Answer
Is There a Free Lightroom Plugin for Client Galleries?
Yes. The ClientGallery plugin for Lightroom Classic is a free download, it works on a free account with one gallery, and it brings client picks back into the catalog on that free account too.
Updated 18 September 2026
The short answer is yes, with one limit you should know before you start.
The plugin costs nothing to download. There is no login in front of the download link.
A free clientgallery.io account can use it to publish proofs and to pull the client's picks back into Lightroom Classic.
The limit is the gallery count. A free account holds one gallery. That gallery keeps growing each time you export to the same gallery name.
When you need a second gallery, the paid plan is 10 $ a month or 100 $ a year, with unlimited galleries under fair use.
This page covers what the free setup does, where it stops, and what two other platforms say about the plan their own Lightroom favourites tools need.
What is free, and what the paid plan adds
The plugin is the same file on both accounts. What changes is what the account behind it allows.
| Question | Free account | Paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin download | Free, public link, no login | Same file |
| Price | 0 $ | 10 $ a month, or 100 $ a year (8.33 $ a month) |
| Galleries | 1 gallery | Unlimited under fair use |
| Storage | 5 GB | Fair-use ceiling of 250 GB of proofs per account |
| Photos per gallery | Ceiling of 1,000 | Ceiling of 1,000 |
| Publish proofs from Lightroom Classic | Yes, into the one gallery | Yes, into any number of galleries |
| Pull client picks back into the catalog | Yes. The pick import checks your studio key and that you own the gallery, not your plan | Yes |
| Full-resolution ZIP handoff to the client | Not included | Included, live 3 days per handoff, re-uploadable |
| Platform branding on client pages | None | None |
The 1,000-photo and 250 GB figures are fair-use ceilings, set as abuse tripwires rather than tiers.
Proofs are JPEGs sized for fast viewing on screens, not print files, which is why 5 GB goes further than it sounds.
How one free gallery keeps growing
On a free account, the gallery name is the key to everything.
The same gallery name on the same account means the same gallery. Export again with that name, spelled the same way, and the new photos are added to the gallery you already have.
After you paste your studio key and press Check, the plugin tells you this itself. On a free account it reports one gallery and says that exporting again adds to the gallery of the same name.
If you type a new gallery name, the server refuses to create a second gallery. The plugin then explains that a free account holds one gallery, and offers two ways forward: move to the paid plan, or export into your existing gallery by using its name.
There is one more rule worth knowing. A gallery keeps one photo per file name. If you publish a photo whose file name is already in the gallery, it replaces that photo in place, and any picks on it stay attached.
That makes re-editing easy on a single free gallery. Send the re-edited frame again under the same file name, and the client sees the new version on the same link.
Setting it up on a free account
These are the plugin's own install steps, as our Lightroom page gives them.
- Create a free account at clientgallery.io.
- Download the plugin ZIP from the Lightroom page and unzip it.
- Move the folder ending in .lrplugin somewhere permanent. Lightroom points at that location, so if it moves later, the plugin breaks.
- In Lightroom Classic, open File, Plug-in Manager, and add it.
- Restart Lightroom Classic once. The plugin appears under the name ClientGallery.
- Copy your studio key from the bottom of your studio page, paste it into the Studio key field, and press Check.
The studio key is not your password. It is a separate key for the plugin, and regenerating it on your dashboard disables the old one.
The key is remembered after you paste it once, and the pick import dialog reuses it.
The plugin works in Lightroom Classic only, not in the cloud Lightroom app. If you work in the cloud app, read Lightroom cloud vs Classic for client galleries.
For every click of the export itself, see how to publish a client gallery from Lightroom Classic.
What comes back into Lightroom, free or paid
The return trip is the same on both accounts. You run Import ClientGallery Picks from Library, Plug-in Extras, and give it the gallery link.
| What the client did | What the import writes in Lightroom Classic |
|---|---|
| Loved a photo | 5 stars and the Pick flag |
| Liked a photo | 3 stars. The Pick flag is not touched |
| Added a colour label | The same Lightroom colour label, when labels are switched on for that gallery |
| Left a comment | Written into the caption only if you tick that option, which is off by default and overwrites existing captions |
| Any of the above | The photo is added to a collection named after the gallery, inside a ClientGallery collection set |
Two honest cautions come with it.
First, the import replaces the fields it writes. A frame you had at 5 stars that the client only liked drops to 3 stars. A label you set is replaced by the client's label.
Second, it only adds. A re-run does not remove a rating, flag or label from a photo the client later un-picked.
Photos are found by file name in the catalog that is open. Publish through the plugin, and the picks are searched under the same name you published from.
Develop settings and keywords are never touched. The full walk-through is in the guide to getting client picks back into Lightroom.
What two other platforms say about their plan requirement
Other gallery platforms also offer Lightroom Classic plugins, and some offer a way to bring client favourites back. This page states plan requirements only where the vendor's own help article states one.
| Platform | How client favourites reach Lightroom | Plan the vendor states for it |
|---|---|---|
| Pic-Time | Its plugin syncs client Selections and Favorites lists, shown inside the plugin under Selections | "The Sync feature is only available on paid plans." |
| Zenfolio | A separate Image List Import plugin turns a list exported from Zenfolio into a Lightroom collection | "This feature is exclusive to Advanced account subscribers." |
| clientgallery.io | The same plugin writes stars, the Pick flag and colour labels, and adds a collection | No plan check. Works on the free account |
Pic-Time's article also says that automatically syncing favourites lists is currently unavailable in Pic-Time 2.0 galleries.
Other platforms document a different route. Pixieset states that its plugin uploads from Lightroom Classic and that photos from Pixieset will not be imported into Lightroom. Its help centre instead offers a list of favourite file names formatted for Lightroom's search.
