Alternatives
CloudSpot Alternative: One Flat Plan Instead of a Gigabyte Ladder
What CloudSpot's free tier actually hands your client, where its storage meter starts to bite, who should stay on it, and what changes on a flat 10 $/month plan.
Updated September 2026
CloudSpot is a capable delivery platform with a genuinely generous free tier, and a lot of photographers start there. Three things tend to send people looking for an alternative: what the free tier lets a client actually download, the gigabyte ladder on the paid tiers, and a Lightroom plugin that only runs in one direction.
This is the honest version. It says what CloudSpot does well, prints its regular prices next to what each tier delivers, and explains where clientgallery.io fits: one flat 10 $/month or 100 $/year, unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use, no platform branding, your own subdomain, and a Lightroom Classic plugin that brings the client's picks back into the catalog. It also names, in its own section, the studio that should stay on CloudSpot.
Every CloudSpot figure below comes from CloudSpot's own pricing page or help center, fetched on 3 September 2026, and is listed under Sources at the end.
What CloudSpot does well
Start with what you would be giving up.
- A free plan that is actually free. The pricing page lists it as "Free $0/mo forever", with 5 GB of storage. That is not a trial with a clock on it.
- A real store. CloudSpot sells through the gallery, and its commission drops to zero from the Lite plan up. If print and digital sales are a line in your business, that store is a product, not a checkbox.
- Invoicing inside the same login. CloudSpot's Studio Manager side handles client invoicing, at a 2.5 percent processing fee on the Lite, Pro and Unlimited plans. One vendor for delivery and for getting paid is a legitimate reason to stay.
- A storage ceiling that goes all the way up. The Unlimited plan carries unlimited storage at 50 $/month, so a studio with an enormous archive has somewhere to land.
- Expiry that hides rather than deletes. The help center is explicit: when a gallery expires, it "continues to exist on your account, but is no longer accessible to your client". Your files are not destroyed when the client's link goes dark.
What the free tier actually hands your client
This is the fact most people meet by accident, usually after a client asks why the file will not print. On the CloudSpot free plan, the download size is capped. The help center states that "the only available download size in your Galleries will be Social Media Sized (2048px on the long edge)", and the free-plan article repeats it: "Image downloads are limited to 2048px (social media size) on the longest edge".
The same free-plan article adds that "All direct download links expire after 7 days". So on the free tier a client gets a social-media file, and the link they were sent stops working a week later.
Be clear about the scope of that. This is a free-tier rule, not a CloudSpot-wide rule. The Entry plan and every tier above it unlock full-resolution downloads. Anyone who tells you CloudSpot does not deliver full-resolution files is selling you something. The honest version is narrower and more useful: CloudSpot's free tier is a shop window, and the moment you want your client to hold the actual photograph, you are on the paid ladder.
The paid ladder, and where it meters you
Paid CloudSpot is priced by gigabytes. Regular monthly prices are Entry 7 $, Lite 17 $, Pro 34 $ and Unlimited 50 $, with 15 GB, 100 GB, 500 GB and unlimited storage. Annual pricing is published for the two cheapest plans only: the help center gives "Entry Plan: $7/month or $72/year" and "Lite Plan: $17/month or $144/year". No annual figure is published for Pro or Unlimited, so this page does not print one.
One note on the advertised entry price. CloudSpot currently runs a promotion showing 3 $ a month for the first three months. Every price on this page is the regular price, because the regular price is the one you pay in month four.
Commission runs on a second ladder. It is 15 percent on Free and on Entry, and Lite, Pro and Unlimited are commission-free. So the cheapest paid plan, the 7 $ one, is also the one that takes a cut of your sales. To sell without a commission you start at 17 $ a month.
The structural problem with a gigabyte meter is not the price of any single tier. It is that delivered work never stops accumulating. Every wedding you shot two years ago is still sitting in the number that decides your bill, so the bill tracks the size of your archive rather than the size of your business.
