clientgallery.io

Comparison

CloudSpot vs Pixieset for Photographers

Ten plans in one table, the gallery cap only one of them has, the branding split, the commission rules, and the over-quota policy only one of the two companies publishes.

Updated 4 September 2026

CloudSpot and Pixieset sell the same core thing: a hosted gallery you send to a client. They price it differently, meter it differently, and publish very different amounts of detail about what happens when you run out of room or stop paying.

This page puts both ladders in one table, then works through the rows that decide the choice: gallery counts, file types, branding, your gallery URL, what a print sale costs, and what each company documents about going over the line. Every figure comes from their own pricing pages and help centers, fetched 4 September 2026 and listed in Sources. A flat-price third option is at the end, kept short.

The two ladders, side by side

Five plans each. CloudSpot's two cheapest are what it calls gallery-only; Lite, Pro and Unlimited are the full suite. Pixieset's paid tiers carry the same feature set and differ mainly in storage.

PlatformPlanMonthlyAnnual, as publishedStorageGalleriesFile typesStore commission
CloudSpotFree0 $0 $5 GBUp to 3JPEG only15%
CloudSpotEntry7 $72 $ a year15 GBUp to 15JPEG only15%
CloudSpotLite17 $144 $ a year100 GBUnlimitedAllCommission-free
CloudSpotPro34 $Not published500 GBUnlimitedAllCommission-free
CloudSpotUnlimited50 $Not publishedUnlimitedUnlimitedAllCommission-free
PixiesetFree0 $0 $3 GBUnlimitedNo RAW15%
PixiesetBasic10 $8 $/mo billed annually10 GBUnlimitedNo RAW0%
PixiesetPlus20 $16 $/mo billed annually100 GBUnlimitedNo RAW0%
PixiesetPro30 $24 $/mo billed annually1 TBUnlimitedRAW included0%
PixiesetUltimate50 $40 $/mo billed annuallyUnlimited, RAW capped at 1,000 GBUnlimitedRAW included0%

All figures are US dollars, as both companies publish them. Both ladders top out at 50 $ a month, which makes the middle of each one the place where the decision is actually made.

Two caps that only appear in the fine print

Start with the gallery count, because it is unusual in this category and it decides the cheap end of the comparison. CloudSpot caps the number of galleries on its two cheapest plans: up to 3 active galleries on Free, up to 15 on Entry. Unlimited galleries start at Lite. Pixieset prints unlimited galleries on every tier including Free, and states that there is no limit to the number of photos in a collection either, because storage is its only meter.

Fifteen galleries is fifteen jobs. A portrait photographer shooting two sessions a week clears Entry's allowance inside two months; a photographer shooting eight weddings a year never reaches it.

The second cap is file types. CloudSpot restricts them by tier: JPEG only on Free and Entry, all types from Lite up, which it defines as JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, PSD and PDF. Pixieset gates only RAW by tier, to Pro and Ultimate, capped at 1,000 GB on Ultimate. Deliver a PSD or a PDF proof sheet and CloudSpot Lite is your floor; deliver RAW and Pixieset Pro is.

Where we stand: clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW or master video. Nobody wins this row against CloudSpot Lite or Pixieset Pro, us least of all.

Neither company makes the annual price easy to read

A fair observation about both pricing pages, not a point for either side. CloudSpot publishes an annual dollar total for Entry (72 $ a year) and Lite (144 $ a year), both in the help center rather than on the pricing page. For Pro and Unlimited, no annual price is published anywhere.

Pixieset goes the other way: an annual rate for every paid tier, but only as a monthly number billed annually, with no yearly dollar total anywhere. Pixieset states the discount as up to 20% compared to the monthly rate. Twelve times the billed-annually rate gives 96 $, 192 $, 288 $ and 480 $ for Basic, Plus, Pro and Ultimate, but those four numbers are our arithmetic on Pixieset's figure, not something Pixieset prints.