ShootProof and CloudSpot describe the same kind of route: copy the favourites' file names, then filter the Library by file name. CloudSpot describes its plugin as a one-way sync.
None of those articles states what plan the plugin needs, so this page says nothing about it either way.
Who should not use the free plugin
The free setup is narrow on purpose, and it is the wrong fit for some studios.
- You already pay for Pic-Time. Its plugin syncs client favourites lists on paid plans, so you have a return path inside the tool you already use.
- You are a Zenfolio Advanced subscriber. Zenfolio's Image List Import plugin is included for you, and it builds a collection from the client's list.
- You edit in the cloud Lightroom app. The plugin runs in Lightroom Classic only. You can still upload from the browser and read picks in the gallery.
- You need several galleries live for free. The free account holds one. Past that, it is the paid plan.
- You sell prints through the gallery. clientgallery.io has no print store. A studio that earns on print and album orders should keep a platform that sells them.
- You want your ratings left alone. The import replaces the stars and labels on the frames the client picked. Save your own cull as a collection before the proofing round.
Who it suits
The free account suits a photographer who wants to test the whole loop on one real job before paying anything.
Publish one shoot, send the link, let the client star and love, and pull the picks back into the catalog.
If the loop saves you the retyping, the paid plan adds unlimited galleries at 10 $ a month or 100 $ a year. The plugin itself stays the same.
Sources
Competitor quotes and behaviour come from each vendor's own help centre. Help-centre articles are cited with the vendor's own update date where the page gives one. The yearly price per month, 8.33 $, is 100 $ divided by 12.
- Pic-Time Help, "How do I Sync Lightroom Selections and Favorites?" (sync of Selections and Favorites lists, paid plans only, not automatic in Pic-Time 2.0 galleries), page shows "Updated over 3 weeks ago", fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7834728-how-do-i-sync-lightroom-selections-and-favorites
- Zenfolio states, in "Image List Import Plug-in for Lightroom for Favorites Lists", that the feature is exclusive to Advanced account subscribers and builds a Lightroom collection from an exported list (article updated 19 January 2024), fetched 18 September 2026, https://support.zenfolio.com/hc/en-us/articles/7432682545939-Image-List-Import-Plug-in-for-Lightroom-for-Favorites-Lists
- Pixieset states, in "How do I install the Lightroom Plugin?", that the plugin uploads from Lightroom Classic and that photos from Pixieset will not be imported into Lightroom (article updated 13 September 2026), fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003009832-How-do-I-install-the-Lightroom-Plugin
- Pixieset states, in "Viewing Client Favorites in Lightroom", that it creates a list of favourite images formatted for Lightroom's search (article updated 9 September 2026), fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003505192-Viewing-Client-Favorites-in-Lightroom
- ShootProof's help centre states, in "Can I view client Favorites in Lightroom?", that favourites are found by copying file names and filtering the Library by file name (article updated 19 March 2024), fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.shootproof.com/hc/en-us/articles/115009451587-Can-I-view-client-Favorites-in-Lightroom
- CloudSpot Help, "How Does the Lightroom Plugin Work?" (one-way sync), updated 19 August 2025, fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/114552-how-does-the-lightroom-plugin-work
- CloudSpot Help, "How To Copy Image Filenames From a Favorites List" (paste file names into the Library filter), updated 19 August 2025, fetched 18 September 2026, https://help.cloudspot.io/en/articles/114574-how-to-copy-image-filenames-from-a-favorites-list
- clientgallery.io product facts, checked in code 18 September 2026 (free public plugin download, studio key, one gallery and 5 GB on a free account, same gallery name adds to the same gallery, second gallery refused on free, no plan check on the pick import, 5 stars and Pick flag for loves, 3 stars for likes, labels and opt-in captions, collection inside a ClientGallery collection set, one photo per file name per gallery, 1,000 photos per gallery, 250 GB of proofs per paid account, full-resolution ZIP live 3 days on the paid plan, 10 $ a month or 100 $ a year, Lightroom Classic only), https://clientgallery.io/lightroom
Frequently asked
Is the ClientGallery Lightroom plugin free?
Yes. The plugin is a free download from a public link with no login. You need a clientgallery.io account to use it, and a free account works.
How many galleries can I publish from Lightroom on a free account?
One. Exporting again with the same gallery name adds photos to that gallery. A new gallery name is refused on a free account, and the plugin explains that you can either export into your existing gallery by name or move to the paid plan at 10 $ a month or 100 $ a year.
Can a free account pull client picks back into Lightroom Classic?
Yes. The pick import checks your studio key and that the gallery belongs to your account. It does not check your plan. Loves arrive as 5 stars and the Pick flag, likes as 3 stars, and colour labels when labels are switched on for that gallery.
Does the plugin work in the cloud Lightroom app?
No. It works in Lightroom Classic only. In the cloud app you can upload from the browser and read the client's picks in the gallery instead.
Will the pick import overwrite my own star ratings?
On the photos the client picked, yes. The import writes the client's rating and label in place of what was there. Photos the client did not pick are not touched, and develop settings are never changed. Save your own cull as a collection before you publish if you want to keep it.
Do other gallery platforms charge for their Lightroom favourites tools?
Two state it plainly. Pic-Time says its Lightroom sync is only available on paid plans. Zenfolio says its Image List Import plugin is exclusive to Advanced account subscribers. This page makes no claim about other platforms, because their help articles do not state a plan.
Your client galleries, under your name
Unlimited galleries, your branding, one-click Pixieset import, and a Lightroom plugin, all on a flat 10 $/month with everything included. Your first gallery is free.
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