Answer
Cheapest Pixieset Alternative: Every Entry Price, and the Price You Actually Pay
The literal answer first, with a verified table of the lowest paid plan at nine platforms. Then the answer that matters, which is what the meter does to that price by year three.
Updated 23 September 2026
Short answer, and it is not ours. On entry price alone the cheapest published figure in this category is Pixpa's Basic plan at 5.40 $ a month on annual billing, and the cheapest month-to-month rate is PASS Starter at 6 $ a month. clientgallery.io is 10 $ a month or 110 $ a year. If your only question is which number is smallest, the table below answers it and you can stop reading at the end of the first section.
The longer answer is that "cheapest" is a trap question in this category, because every cheap plan here is cheap at a storage level you will leave. Every platform in the table below meters gigabytes. ShootProof was the one exception, metering the number of photos in the account instead, and it stopped being an exception on 23 September 2026 when it moved to gigabyte-based plans. Delivered galleries accumulate, so the meter climbs with your archive rather than with your business, and the plan you signed up on is not the plan you are on in year three. That is the part this page prices out.
Every figure below comes from the platform's own pricing page or help center, and each one is listed in the Sources section at the end with the date it was read. The ShootProof figures were read on 23 September 2026, the day its plans changed. Every other platform was read on 3 September 2026.
Part one: the cheapest paid plan at each platform
This is the literal answer. For each platform, the lowest paid plan it publishes, the rate it charges, and what the meter holds at that rate. Where a platform publishes both a monthly rate and a lower rate for paying a year up front, both are shown.
| Platform | Cheapest paid plan | Paid monthly | Paid annually | What that plan holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixpa | Basic | Not published | 5.40 $ a month | 3 GB |
| PASS | Starter | 6 $ a month | Not published | 10 GB, no custom branding |
| CloudSpot | Entry | 7 $ a month | 72 $ a year | 15 GB |
| Pic-Time | Beginner | 8 $ a month | 7 $ a month | 20 GB, about 6,000 photos |
| ShootProof | Starter | 9.99 $ a month | 99.99 $ a year | 20 GB shared between photo and video |
| Pixieset | Basic | 10 $ a month | 8 $ a month | 10 GB, 30 minutes of video |
| clientgallery.io | One plan, the only plan | 10 $ a month | 110 $ a year | Unlimited galleries and clients, up to 500,000 photos |
| picdrop | Pro | 18.99 $ a month | 15.99 $ a month | 500 GB, unlimited galleries |
| SmugMug | Direct | Not published | 20.00 $ a month | Unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage, no selling on this plan |
Say it plainly: clientgallery.io is not the cheapest way into this category. Six platforms have a lower entry rate. Pixpa's own blog puts its cheapest annual plan at 5.40 $ a month for Basic, PASS starts at 6 $, CloudSpot at 7 $, Pic-Time at 7 $ on annual billing, Pixieset at 8 $, and ShootProof Starter at 9.99 $ a month or 99.99 $ a year. A page that told you otherwise would be lying to you.
Two platforms are missing from that table for honest reasons. Zenfolio's plans page served Canadian dollars when it was read today, and no US dollar figure could be verified, so no Zenfolio price appears anywhere on this page. picdrop and SmugMug are listed even though they are the expensive end, because a "cheapest" table that quietly drops the costly options is a sales pitch, not a table.
One correction worth making, because it circulates: Pixieset does not make you pay a premium to remove its name. Removing Pixieset branding, connecting a custom domain and full-resolution download all start at Basic, 8 $ a month billed annually or 10 $ monthly. If unbranded galleries are the whole of what you need, Pixieset Basic is a genuinely cheap way to get them.