One thing to hold at arm's length. On 4 September 2026 CloudSpot's pricing page runs three promotions: 3 $ a month for the first 3 months on paid tiers, six months free with an annual plan, and 50% off the first year. Those are promotions running on that date, not standing prices.

Branding: CloudSpot splits it in two

This is the row where the comparison gets interesting, because CloudSpot splits it in two. Removing the CloudSpot logo starts at Entry, at 7 $ a month. Uploading your own logo starts at Lite, at 17 $ a month. Between those two prices your galleries carry neither company's mark: not CloudSpot's, and not yours.

Pixieset unlocks both together at Basic, its cheapest paid tier. Every subscription including Free allows a profile icon; an upgraded plan adds a logo, a collection cover logo, a custom favicon and the ability to remove Pixieset branding, which takes the "Powered by Pixieset" message off the gallery homepage footer and the bottom of collections.

CloudSpot's free plan is documented in unusual detail, and three published limits matter. Verbatim: "All Galleries/Mobile Apps have 'Powered by CloudSpot' added to the cover". Downloads are "limited to 2048px (social media size) on the longest edge". And "All direct download links expire after 7 days". Watermarking is unavailable on Free, and so are studio features.

CloudSpot brands the cover and caps the download; Pixieset brands the footer and withholds full-resolution download. Neither free tier is a delivery tool.

Domains and gallery URLs

CloudSpot publishes a subdomain of its own: yourbusinessname.client-gallery.com. Its help center adds a caution worth reading before you pick the name, verbatim: "if you change your subdomain more than once, any previously shared Galleries will need to be resent." Links already in client inboxes are what is at stake. CloudSpot publishes no page offering a customer's own registered domain, so a subdomain is all that is documented.

Pixieset does document connecting a custom domain to Client Gallery, and states that an upgraded Client Gallery or Suite subscription is required. Custom domain is listed on every paid tier and not on Free.

What a print sale costs you

Both take 15% at the bottom of the ladder and drop to zero further up, but the lines fall in different places.

QuestionCloudSpotPixieset
Commission on Free15% on Auto and Custom Fulfillment store orders15%
Commission on the cheapest paid tier15% on Entry (7 $ a month)0% on Basic (8 $ a month billed annually)
Where commission stopsLite and above, at 17 $ a monthEvery paid tier
Other fees on money you collect2.5% payment processing fee on Studio invoicing at Lite, Pro and Unlimited; not applicable on Free and EntryCommission is charged on the order subtotal before discounts, and is in addition to processor fees

Two details deserve emphasis. CloudSpot's Entry is the cheaper paid plan of the two and is also the one that still takes 15% of store sales; Pixieset's cheapest paid plan does not. And Pixieset's 15% on Free is calculated on the subtotal before discounts, coupon codes, taxes or shipping, so a coupon that takes an order to zero still leaves the commission payable, on top of what the payment processors Pixieset names charge, which Pixieset states as 2.9% plus 0.30 $ and 3.49% plus 0.49 $. Free-plan selling is the most expensive selling on either platform.

Going over the limit, and leaving

The strongest difference on this page is a difference in what each company documents. CloudSpot publishes its rule in plain words. On cancellation or downgrade, verbatim: "If you have over 5 GB stored on your account at this time, our system will remove all data from your account", and "Canceling your account in this case will automatically delete stored data exceeding the 5 GB free plan limit". The same article states that subscription payments are pre-payments and that "Refunds are not available for unused time." Leaving with more than 5 GB stored is a data event, not only a billing event.

Pixieset publishes no equivalent rule. No article says what happens to delivered galleries when you exceed your storage, or whether collections stay live after a downgrade that puts you over the new tier. What Pixieset does document is that uploading is what breaks, that the remedy is to "delete collections/photos/videos to free up space or upgrade to unlock more storage", and that deleting is permanent and cannot be undone. Its Terms also reserve the right to charge additional fees above 20 GB per collection and 100 GB of bandwidth a month.

