Photographers weigh up SmugMug when selling is locked to a higher plan, when RAW storage is billed as an add-on, or when they want a vendor unconnected to Flickr. Some want a gallery priced by storage, others a site builder, a self-hosted library or a European host.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderShort answer: Picdrop, Piwigo and Pixpa head the list of SmugMug alternatives drawn from our photo gallery software ranking. Smaller vendors fill the top three places where the category offers them, and the household names start at place 4. Picdrop is the one to try if you only need proofing and delivery from a German host. Each of the 11 alternatives sits in Best Photo Gallery and Sharing Software in 2026 and is described against SmugMug.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
The plans page lists Direct at 20 dollars a month, Portfolio at 23.50 and Pro at 37, billed annually. Selling prints and downloads begins at Portfolio, and multiple pricelists and coupons arrive at Pro. A photographer who wants client checkout pays above the entry price.
Every plan carries unlimited JPEG storage, but RAW files are an add-on: 10 dollars a month for up to 1 TB, then 6 dollars per further terabyte. For a shooter who delivers originals, the real bill is the plan plus that line.
No free plan is listed, only a 14-day trial, and Enterprise shows no price. The footer names SmugMug, Inc. but gives no headquarters on the home page, and the terms link Flickr as part of the same group. Anyone who prefers separate vendors should read that group relationship first.
| Alternative | Headquarters | Free option | Pricing model | Switch if | Our rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picdrop | Germany | Yes | Published | you only need proofing and delivery from a German host | #1 |
| Piwigo | France | No free tier | Published | you want to keep the option of leaving with your files and hosting yourself | #3 |
| Pixpa | India | No free tier | Published | your website matters more than archive size and you want zero sales commission | #7 |
| ShootProof | United States | Yes | Published | you want one rule for price: pay for the size of your archive | #5 |
| Pixieset | Canada | Yes | Published | you want to test the whole workflow on a free plan first | #4 |
| Pic-Time | Israel | Yes | Published | print sales through the gallery are your main income | #2 |
| Zenfolio | United States | No free tier | Published | you want a similar website-plus-gallery bundle with clear tiers by size | #6 |
| Ente | United States | Yes | Published | you store personal archives and prefer open source apps | #14 |
| Immich | United States | Yes | Published | you run your own server and need a private photo backup | #13 |
| PhotoShelter | United States | No free tier | On request | a brand or agency team shares one library with many reviewers | #9 |
| Flickr | United States | No free tier | See profile | you want to show work to a public audience and accept the same parent company | #11 |
Germany · Published
PicDrop GmbH in Berlin hosts on German servers and prices by storage and team seats. The free tier holds three galleries and 1 GB, Pro 500 GB, Advanced 1 TB with four members, Business 3 TB with nine. A 14-day Advanced trial needs no card. No website builder or print store is listed.
Switch from SmugMug if you only need proofing and delivery from a German host.
Why Picdrop is #1 among 14 photo gallery software products →
France · Published
Piwigo runs from one open source codebase, GPL v2, either on your server or on hosted plans from PigoLabs SAS in France. Hosted tiers go from 10 GB with one administrator to 1000 GB with unlimited administrators, and a 30-day trial applies. The operator says it returns all files and data free of charge. No print store is listed.
Switch from SmugMug if you want to keep the option of leaving with your files and hosting yourself.
India · Published
Pixpa builds the portfolio site first and attaches private client albums, favourites-and-comments proofing and a store. It charges no commission on any plan, though Stripe or PayPal fees remain. Client originals are capped at 3 GB on Basic, 5 GB on Creator, 25 GB on Professional and 100 GB on Advanced. A 15-day trial applies.
Switch from SmugMug if your website matters more than archive size and you want zero sales commission.
Where Pixpa stands: place 7 of 14 in the photo gallery software ranking →
United States · Published
ShootProof says the paid photo plans differ only in storage: Starter 20 GB, Standard 100 GB, Professional 1,000 GB plus 50 GB video, Premium unlimited. Sales are commission-free everywhere and contracts and invoicing come from Starter. The free plan holds 100 photos. ShootProof Pay is for US residents.
Switch from SmugMug if you want one rule for price: pay for the size of your archive.
Full verdict on ShootProof, which sits at number 5 of 14 for photo gallery software →
Canada · Published
Pixieset, from Vancouver, combines galleries, website, store and studio manager in one login. The free plan has 3 GB and a 15 percent fee on store sales, while paid plans sell commission-free. Storage rises from 10 GB on Basic to unlimited on Ultimate, with RAW uploads from Pro. Studio Manager has its own plans page.
Switch from SmugMug if you want to test the whole workflow on a free plan first.
