Alternatives
SmugMug Alternative for Client Proofing
SmugMug is a portfolio platform first. Client favoriting sits in the Pro column at $37.00 a month billed annually. Here is what that means if proofing is the job you actually need done.
Updated September 2026
SmugMug has been a photographer's home on the web for a long time, and it is genuinely good at that job. Portfolio sites, unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage, a print storefront, a custom domain. Proofing, though, is not the centre of the product. It is a feature bolted to the top of the ladder.
On SmugMug's own plans page, "Client favoriting and customer download limits" appear only in the Pro column. Pro is $37.00 a month billed annually. So the one workflow a proofing photographer cannot work without, the client marking which frames they want, sits on SmugMug's most expensive named plan.
This page is the honest comparison. It says what SmugMug does better than clientgallery.io, including one thing it does clearly better, where the proofing gate actually is, and who should ignore this page entirely and stay where they are. Every SmugMug figure below comes from SmugMug's own pages, fetched on 3 September 2026, and is listed under Sources at the end.
What SmugMug does well, including one thing it does better than we do
Start with what you would give up, because some of it is real.
- Unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage on every plan. This is a genuine strength and it is more generous than our model. SmugMug will hold your finished JPEGs at full size, forever, on the $20.00 a month Direct plan as readily as on Pro. We do not do that. We host browser-compressed proof JPEGs and deliver full-resolution files as a paid ZIP per gallery. If long-term full-resolution JPEG storage is what you are shopping for, SmugMug wins that line outright.
- A portfolio site, not just a delivery tool. SmugMug's plans are built around a public website with your work on it. That is the product.
- Client galleries below the top plan. Direct, at $20.00 a month billed annually, includes "Client galleries for review or download" and a custom domain. It would be wrong to say SmugMug has no client galleries until Pro. It does. The part that is gated is the favouriting workflow and customer download limits.
- A print and digital storefront. Selling, both prints and digital downloads, is listed on Portfolio and Pro. SmugMug does not publish a commission figure on its plans pages, so we are not going to invent one for you here.
- RAW archiving as a real product. SmugMug Source is a paid add-on for RAW files, at "First TB: $10/month; Additional TBs: $6/month per TB". It also takes TIF, TIFF, BMP and PSD files and sidecar files from several editors. We do not offer anything like it, on purpose.
- Two official Lightroom integrations. A Lightroom Classic plugin and a Lightroom Connector. Both are real and both work.
Where the proofing gate actually sits
SmugMug's named plans are Direct, Portfolio and Pro, with a custom-priced Enterprise tier described as a white-glove plan for serious volume. Billed annually, the three named plans are $20.00, $23.50 and $37.00 a month. Month-to-month rates are not published on that page, so every number on this page is the annual-billing figure.
The ladder reads cleanly once you know what you are looking for. Direct gives you a site and client galleries for review or download. Portfolio, at $23.50, adds selling. Pro, at $37.00, is where client favoriting and customer download limits appear.
That ordering makes sense for SmugMug. Its centre of gravity is the portfolio and the store, so proofing arrives last, as the professional's upgrade. It makes less sense for a photographer whose entire monthly routine is: shoot, upload a set, send the client a link, wait for picks, retouch the picks, deliver. For that person the favouriting step is not an advanced feature. It is the whole point of sending the link. Paying the top named tier to unlock it is paying for a portfolio platform to get at a proofing tool.
clientgallery.io is built the other way round. Proofing is the product, so pick levels come with the one plan, which is $10 a month or $100 a year, which works out to $8.33 a month.