What the cheap plans take back at the till
A plan with a 15 percent cut on print sales is not cheap if you sell prints. Two of the three cheapest plans in the table take one. Here is where commission sits on each platform.
| Platform | Plans that pay a commission | Plans that pay none |
|---|---|---|
| PASS | Starter and Basic, 15 percent | Standard, Unlimited and Platinum |
| CloudSpot | Free and Entry, 15 percent | Lite, Pro and Unlimited |
| Pic-Time | Free and Beginner, 15 percent. Professional 8 percent and Advanced 6 percent when Pic-Time collects payment | Professional and Advanced are commission-free if you collect payments yourself |
| Pixieset | Free only, 15 percent, calculated on the order subtotal before discounts, coupon codes, taxes or shipping | Every paid Client Gallery plan, from Basic up |
| ShootProof | None | Every plan, including the free one |
| Pixpa | None | Every plan |
| clientgallery.io | No store at all, so nothing to take a cut of | Not applicable |
Read that against the first table. PASS Starter at 6 $ is the cheapest monthly rate here, and it carries a 15 percent commission and no custom branding, so the galleries say PASS on them. CloudSpot Entry at 7 $ carries the same 15 percent. Pic-Time Beginner at 7 $ carries it too, and Pic-Time's help center is explicit that on those tiers the commission is always collected regardless of how the store is set up. Pixieset Basic at 8 $, by contrast, is commission-free and unbranded. Among the sub-10-dollar plans, Pixieset Basic is the one that takes nothing back.
Commissions cut both ways in an honest comparison. ShootProof charges none on any plan, including its free plan, and Pixpa charges none on any plan. Those are real advantages over us in one direction: they let you sell, and we do not sell at all.
Part two: the entry price is not the price in year three
Here is the actual answer to the question. The entry plan is priced for an empty account. Delivered galleries do not leave. Last season's weddings still sit in the pool while this season uploads on top of them, so every one of these plans has a next step, and the next step is what you will be paying. This is the ladder above each entry plan.
| Platform | Entry | Next step | The step after that | Top |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixieset | Basic, 8 $ annually, 10 GB | Plus, 16 $ annually, 100 GB | Pro, 24 $ annually, 1,000 GB | Ultimate, 40 $ annually, unlimited photos |
| Pic-Time | Beginner, 7 $ annually, 20 GB | Professional, 25 $ monthly or 21 $ annually, 100 GB | Advanced, 50 $ monthly or 42 $ annually, unlimited | Advanced |
| PASS | Starter, 6 $, 10 GB | Basic, 8 $ or 72 $ a year, 20 GB | Standard, 24 $ or 240 $ a year, 100 GB | Unlimited, 44 $ or 456 $ a year, then Platinum at 125 $ |
| CloudSpot | Entry, 7 $, 15 GB | Lite, 17 $, 100 GB | Pro, 34 $, 500 GB | Unlimited, 50 $ |
| ShootProof | Starter, 9.99 $ monthly or 99.99 $ a year, 20 GB shared between photo and video | Standard, 19.99 $ monthly or 199.99 $ a year, 100 GB shared | Professional, 31.99 $ monthly or 319.99 $ a year, 1,000 GB photo plus 50 GB video | Premium, 60 $ monthly or 600 $ a year, unlimited photo plus 150 GB video |
| picdrop | Pro, 18.99 $, 500 GB | Advanced, 56.99 $, 1 TB | Business, 141.99 $, 3 TB | Enterprise, price on request, 5 TB |
| clientgallery.io | 10 $ a month or 110 $ a year | There is no next step | There is no next step | There is no next step |
One tier is missing from that ShootProof row on purpose. ShootProof's help centre also documents an Advanced plan at 2,000 GB photo and 100 GB video for 51.99 $ a month or 519.99 $ a year, which does not appear on its public plans page, so it is not listed here as something you can buy today.
Look at what the ladder does to the cheapest plans specifically. PASS Starter at 6 $ holds 10 GB. The step that clears 100 GB is Standard at 24 $, four times the entry price. CloudSpot Entry at 7 $ holds 15 GB, and the step to 100 GB is Lite at 17 $. Pic-Time Beginner at 7 $ holds 20 GB, and the step to 100 GB is Professional at 21 $ on annual billing. Pixieset Basic at 8 $ holds 10 GB, and Plus at 16 $ is the step to 100 GB. ShootProof Starter at 9.99 $ holds 20 GB, and the step to 100 GB is Standard at 19.99 $.