CloudSpot tiers against one flat plan
Prices as published by CloudSpot on 3 September 2026, promotional pricing excluded. "Not published" means CloudSpot does not publish the figure.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Storage | What a client can download | Store commission | Gallery expiry | Lightroom direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CloudSpot Free | 0 $ | 0 $ | 5 GB | Social media size only, 2048px on the long edge; direct download links expire after 7 days | 15% | Expired galleries stay on the account, not reachable by the client | Out of Lightroom only |
| CloudSpot Entry | 7 $/month | 72 $/year | 15 GB | Full resolution | 15% | Same | Out of Lightroom only |
| CloudSpot Lite | 17 $/month | 144 $/year | 100 GB | Full resolution | None, plus a 2.5% processing fee on Studio Manager invoicing | Same | Out of Lightroom only |
| CloudSpot Pro | 34 $/month | Not published | 500 GB | Full resolution | None, plus a 2.5% processing fee on Studio Manager invoicing | Same | Out of Lightroom only |
| CloudSpot Unlimited | 50 $/month | Not published | Unlimited | Full resolution | None, plus a 2.5% processing fee on Studio Manager invoicing | Same | Out of Lightroom only |
| clientgallery.io | 10 $/month | 100 $/year (8.33 $/month) | Unlimited under fair use: 1,000 photos per gallery, 250 GB of proofs per paid account (hundreds of thousands of photos), 5 GB on free accounts. JPEG only | Whole gallery in one click, or any single image. Full-resolution delivery is a paid ZIP per gallery, live 3 days per handoff, re-uploadable any time, 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account | No store, so no commission on anything | Hosted galleries never expire | Both directions |
The last row has nothing above it. There is no tier to climb into when the archive grows, and the fair-use figures are printed in the row rather than sold as an upgrade.
The Lightroom loop, and why direction matters
CloudSpot ships a Lightroom plugin. Its help center describes what it does: it publishes collections and images from Lightroom to CloudSpot, and uploads made directly in CloudSpot do not appear back in Lightroom. That is a one-way road. Photos go out of the catalog, and nothing comes back into it.
The clientgallery.io plugin for Lightroom Classic runs in both directions. You publish proofs from the catalog, the client makes their selection in the gallery, and the picks come back into Lightroom as ratings, flags, colour labels and a collection. The retouching list arrives where you edit, instead of as a set of filenames you retype or paste into a filter.
If you shoot volume and cull inside Lightroom, this is the difference between a delivery tool and a workflow tool. The mechanics are in the Lightroom client gallery workflow guide.
What the flat plan includes
clientgallery.io is one plan: 10 $/month, or 100 $/year, which works out to 8.33 $/month. There is nothing above it and nothing behind an add-on.
- Unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use. No storage tiers, no per-gallery fees, no commissions. The figures behind the phrase: uploaded photos are browser-compressed proof JPEGs of about 0.6 MB each, hosted for as long as the account exists, with ceilings of 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account, which is hundreds of thousands of photos. Free accounts hold 5 GB.
- Full-resolution delivery, per gallery. You upload a full-resolution ZIP for a gallery. It stays live for 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded any time, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account.
- No platform branding anywhere on client-facing pages, at any price. Galleries live on your studio's own subdomain.
- Face Search included, so a guest at a wedding or an event can find their own photos in a large gallery.
- Sub-galleries, or folders, inside a gallery, for a wedding split into ceremony, portraits and reception.
- Clients download the whole gallery in one click, or any single image. Hosted galleries never expire.
The trade that keeps the price flat: clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs. It does not warehouse RAW files or master video. That is the whole reason there is no gigabyte ladder to climb.
Who should stay on CloudSpot
A flat delivery plan is the wrong answer for a specific and perfectly common kind of studio, and this is that studio.
If you want a print and digital storefront and a client invoicing system inside the same product, stay on CloudSpot. clientgallery.io ships neither, deliberately. There is no store, so there is no commission to compare against CloudSpot's zero percent on Lite and above, and there is no invoicing, so there is nothing to compare against its 2.5 percent processing fee on Studio Manager. Those are not features we are behind on and plan to catch up on. They are features we chose not to build, because a store and a billing system are what turn a flat price into a tiered one. A studio whose gallery is also its shop counter would be downgrading, not switching.