CloudSpot tells you a harsh thing clearly. Pixieset's silence is not a promise that your galleries stay up; it is an absence of published policy, so the answer can be anything and you have nothing to point at. Ask Pixieset support in writing and keep the reply.

Expiry: reversible on both, storage freed on neither

Both platforms let you expire a gallery, and neither expiry deletes anything.

CloudSpot, verbatim: "When a Gallery expires, it continues to exist on your account, but is no longer accessible to your client." Expiry dates can be modified or removed at any time, reactivating the gallery. CloudSpot also documents what the client sees, which most platforms do not: "the Gallery Cover Photo will still be shown with a message to your clients to reach out to you."

Pixieset's Auto-Expiry is opt-in and sets the collection to Hidden. Verbatim, it "does not delete the Collection, or remove it from your Pixieset account, but simply changes the Status". It is reversible, and because nothing is deleted an expired collection still occupies storage. Same outcome on both: expiry controls client access, it does not get room back.

Lightroom: both plugins run one way

CloudSpot lets you export edited images directly from Lightroom to CloudSpot collections, and is explicit about the direction, verbatim: it is "a one-way sync... Any collections you upload directly to CloudSpot will not be visible in Lightroom".

Pixieset's plugin is Lightroom Classic only and upload-only. It installs as a publish service mirroring your collection and set structure, and states the boundary itself: a sync pulls collection and set names into Lightroom, and "Your photos from Pixieset will not be imported into Lightroom."

Client favourites come back from Pixieset as a filename list you paste into Lightroom's search field, the Lightroom Copy List. Pixieset documents two failure modes of its own method: the Contains filter can over-select, so searching IMG_1 can also pull up IMG_101, and virtual copies are silently missed. Be fair about it: the list is free, it works, and with tidy filenames it is a two-minute job.

Worth saying once: neither platform returns client picks to the catalog as data. No collection is created, no stars are set, no colour labels written. Same gap on both sides.

The verdict: which studio picks which

Choose CloudSpot if storage is your binding constraint and your job count is low. Lite at 144 $ a year buys 100 GB, unlimited galleries, commission-free selling, your own logo and all file types. The nearest Pixieset tier for the same 100 GB is Plus at 16 $ a month billed annually, 192 $ over twelve months by arithmetic on Pixieset's figure. CloudSpot is also the choice if you deliver TIFF, PNG, PSD or PDF, or want the studio and invoicing side of the product.

Choose Pixieset if you shoot a lot of jobs, or want a real brand on a small budget. Unlimited galleries on every tier including Free takes the gallery count out of your planning. Basic at 8 $ a month billed annually is the cheapest plan here that gives branding removal, your own logo, a custom domain, full-resolution download and 0% commission at once; CloudSpot needs Lite at 17 $ a month to match that, and Entry at 7 $ leaves the 15% commission in place and your logo off the gallery. Pixieset is also the choice for RAW at Pro and Ultimate, and for hosted video from Basic up.

The tie-breaker. If you expect to downgrade or cancel one day, CloudSpot at least tells you what happens, and what it tells you is that everything over 5 GB is removed.

The flat-price third option

clientgallery.io has one plan: 10 $/month or 100 $/year. No storage ladder, no gallery count, no store and therefore no commission, and no platform branding on any client-facing page on any plan. The studio gets its own subdomain. Face Search, sub-galleries, and a two-way Lightroom Classic plugin that publishes proofs from the catalog and pulls the client's picks back into it are included rather than tiered.

Unlimited means unlimited under fair use, and the figures belong in the open. Uploaded photos are browser-compressed proof JPEGs of about 0.6 MB each, hosted for as long as the account exists. The ceilings are abuse tripwires: 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 and one gallery. Full-resolution delivery is a paid feature: a full-resolution ZIP per gallery, live for 3 days per handoff and re-uploadable any time, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account. Hosted galleries never expire.

Moving off Pixieset is a whole-account read from its dashboard, one bookmark, with Pixieset only read and never changed. The import page covers it.