Our photo gallery software guide puts Pixieset at 4 of 14; read why →
Israel · Published
Pic-Time Ltd. in Israel runs galleries with a print store and takes commission only on the photographer's markup. Self-collected payments are commission-free on Professional and Advanced. Free gives 10 GB, shrinking after a period; paid tiers give 20 GB, 100 GB and unlimited. Data servers sit in the EU, US and Australia.
Switch from SmugMug if print sales through the gallery are your main income.
Pic-Time review, listed at 2 of 14 photo gallery software products →
United States · Published
Zenfolio sells a photographer website in three tiers: 15 GB, 150 GB and unlimited JPEG storage. Selling carries a 7 percent fee on order subtotals plus per-file download charges. Subscriptions auto-renew and terms exclude refunds on cancellation. Its EU page lists euro prices that differ from the dollar figures in the FAQ.
Switch from SmugMug if you want a similar website-plus-gallery bundle with clear tiers by size.
Where Zenfolio stands: place 6 of 14 in the photo gallery software ranking →
United States · Published
Ente Technologies, Inc. sells photo storage from a free 10 GB up to 2 TB. Its apps are open source under AGPL-3.0 and the server can be run by you. Pages quote dollar prices while its data lists euros. It is a library for your own photos, not a client sales front.
Switch from SmugMug if you store personal archives and prefer open source apps.
United States · Published
Immich is AGPL v3 software listed under FUTO of Austin, Texas. You run it with Docker on a server of at least 6GB RAM and 2 CPU cores and back up phones via Android and iOS apps. It groups faces, serves a personal or family library, and offers no gallery sales.
Switch from SmugMug if you run your own server and need a private photo backup.
Why Immich is #13 among 14 photo gallery software products →
United States · On request
PhotoShelter sells five tiers by library seats and terabytes, from 2 seats and 1 TB to custom, with unlimited invited users. Amounts do not appear and the page lists no trial, so a demo comes first. Integrations rise from none on Starter to unlimited on Premium. It targets teams with many contributors.
Switch from SmugMug if a brand or agency team shares one library with many reviewers.
#9 out of 14 photo gallery software products: read the PhotoShelter review →
United States · See profile
Flickr is a community for public sharing, and its Pro plan adds uncapped full-resolution uploads, ad-free viewing for you and your visitors, and statistics. It renews automatically and is non-refundable. Flickr, Inc. is owned by SmugMug, Inc., so leaving SmugMug for Flickr keeps you with one owner.
Switch from SmugMug if you want to show work to a public audience and accept the same parent company.
Our photo gallery software guide puts Flickr at 11 of 14; read why →
Picdrop: Servers sit in Germany, and a free plan holds three galleries and 1 GB.
Piwigo: The code is GPL v2 and the hosted operator says it returns all files and data free of charge.
Pixpa: No commission on any plan, with client originals capped from 3 GB to 100 GB.
ShootProof: The vendor states that paid plans differ only in storage, and sales are commission-free.
Pic-Time: Commission applies only to your markup, and self-collected payments are commission-free on Professional and Advanced.
SmugMug stays the better pick when your archive is large and mostly JPEG, because every plan carries unlimited JPEG storage. Add the Lightroom, Flickr and Dropbox integrations on its plans page and the Portfolio plan's selling tools, and a working photographer may find nothing cheaper to replace it. Check how much RAW you hold before you decide.
Print pricelists, coupons and download settings are specific to SmugMug. Export your originals first, note each gallery's prices, and rebuild the sales rules by hand in the next tool.
Links you have sent to customers will stop working after cancellation. Keep the account until open orders close, tell clients the new address, and move any custom domain only after the new gallery is live.
The plans page shows Direct at 20 dollars a month, Portfolio at 23.50 and Pro at 37, each billed annually, with Enterprise on request. Currency was shown only as a dollar sign.
None is listed. The page offers a 14-day trial, so a free start means another tool: Picdrop, Pixieset, Pic-Time, ShootProof and Ente each list a free plan.
JPEG storage is unlimited on all plans, and RAW is an add-on at 10 dollars a month up to 1 TB, then 6 dollars a month for each extra terabyte.
Pixpa and ShootProof state commission-free sales, and Pixieset's paid plans do too. Zenfolio charges 7 percent on orders, and Pixieset's free plan takes 15 percent.
Piwigo's code runs on your own server under GPL v2, and Immich and Ente offer self-hosted AGPL options. Immich and Ente are personal libraries, not client sales tools.
Flickr's terms state that Flickr, Inc. is owned by SmugMug, Inc. The SmugMug terms link Flickr as part of the same group.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Checked and edited by Sebastiaan Smits, last on 7 November 2026. The editorial process explains the method.