ShootProof is the one platform here whose steps got noticeably longer this month. Its Professional plan holds 1,000 GB of photos, which is a great deal of proof-sized work, so a studio that clears Standard will sit on Professional for a long time. What does not stop is archiving: ShootProof charges a minimum of 2.99 $ a month for the first 25 GB archived and 0.05 $ per GB after that, on every plan except photo archiving on Premium.
So the cheapest plans are not cheap in a durable way. They are cheap for the first stretch of an archive, and the archive is the one thing in a photography business that only grows. A studio that stays on the entry plan for years is either deleting delivered work or running very thin volume.
One flat plan, stated in figures rather than adjectives
Our answer to the ladder is that there is no ladder. clientgallery.io is one plan at 10 $ a month or 110 $ a year, which is 9.17 $ a month. Galleries and clients are unlimited, and a paid account holds up to 500,000 photos, there are no storage tiers, no per-gallery fees, no commissions and no print store. Client-facing pages carry no platform branding, on the studio's own subdomain. Face Search, a two-way Lightroom Classic plugin and sub-galleries inside a gallery are included at that price.
That argument only holds if the fair-use figures are real, so here they are. Uploaded photos are browser-compressed, web-sized proof JPEGs, hosted for as long as the account exists. The ceilings are 1,000 photos per gallery and 500,000 photos per paid account. Free accounts hold one gallery of up to 1,000 photos. Full-resolution delivery is a paid feature that works differently: the photographer uploads a full-resolution ZIP per gallery, it stays live for 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded any time, with 100 GB of ZIP uploads a month per account. Hosted galleries never expire.
The qualification that makes the flat price possible: clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs. It does not warehouse RAW files or master video. A studio that needs RAW upload is on Pixieset Pro or Ultimate, and a studio that hosts video in the gallery is on a Pixieset tier with video hours. Those are different products, priced for a different job.
The free plans, and what they cost instead of money
If the question is really "cheapest", free plans belong in the answer. Each one is free in exchange for something specific, and the specifics matter more than the zero.
Pic-Time's free plan starts at 10 GB and its pricing page states it is reduced to 3 GB after 6 months. PASS gives 10 GB of storage for 6 months from signup, after which, in its own words, galleries begin being purged from the account until the 2 GB storage limit is reached. CloudSpot's free plan caps client downloads at social media size, 2048px on the long edge, expires direct download links after 7 days, and takes 15 percent. Pixieset's free plan is 3 GB, carries Pixieset branding, has no full-resolution download and takes 15 percent on store orders. ShootProof's free plan is 3 GB of photo storage with no video at all, and it takes no commission. picdrop's is 1 GB and three galleries. clientgallery.io's free accounts hold 5 GB.
None of those is a place to keep delivered client work for years. They are trials with a deadline attached, and two of them delete or hide the work when the deadline passes.
When the cheapest entry plan really is the right answer
This section is here because the honest answer is not always ours.
If you deliver a handful of small galleries a year and never accumulate, take the cheapest plan. A part-time portrait photographer shooting a few sessions a season, who takes galleries down after the client has downloaded them, will genuinely never reach the next rung. For that studio the ladder argument on this page is irrelevant, and paying 6 $ or 7 $ a month instead of 10 $ is simply the correct decision. If you also want the galleries unbranded and on your own domain, Pixieset Basic at 8 $ a month billed annually is the cheapest plan in this comparison that includes both, and it takes no commission.
If you want a print storefront, we are the wrong product outright. clientgallery.io has no store, no print fulfilment and no sales reporting, and no price comparison changes that. A studio whose income depends on selling prints, albums and wall art inside the gallery should stay on a platform built for it. ShootProof takes 0 percent on every plan, including its free one. Pixieset takes 0 percent on every paid plan. Pic-Time is commission-free on Professional and Advanced if you collect payments yourself. Any of those is a better answer than a cheaper gallery with nothing to buy in it.
If you need RAW or video hosted, we are also the wrong product. We host JPEG proofs and full-resolution ZIPs on every plan. Pixieset Pro and Ultimate take RAW uploads, and picdrop sells terabytes. If your deliverable is a RAW archive or a video master, buy the storage.
