Alternatives
Smash Alternative for Photographers: When a Transfer Is Not Enough
Smash moves a set of files once, and then the link ages out. A client gallery can be the proofing page, the delivery page and the page the client comes back to a year later. Here is when each one is the right tool.
Updated 24 September 2026
Smash presents itself as a service for sending large files online, and it does that well. The free plan needs no payment. A password is available on free and paid plans. The recipient can preview JPEG and PNG files before downloading. For moving a big set of files from one person to another, it is a reasonable choice.
The question for a photographer is what happens after the transfer. Smash keeps a transfer available for 7 days by default. Paid plans can stretch that to 30 days. Then the transfer is deleted, and Smash states that an expired transfer cannot be recovered or reactivated. That is a clean design for a transfer. It is a poor fit for a client who comes back in month eight asking for the one frame they lost.
Every Smash fact below comes from Smash's own pricing page and help centre, fetched on 24 September 2026 and listed under Sources. Smash's pricing page did not render its Pro or Team prices, so the prices here are the ones Smash states in a help article updated on 3 March 2026. That article uses a dollar sign with "excl. VAT" and no currency code, so the amounts are reproduced as Smash writes them.
When Smash is enough
A transfer is often the right tool. Keep using Smash, or any transfer service, for these jobs.
- One-off handoffs to a colleague. A retoucher, a second shooter, a print lab or an editor needs the files once. Nobody in that exchange needs a page that lasts.
- RAW files and master video. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video. That restriction is what keeps its price flat, and it means those files travel some other way.
- Deliveries bigger than the ZIP allowance. Full-resolution ZIPs on clientgallery.io share 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account. A single delivery larger than that does not fit, and a transfer service is the practical route.
- A client who only wants the files. A commercial client who pulls the set into their own system on day one and never looks again is served by a transfer with a password.
- Occasional sending at no cost. Smash Free costs nothing and needs no payment. On Free, transfers over 2 GB wait in a queue behind paid transfers.
A transfer against a gallery, row by row
The rows below cover the moment a finished shoot goes to a paying client, which is where the two tools overlap.
| In the delivery | Smash, as it documents itself | clientgallery.io |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A large-file transfer service, by its own description. | A client gallery for proofing and delivery of photos. |
| How long the link works | 7 days by default on every plan. Paid plans can set a transfer to up to 30 days. | The gallery of proofs stays up for as long as the account exists. Only the full-resolution ZIP is timed: 3 days per handoff, re-uploadable any time. |
| After expiry | The transfer is deleted automatically. Smash states it is not possible to recover or reactivate an expired transfer. | The gallery link keeps working. After a ZIP handoff ends, the studio can upload the ZIP for that gallery again at any time. |
| Password | On free and paid plans, at least 4 characters. | Per gallery, checked on the server before any photo is returned. |
| What the recipient sees before downloading | A preview of .jpeg, .jpg and .png files. RAW is not in Smash's list of previewable types. | A scrolling gallery of proofs sized for fast viewing, on the studio's own subdomain, with no platform branding. |
| Branded pages and address | The pricing page lists custom send, receive and download pages with your logo and background, and a custom subdomain (your-name.fromsmash.com). Team has multiple subdomains. Enterprise has a custom CNAME. | The studio's own subdomain and branding on the one plan. |
| The client's selection | Smash describes itself as a file transfer service and documents no selection step. | Two pick levels, like and love, sent back with a name and an email. The Lightroom Classic plugin pulls the picks into the catalog. |
| Knowing what happened | Sender notices when the upload finishes, when files are downloaded, and 2 days before expiry if nothing was downloaded. | A mark on each studio tile showing whether the client has opened the gallery, and the gallery marked as picks in when the selection arrives. |
| Largest single delivery | The pricing page says unlimited transfer size on Pro, Team and Enterprise. A help article updated 27 February 2026 says 250 GB per transfer on Pro and 1 TB on Team. The two official pages disagree. | 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account. Full-resolution ZIPs share 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account. |
| RAW files and video | Transfers files; RAW is not previewable. | Hosts JPEGs. Does not warehouse RAW files or master video. |
On the transfer size row, Smash's own pages do not agree, so this page quotes both and picks neither. If a single delivery near 250 GB matters to you, ask Smash which figure applies before you plan around it.
The expiry is the design, not a flaw
A transfer service deletes files on a schedule because that is its job. It moves data from A to B, and holding it afterwards is a cost it was never built to carry. Smash even warns the sender 2 days before expiry if nothing was downloaded, which is a thoughtful touch for exactly that model.
A photo delivery can have a second life that this model does not serve. A couple downloads on a phone, loses the files in a camera roll, and writes back after the anniversary. A parent wants the one frame for a grandparent. A company wants last spring's headshot for a new press release. With a transfer, each of those is a new upload and a new link, and only if you still have the files to hand.
A hosted gallery answers them with the link the client already has. The proofs stay up for as long as the account exists, so the client can find the frame and download it again. To be exact about our own clock: the full-resolution ZIP is timed. It stays live for 3 days per handoff, and the studio re-uploads it whenever the client asks. The difference is that the page, the selection and the link survive between handoffs. The gallery link that never expires answer covers what that promise depends on.
