BacklotHub vs Croogloo
Croogloo distributes the show. BacklotHub runs the studio.
Croogloo does an excellent job centralizing distribution — call sheets, schedules, scripts, crew lists, production reports — with payroll-formatted timesheets and integrations into Box, Drive, Slack, Movie Magic. BacklotHub solves a different layer: the studio operations behind the shows.
Side by side
Feature
BacklotHub
Croogloo
Crew + employee database (with RBAC + 2FA)
Yes — central to the platform
Crew lists for distribution
Hard-drive indexing and transfer logistics
Yes
No
Bulk asset import (XLSX)
Yes
Excel integration for distribution
Expense / financial tracking
Built in, with Expensify integration
Payroll-formatted timesheets; not full expense tracking
Call sheet distribution
Not in scope
Their core strength
Production reports
Not in scope
Yes — auto-collated
Public marketplace for resources
Sprint 1 MVP — live
No
Movie Magic Scheduling integration
Not stated
Yes
Pricing
Pre-alpha; pricing TBD
Tiered pricing — see vendor
An honest note
"Croogloo and BacklotHub serve adjacent layers of the same studio. If your bottleneck is "I cannot get the call sheet to everyone reliably," Croogloo is the right answer. If your bottleneck is "I have no system for our crew, our drives, our expenses, or where to find a freelance gaffer next Tuesday" — that is BacklotHub."
Frequently asked
- Is BacklotHub a Croogloo alternative?
- They overlap on crew lists but solve different layers. Croogloo specializes in production distribution (call sheets, scripts, schedules). BacklotHub specializes in operations (crew DB with RBAC, drive logistics, expense tracking, marketplace). Many studios will use both.
- Does BacklotHub do call sheets like Croogloo does?
- Not currently. Call sheet distribution is not in BacklotHub's current scope. If your need is call-sheet-first, Croogloo or SetHero is the right tool.
- How does pricing compare?
- Croogloo offers tiered pricing — see their pricing page for current details. BacklotHub is pre-alpha; pricing for studios outside 10 Lives is TBD — talk to us if you are interested in early access.
Run the studio behind the shows.
BacklotHub is currently pre-alpha. Talk to us about onboarding your studio.