What is left is the studio this page is written for: one that delivers finished JPEG galleries, gets paid separately by invoice, and keeps years of delivered work online because clients come back for it. That studio is the one the meter punishes, and that studio is the one for which a flat 10 $ a month beats a 6 $ entry plan by year two.
Sources
All figures are US dollars unless the entry says otherwise. Zenfolio is deliberately absent from every table because its plans page served Canadian dollars when it was read and no US dollar figure could be verified. ShootProof changed its plans on 23 September 2026, so every ShootProof entry below was read that day; each help-centre entry also carries the date ShootProof last updated that article. Every other page was read 3 September 2026.
- Pixieset pricing (Free, Basic, Plus, Pro and Ultimate rates, storage, video, branding removal, custom domain, full-resolution download), read 3 September 2026, https://pixieset.com/pricing/
- How does the 0% commission fee work (15 percent on the Free plan only, 0 percent on every paid plan, calculated on the order subtotal before discounts, coupon codes, taxes or shipping), read 3 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002975072-How-does-the-0-commission-fee-work
- Pic-Time pricing (Free 10 GB reduced to 3 GB after 6 months, Beginner, Professional and Advanced rates and storage), read 3 September 2026, https://www.pic-time.com/pricing
- Pic-Time commission rates for various subscription plans (15 percent on Free and Beginner always collected, 8 percent on Professional, 6 percent on Advanced, commission-free if you collect payments yourself), read 3 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7901454-what-are-the-commission-rates-for-various-subscription-plans
- PASS pricing (Starter, Basic, Standard, Unlimited and Platinum rates, storage, commission, custom branding), read 3 September 2026, https://www.passgallery.com/pricing
- PASS free plan update (10 GB for 6 months from signup, then galleries purged until the 2 GB limit), read 3 September 2026, https://www.passgallery.com/blogs/free-plan-update
- CloudSpot pricing (Free, Entry, Lite, Pro and Unlimited monthly rates, storage, 15 percent commission on Free and Entry), read 3 September 2026, https://cloudspot.io/pricing
- CloudSpot subscription plans compared (Entry 7 $/month or 72 $/year), read 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/13287496-what-are-the-different-cloudspot-subscription-plans-and-how-do-they-compare
- CloudSpot free plan features (downloads limited to 2048px social media size, direct download links expire after 7 days), read 3 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/1090678-free-plan-features
- ShootProof plans (Free at 3 GB photos only with no video, Starter 20 GB shared, Standard 100 GB shared, Professional 1,000 GB photo plus 50 GB video, Premium unlimited photo plus 150 GB video, and commission-free sales marked as included on every tier), read 23 September 2026, https://www.shootproof.com/plans/
- ShootProof, How do your plans work (plans are determined by the amount of GB storage needed; the monthly and yearly totals for every tier; the Advanced plan at 2,000 GB photo and 100 GB video for 51.99 $ or 519.99 $, which the public plans page does not show). ShootProof states this in an article it updated 22 September 2026, read 23 September 2026, https://help.shootproof.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008189128-How-do-your-plans-work
- ShootProof, What does archiving cost (a minimum of 2.99 $ a month for up to 25 GB, then 0.05 $ per additional GB; photo archiving included on Premium, video archiving charged there too). ShootProof states this in an article it updated 22 September 2026, read 23 September 2026, https://help.shootproof.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008322408-What-does-archiving-cost
- ShootProof, Are there any other fees (ShootProof never takes a commission on your sales). ShootProof states this in an article it updated 21 September 2026, read 23 September 2026, https://help.shootproof.com/hc/en-us/articles/115008032267-Are-there-any-other-fees
- picdrop pricing (Free 1 GB and 3 galleries, Pro, Advanced, Business and Enterprise rates and storage), read 3 September 2026, https://www.picdrop.com/web/pricing
- Pixpa pricing (storage from 3 GB on Basic, 0 percent commission on every sale on every plan), read 3 September 2026, https://pixpa.com/pricing
- Pixpa's own blog, four annual plans from 5.40 $ a month for Basic, read 3 September 2026, https://www.pixpa.com/blog/best-website-builder-for-photography-portfolio
- SmugMug plans (Direct, Portfolio and Pro billed annually, selling on Portfolio and Pro only), read 3 September 2026, https://www.smugmug.com/plans
- Zenfolio plans and pricing (served Canadian dollars, no US dollar figure verified, therefore no Zenfolio price is quoted here), read 3 September 2026, https://zenfolio.com/plans-pricing/
- clientgallery.io plan and fair use (10 $ a month or 110 $ a year, unlimited galleries and clients, up to 500,000 photos, web-sized proof JPEGs, 1,000 photos per gallery, 500,000 photos per paid account, one gallery of up to 1,000 photos on free accounts, full-resolution ZIP live 3 days per handoff with 100 GB of ZIP uploads a month, no print store), checked 3 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
What is the cheapest Pixieset alternative?