Side by side
SmugMug figures as printed on its own pages on 3 September 2026. All SmugMug monthly prices below are the billed-annually rates. "Not published" means SmugMug does not state it on the pages cited under Sources, and we will not guess.
| SmugMug | clientgallery.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Direct $20.00 a month, Portfolio $23.50 a month, Pro $37.00 a month, all billed annually. Enterprise is custom-priced. Month-to-month rates are not published on the plans page. | One plan. $10 a month, or $100 a year, which is $8.33 a month. |
| What client proofing costs | "Client favoriting and customer download limits" are listed in the Pro column only, $37.00 a month billed annually. Direct at $20.00 does include client galleries for review or download. | Included in the plan. Pick levels, so a client can separate a maybe from a yes. |
| Storage model | Unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage on every plan. | Browser-compressed proof JPEGs of about 0.6 MB each, hosted for as long as the account exists. Fair-use ceilings: 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 is a paid feature: a full-resolution ZIP per gallery that stays live 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded any time, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account. |
| RAW files | Separate paid add-on, SmugMug Source. "First TB: $10/month; Additional TBs: $6/month per TB". Also accepts TIF, TIFF, BMP and PSD. | Not stored. JPEG only. No master video either. |
| Selling | Prints and digital downloads on Portfolio and Pro. No commission figure is published on the plans pages. | No store, no commissions, no per-gallery fees, no storage tiers. |
| Platform branding | Not published on the plans page. | No platform branding anywhere on client-facing pages, on the one plan. |
| Custom domain | "Use a custom domain" is listed on Direct. | The studio's own subdomain. |
| Lightroom direction | Lightroom Classic plugin and Lightroom Connector. Both push photos out of the catalog and keep them in sync. | Two-way. Publish proofs out of the catalog, then pull the client's picks back in. |
The Lightroom loop runs in a different direction
SmugMug has two official Lightroom integrations and they are not marketing filler. The Lightroom Classic plugin is described as letting you integrate editing, storage and organisation into one program, and the Lightroom Connector keeps your Lightroom and your SmugMug in sync. If your problem is getting photos out of the catalog and onto the web without a manual export, SmugMug solves it.
The honest contrast is direction, not quality. Both SmugMug integrations move photos outward. No official SmugMug page describes client selections flowing back into the Lightroom catalog. So the return trip, the part where you find out which frames the client picked, happens somewhere else: a browser tab, a list, a screenshot, a manual pass through the catalog matching names by eye.
Our Lightroom Classic plugin closes that loop. Proofs publish from the catalog, and when the client is done, their picks come back into the catalog as star ratings, pick flags, colour labels and a collection named after the gallery. You open Lightroom and the selection is already there, ready to filter and retouch. The mechanics are on the Lightroom page, and the routine is written up in the Lightroom client gallery workflow guide.
What the flat plan includes
clientgallery.io is one plan at $10 a month, or $100 a year. There is no tier above it to climb to. Everything below is in it.
- Pick levels. Clients do not just favourite. They can separate a shortlist from a final selection, which is the difference between a usable proofing round and a long email thread.
- Your own subdomain, and no platform branding on any client-facing page, at any price.
- Face Search, so a guest at a wedding or a corporate event finds their own photos in a large gallery without scrolling through it.
- Sub-galleries inside a gallery, for splitting a day into ceremony, portraits and reception without three separate links.
- One-click download of the whole gallery for the client, or any single image. Hosted galleries never expire.
- Unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use, with the figures printed rather than hidden: proofs are browser-compressed JPEGs of about 0.6 MB, the ceilings are 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account, and free accounts hold 5 GB. Full-resolution delivery is a paid ZIP per gallery, live 3 days per handoff, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account.
The trade that keeps the price flat is simple and we say it on every page: we host JPEGs. We do not warehouse RAW files or master video. A platform that stores your masters has to meter you, because your archive grows every year while your business may not. We chose not to be in that business.
If proofing itself is new territory, the client photo proofing guide covers how to run a round without a second revision cycle.
Who should stay on SmugMug
This is the part most comparison pages skip. Some photographers should close this tab and stay exactly where they are.
- Your main need is a public portfolio site. SmugMug's plans are built around a website that shows your work to the world. We are a delivery and proofing tool. If the site is the point, stay.