When you should buy CloudSpot or Pixieset instead of us

Both of these products are wider than ours, and for some studios the width is the point. CloudSpot's full suite from Lite up includes studio and invoicing features and a fulfillment store that we do not have at all. If you want to invoice, take payment and sell prints where your galleries live, buy CloudSpot. We have no store and no invoicing.

The same argument applies to Pixieset. Its Client Gallery sits next to a store, hosted video, email campaigns, mobile gallery apps, a photo editor add-on and Studio tiers for multi-photographer businesses. A studio that lives inside a print lab, sells albums through the platform and runs its client email from the same account should stay on Pixieset. Giving up revenue tooling to save a few hundred dollars a year is only worth it if you were not using it. And we host JPEGs: if your delivery includes RAW files or master video, Pixieset Pro or CloudSpot Lite and up is the honest answer, not us.

Sources

All prices are US dollars as published by each company. All pages fetched 4 September 2026. Where a figure is arithmetic rather than published, the page says so at the point of use.

Frequently asked

Is CloudSpot cheaper than Pixieset?

At the very bottom, yes: CloudSpot Entry is 7 $ a month or 72 $ a year against Pixieset Basic at 8 $ a month billed annually. But Entry caps you at 15 galleries, accepts JPEG only, does not let you upload your own logo, and still takes 15% of store sales, while Basic does none of those things. At 100 GB CloudSpot is cheaper again: Lite at 144 $ a year against Pixieset Plus at 16 $ a month billed annually, which is 192 $ over twelve months by arithmetic on Pixieset's figure.

Does CloudSpot limit how many galleries I can create?

Yes, on the two cheapest plans. CloudSpot allows up to 3 active galleries on Free and up to 15 on Entry. Unlimited galleries start at Lite, at 17 $ a month or 144 $ a year. Pixieset lists unlimited galleries on every tier including Free, and states that there is no limit to the number of photos in a collection either, because storage is its only meter.

Which one removes the platform branding at the cheapest price?

Pixieset, if you want your own logo on the gallery. CloudSpot splits the two: removing the CloudSpot logo starts at Entry (7 $ a month), but uploading your own logo starts at Lite (17 $ a month). Pixieset unlocks branding removal and a custom logo together at Basic, its cheapest paid tier at 8 $ a month billed annually.

What happens to my galleries if I go over the storage limit or cancel?

CloudSpot publishes the rule: if you are over 5 GB when your account moves to Free, its system will remove all data from your account, and canceling in that state automatically deletes stored data above the 5 GB free limit. Refunds are not available for unused time. Pixieset publishes no equivalent rule and never says what happens to delivered galleries when you are over your limit. That silence is not a promise, so get an answer in writing before you rely on it.

Can I upload RAW files or PSDs to either platform?

CloudSpot accepts JPEG only on Free and Entry, and all types from Lite up, which it defines as JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, PSD and PDF. Pixieset gates RAW upload to Pro and Ultimate, with RAW capped at 1,000 GB on Ultimate. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video, so on this row it is not the answer.

Does either Lightroom plugin bring client picks back into my catalog?

No. CloudSpot documents its plugin as a one-way sync, and states that collections uploaded directly to CloudSpot will not be visible in Lightroom. Pixieset's plugin is upload-only and returns favourites as a filename list you paste into Lightroom's search, a method Pixieset itself warns can over-select and can miss virtual copies. Neither writes picks into the catalog as data.

How does clientgallery.io compare on price?

One plan at 10 $/month or 100 $/year, with unlimited galleries, photos and clients under fair use, no platform branding on any plan, your own subdomain, Face Search, sub-galleries and a two-way Lightroom Classic plugin. Fair use in figures: proof JPEGs of about 0.6 MB each, 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account; free accounts hold 5 GB and one gallery. Full-resolution delivery is a ZIP per gallery, live 3 days per handoff and re-uploadable, with 100 GB of standing ZIPs. There is no store and no commission.

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.

See the one flat plan

Related guides

CloudSpot vs Pixieset for Photographers (2026)