Prices, as Smash states them
Prices below are from Smash's help article updated 3 March 2026, not from the pricing page, which rendered no Pro or Team figures on 24 September 2026. Storage and users are from the pricing page and the storage help article.
| Plan | Price as Smash states it | Storage | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smash Free | $0.00, no payment required | No storage | Not stated |
| Smash Pro | $10 excl. VAT per month, $72 per year, $115.20 for 2 years | 1 TB | 1 user account |
| Smash Team | $25 excl. VAT per month, $180 per year, $288 for 2 years | 2 TB | 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 user accounts |
| Smash Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom | Unlimited users |
| clientgallery.io | $10 a month or $100 a year | 250 GB of proofs, plus 100 GB of standing full-resolution ZIPs | No seat model |
Read that honestly. Smash Pro billed yearly, at $72 as Smash states it, costs less than our $100 a year, before tax on either side. The two amounts buy different things. Smash Pro buys 1 TB of transfer storage for one user. Our plan buys unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use, the picks workflow and a page that does not expire, with no per-gallery fee and no commission.
Paying for both is a reasonable stack, not a failed switch.
Using both without doubling the work
The split that works is by audience. The client gets a gallery. Everyone else gets a transfer.
- Publish the proofs to a gallery, from the browser or straight out of Lightroom Classic with the plugin.
- Let the client like and love frames, then pull the picks back into the catalog with one command instead of retyping filenames.
- Upload the full-resolution ZIP when the edit is done. Re-upload it later if the client comes back.
- Send RAW files, master video and anything over the ZIP allowance to colleagues and labs by transfer.
If the size of the delivery is the real question, the guide to sending 100 GB of photos to a client works through the arithmetic, and the WeTransfer alternative for photographers covers the other transfer service photographers compare most.
Sources
Every Smash fact above traces to one of these pages. Help articles carry their own update date, given with each link. Smash prices are quoted from the help article, with its date, because the pricing page rendered none. clientgallery.io figures are our own published terms.
- Smash pricing (plans, free plan, users, storage, branding, subdomain, transfer size as the page states it), https://fromsmash.com/pricing, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash home page (positioning as a large-file transfer service), https://fromsmash.com, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: How much do Smash subscriptions cost, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13885737-how-much-do-smash-subscriptions-cost, article updated 3 March 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: What are the storage limits on Smash, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13905248-what-are-the-storage-limits-on-smash, article updated 2 March 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: What is the file size limit on Smash, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13885610-what-is-the-file-size-limit-on-smash, article updated 27 February 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: How can I change the availability period of my transfer, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/12952074-how-can-i-change-the-availability-period-of-my-transfer, article updated 14 January 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: How to set up my transfers, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13610506-how-to-set-up-my-transfers, article updated 3 February 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: What does transfer expired mean, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13161394-what-does-transfer-expired-mean, article updated 19 January 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: How to recover an expired transfer, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/14818249-how-to-recover-an-expired-transfer, article updated 29 April 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: How do I password protect my file transfer, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13179173-how-do-i-password-protect-my-file-transfer, article updated 4 February 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
- Smash help: What file type can I preview before downloading, https://fromsmash.com/help/articles/13230436-what-file-type-can-i-preview-before-downloading, page dated 19 January 2026, fetched 24 September 2026
Frequently asked
How long do Smash transfers stay available?
Smash's help centre says 7 days by default on every plan, and paid plans can set a transfer to stay available for up to 30 days. After that the transfer expires and is deleted automatically.
Can an expired Smash transfer be recovered?
No. Smash's help article on recovering an expired transfer, updated 29 April 2026, states that it is not possible to recover or reactivate an expired transfer. Expired transfers are deleted automatically.
How much does Smash cost?
Smash Free is $0.00 with no payment required. Smash's help article updated 3 March 2026 states Pro at $10 excl. VAT per month or $72 per year, and Team at $25 excl. VAT per month or $180 per year. Enterprise is a custom quote. The article shows no currency code, and the pricing page itself did not render these figures on 24 September 2026.
Is Smash good for sending photos to clients?
For a one-time handoff, yes. It has a password on free and paid plans and previews JPEG and PNG files. What it does not give a photo client is a page that lasts or a way to send back a selection, because Smash describes itself as a file transfer service. For proofing and a link the client keeps, a gallery fits better.
Do clientgallery.io links expire?
The gallery link does not. Proofs stay hosted for as long as the account exists. The full-resolution ZIP is the one timed part: it stays live for 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded any time, within 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account.
Can I send RAW files or video through clientgallery.io?
No. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video. Use a transfer service such as Smash for those, and keep the gallery for the client-facing proofs and the finished JPEG handoff.
What is the largest transfer Smash allows?
Smash's own pages disagree. The pricing page says unlimited transfer size on Pro, Team and Enterprise. A help article updated 27 February 2026 says 250 GB per transfer on Pro and 1 TB on Team. On Free, transfers over 2 GB wait in a queue behind paid transfers. Confirm with Smash before relying on either ceiling.
Your client galleries, under your name
Branded galleries, client selections and a Lightroom Classic workflow. Start with your first gallery, then compare the current plan. Full-resolution delivery is a separate handoff with its own limits and conditions.
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