dec the way Kontino does; we go deep on two rather than wide on five.
Kontino charges fixed annual tiers, with caps on devices, items and storage at each one. Haystack is priced per production by budget band and duration, with unlimited users and uploads, so a small shoot pays small. Both have a free way to start - ours is a free trial with no card.
Yes to both. Import a shooting script (PDF or FDX) to seed scenes and characters, and NFC-tag garments and boxes so a tap finds them - neither is in Kontino.
Web + iOS + Android · Fully offline · UK GDPR
Bring one real scene and a stack of looks. In minutes you'll see why costume and Hair & Make-up teams trade the phone-only sheet for the wall.