- You run a print storefront. Selling is on Portfolio and Pro. We have no store at all, so there is nothing here to replace it with.
- You want long-term full-resolution JPEG storage in the same product. SmugMug includes unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage on every plan, and that is more generous than what we do. We are the wrong tool for using a gallery platform as your JPEG archive.
- You want RAW archiving alongside the galleries. Look at SmugMug Source, at $10 a month for the first TB and $6 a month per additional TB. We deliberately do not warehouse RAW, so there is no version of us that solves this.
Portfolio plus storefront plus archive is a coherent product and SmugMug sells it well. Switch only if the shape of your month is proofing rounds, and the portfolio and the storefront are things you would be paying for but not using.
Sources
Every SmugMug figure and quotation on this page was taken from the pages below on 3 September 2026, in US dollars. SmugMug's help centre blocks automated access, so nothing on this page relies on it: no commission percentage, no per-file size cap, no video length cap and no bulk-download mechanic is stated here, because none of those could be verified today.
- SmugMug plans and pricing, fetched 3 September 2026, https://www.smugmug.com/plans
- SmugMug: RAW photo storage and management (SmugMug Source), fetched 3 September 2026, https://www.smugmug.com/features/raw-photo-storage-management
- SmugMug: Adobe Lightroom integrations, fetched 3 September 2026, https://www.smugmug.com/features/photography-apps/adobe-lightroom
- clientgallery.io pricing and fair-use figures, verified in the product the same day, fetched 3 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Which SmugMug plan do I need for client proofing?
SmugMug's plans page lists 'Client favoriting and customer download limits' in the Pro column only. Pro is $37.00 a month billed annually. Direct, at $20.00 a month billed annually, does include client galleries for review or download, so you can send a gallery on a lower plan; the favouriting workflow is the part that sits on Pro.
How much does SmugMug cost?
Billed annually, Direct is $20.00 a month, Portfolio is $23.50 a month and Pro is $37.00 a month. There is also a custom-priced Enterprise tier. Month-to-month rates are not published on the plans page, so all figures here are annual billing.
Is clientgallery.io cheaper than SmugMug for proofing?
Yes, on price alone. One plan at $10 a month or $100 a year, which is $8.33 a month, with pick levels, your own subdomain, no platform branding, Face Search and sub-galleries included. SmugMug's proofing workflow is listed on Pro at $37.00 a month billed annually.
Does clientgallery.io store full-resolution files the way SmugMug does?
No, and SmugMug is more generous here. SmugMug includes unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage on every plan. We host browser-compressed proof JPEGs of about 0.6 MB for as long as the account exists, with fair-use ceilings of 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account, and 5 GB on free accounts. Full-resolution delivery is a paid ZIP per gallery that stays live 3 days per handoff, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account.
Can I store RAW files on clientgallery.io?
No. We host JPEGs and do not warehouse RAW files or master video, which is what keeps the plan flat. If you want RAW archiving in the same product as your galleries, SmugMug Source is a paid add-on at 'First TB: $10/month; Additional TBs: $6/month per TB' and also accepts TIF, TIFF, BMP and PSD.
How is the Lightroom integration different from SmugMug's?
Direction. SmugMug has two official integrations, a Lightroom Classic plugin and a Lightroom Connector, and both push photos out of the catalog and keep them in sync. No official SmugMug page describes client selections coming back into the catalog. Our Lightroom Classic plugin is two-way: proofs publish out, and the client's picks return as star ratings, pick flags, colour labels and a collection named after the gallery.
What commission does SmugMug take on print sales?
SmugMug does not publish a commission figure on its plans pages, and its help centre blocks automated access, so we are not going to state one. What the plans page does say is that selling, prints and digital downloads, is available on Portfolio and Pro. clientgallery.io has no store, so there is no commission to take.
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.
Start proofing on the flat plan