By published entry price, Pixpa's Basic plan at 5.40 $ a month on annual billing is the lowest figure, and PASS Starter at 6 $ a month is the lowest month-to-month rate. CloudSpot Entry is 7 $, Pic-Time Beginner is 7 $ on annual billing, ShootProof Starter is 9.99 $ a month or 99.99 $ a year, and clientgallery.io is 10 $ a month or 110 $ a year. clientgallery.io is not the cheapest entry price in this category.
Is Pixieset expensive if I only want to remove its branding?
No. Removing Pixieset branding, connecting a custom domain and full-resolution download all start on Basic, at 8 $ a month billed annually or 10 $ monthly. Any comparison claiming Pixieset hides unbranded galleries behind an expensive tier is wrong.
Which cheap plans take a commission on print sales?
PASS Starter and Basic take 15 percent. CloudSpot Free and Entry take 15 percent. Pic-Time takes 15 percent on Free and Beginner, always collected regardless of store setup. Pixieset takes 15 percent on its free plan only and 0 percent on every paid plan. ShootProof takes 0 percent on every plan including its free one, and Pixpa takes 0 percent on every plan. clientgallery.io has no store at all.
Why does the entry price stop mattering?
Because every one of these plans meters gigabytes, and gigabytes only grow. ShootProof used to be the exception, metering photo count instead, and it moved to gigabyte-based plans on 23 September 2026. Delivered galleries accumulate, so the bill climbs with the archive. PASS Starter at 6 $ holds 10 GB and the step that clears 100 GB is Standard at 24 $. ShootProof Starter at 9.99 $ holds 20 GB and the step to 100 GB is Standard at 19.99 $. clientgallery.io has one plan and no next step.
What are the actual limits on clientgallery.io?
Uploaded photos are browser-compressed, web-sized proof JPEGs, hosted for as long as the account exists. The ceilings are 1,000 photos per gallery and 500,000 photos per paid account, and one gallery of up to 1,000 photos on free accounts. Full-resolution delivery is on every plan, free included: you upload a full-resolution ZIP per gallery, it stays live 3 days per handoff and can be re-uploaded any time, with 100 GB of ZIP uploads a month per account.
Should I just use a free plan?
Only as a trial. Pic-Time's free plan drops from 10 GB to 3 GB after 6 months. PASS gives 10 GB for 6 months, then purges galleries until the account is down to 2 GB. CloudSpot's free plan caps client downloads at 2048px and expires download links after 7 days. Pixieset's free plan is 3 GB with branding and a 15 percent commission. ShootProof's free plan is 3 GB of photos with no video. None of them is a place to keep delivered work.
When should I not switch to clientgallery.io?
If you sell prints, albums or wall art inside your galleries, stay where the storefront is: ShootProof takes 0 percent on every plan including its free one, Pixieset takes 0 percent on every paid plan, and Pic-Time is commission-free on Professional and Advanced when you collect payments yourself. clientgallery.io has no store. It also hosts JPEGs only, with no RAW or video warehousing, which is what keeps the price flat.
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.
See the one flat plan