Two narrower reasons to stay:
- You need RAW or master video in the same place as your delivery. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs only. CloudSpot's Unlimited plan sells unlimited storage at 50 $/month.
- You want galleries to go dark on a date. CloudSpot expires galleries and keeps the files on your account. Hosted clientgallery.io galleries do not expire, which is the opposite of what you want if timed expiry is how you drive print orders.
If none of that is you, and what you do is hand finished JPEGs to clients under your own name, then the gigabyte ladder and the commission ladder are the only things you are paying for. A flat plan replaces both.
Sources
Every CloudSpot number, quote and policy on this page was read on the pages below on 3 September 2026. Prices are the regular published prices; the promotional 3 $ a month for the first three months is noted in the text and used nowhere in the table.
- CloudSpot pricing (plan prices, storage, commission, processing fee), fetched 3 September 2026, https://cloudspot.io/pricing
- CloudSpot help: What are the different CloudSpot subscription plans and how do they compare (annual prices), fetched 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/13287496-what-are-the-different-cloudspot-subscription-plans-and-how-do-they-compare
- CloudSpot help: Gallery download settings (the free-plan download size), fetched 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/114565-gallery-download-settings
- CloudSpot help: Free plan features (2048px cap, 7-day download links), fetched 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/1090678-free-plan-features
- CloudSpot help: How to expire a gallery, fetched 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/9106306-how-to-expire-a-gallery
- CloudSpot help: How does the Lightroom plugin work, fetched 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/114552-how-does-the-lightroom-plugin-work
- clientgallery.io pricing and fair-use figures (verified in the product the same day), fetched 3 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Is clientgallery.io a good CloudSpot alternative?
Yes, if what you do is deliver finished JPEG galleries and you do not sell prints or invoice clients through your gallery platform. It is one flat 10 $/month or 100 $/year: unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use, no platform branding, your own subdomain, a two-way Lightroom Classic plugin, and hosted galleries that never expire.
Does CloudSpot's free plan give clients full-resolution photos?
No. CloudSpot's help center states that on the free plan 'the only available download size in your Galleries will be Social Media Sized (2048px on the long edge)', and that all direct download links expire after 7 days. This is a free-tier rule only. The Entry plan at 7 $ a month and every tier above it unlock full-resolution downloads.
How much does CloudSpot cost?
Regular monthly prices are Entry 7 $, Lite 17 $, Pro 34 $ and Unlimited 50 $, with 15 GB, 100 GB, 500 GB and unlimited storage. CloudSpot publishes annual pricing for the two cheapest plans only, at 72 $ a year for Entry and 144 $ a year for Lite. A promotion currently advertises 3 $ a month for the first three months, so the entry price you see advertised is promotional.
Does CloudSpot take a commission on sales?
It takes 15 percent on the Free and Entry plans. Lite, Pro and Unlimited are commission-free, with a 2.5 percent processing fee on Studio Manager invoicing. So the cheapest paid plan is also the one that takes a cut, and commission-free selling starts at 17 $ a month.
What happens to a CloudSpot gallery when it expires?
CloudSpot's help center says that when a gallery expires, it 'continues to exist on your account, but is no longer accessible to your client'. The files stay with you, the client's access ends. Hosted clientgallery.io galleries do not expire at all.
Does the CloudSpot Lightroom plugin bring client picks back into my catalog?
No. CloudSpot's help center describes the plugin as publishing collections and images from Lightroom to CloudSpot, and states that uploads made directly in CloudSpot do not appear back in Lightroom. The clientgallery.io plugin for Lightroom Classic runs both ways: you publish proofs from the catalog and the client's picks come back in as ratings, flags, colour labels and a collection.
Does clientgallery.io store RAW files or video?
No. It hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video, which is what keeps the plan at a flat 10 $/month with no storage tiers. If you need RAW or master video in the same product as your delivery, stay on a metered platform.
Your client galleries, under your name
Unlimited galleries, your branding, one-click Pixieset import, and a Lightroom plugin — a flat 10 $/month, everything included. Your first gallery is free.
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