Comparison
iCloud Shared Album vs a Client Gallery for Sending Photos to Clients
A shared album made on iOS 27 or later now keeps your originals. That removes the old quality argument. What is left is a question of gates, storage, picks and whose name the client sees.
Updated 18 September 2026
If you shoot and edit on Apple devices, Shared Albums is already built into Photos. So the question is fair: why not just send the client a shared album?
Until this month, the easy answer was image size. That answer is now only half true.
On 14 September 2026 Apple published new support pages that split shared albums into two kinds, by the software version the album was created on. An album created on version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, visionOS or macOS, or on the web, keeps photos in their original formats at full resolution. An album created on version 26 or earlier still reduces photos to 2048 pixels on the long edge and holds 5,000 items at most.
This page takes both kinds at face value, using only what Apple publishes. Every Apple figure was read on 18 September 2026 and is listed under Sources at the end.
The short version: for friends and family on Apple devices, a shared album is free and fine. For a paying client, the differences are a password, where the storage comes from, picks that come back to you, and your name on the page instead of Apple's.
Apple's two kinds of shared album
Apple's limits page now has two headings. Which one applies depends on the version the album was created on, not the version your client uses to open it.
| Limit | Created on version 27 or later, or on the web | Created on version 26 or earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Photo size | Stored in original formats at full resolution | Reduced to 2048 pixels on the long edge. Panoramas up to 5400 pixels wide |
| Video | Stored in original formats | Up to 15 minutes, at up to 720p |
| Items per album | No limit beyond the owner's available iCloud storage | 5,000 photos and videos from all contributors combined |
| People per album | 100 participants, including the owner | 100 subscribers |
| Counts against your iCloud storage | Yes, for albums you own | No |
| Albums an owner can share | No limit on the number of albums | 200 |
| Upload pace per contributor | Not listed | 1,000 an hour, 10,000 a day, across all shared albums |
The same page lists a separate 5,000-item limit for what Apple calls temporary shared albums. Apple's page does not define that term, so this page does not either.
Apple's file-types page adds exceptions that matter to photographers. You can't upload RAW photos to Shared Albums on iCloud.com, TIFF files aren't supported on iCloud.com, and a Windows PC can't upload HEIF, HEVC or RAW to Shared Albums.
What version 27 fixed, honestly
The old case against shared albums for client work was quality. A 2048-pixel file is fine on a phone and too small for a large print.
For an album you create on version 27 or later, that case is gone. Apple states the photos are stored in their original formats at full resolution.
Apple's shared albums guide lists other version 27 additions: new filters and sorting, emoji reactions, and new ways to invite people. It also says friends and family will be able to join and contribute photos on the web, even without an Apple Account or Apple device. That web access is described as starting in iOS 27, so an older album does not gain it.
If your old reason for avoiding shared albums was the pixel reduction, re-check it against the version you are on. An album created on an older device still follows the old limits.
What still differs when the recipient is a paying client
A shared album was built for people sharing their own photos with each other. A client gallery was built for a business handing finished work to a customer. The gaps follow from that.
| Question | iCloud Shared Album | clientgallery.io |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to create. On version 27 or later, the photos use your iCloud storage | 10 $ a month or 100 $ a year. Free account holds 1 gallery and 5 GB |
| Who can open it | Invited people, or anyone with the address if you turn on Public Website | Anyone with the gallery link, plus a password on each gallery if you set one |
| Password | Apple's shared albums guide does not describe one | A password on each gallery, checked on the server |
| Can the client add photos | Yes when "Can Add Photos" is on. You can turn it off | No. The client views, picks and downloads |
| What is hosted | Version 27 or later: originals. Version 26 or earlier: 2048 pixels on the long edge | Browser-compressed JPEG proofs of about 0.6 MB each, sized for fast viewing |
| Full-resolution handoff | Inside the album itself on version 27 or later | Paid plan: a full-resolution ZIP per gallery, live 3 days per handoff, re-uploadable any time, 100 GB of standing ZIPs per account |
| Size limits | Version 27 or later: your iCloud storage. Version 26 or earlier: 5,000 items | Fair-use ceilings of 1,000 photos per gallery and 250 GB of proofs per paid account |
| Client picks | Comments and, from version 27, emoji reactions | Clients mark picks and send them to the studio. The Lightroom Classic plugin pulls them into the catalog |
| Download | Viewers can save photos to their own library | Whole gallery in one click, or any single photo. No client account needed |
| Whose name is on it | An Apple album, or an Apple-hosted public website | Your studio subdomain and logo. No platform branding on client pages |
| When it goes away | Deleting the album permanently deletes its photos for everyone | Hosted galleries never expire while the account exists |
The four gaps that matter for client work
The gate.Apple describes Public Website as publishing the photos to a website that anyone can see in an up-to-date web browser. That is convenient for a client with no Apple device. It is also open to anyone the address reaches. A client gallery lets you put a password on that same link. For more on locking a delivery down, see the Google Drive alternative for photo delivery, which covers the same problem with a different free tool.
The storage bill.On version 27 or later, Apple states that photos in albums you own count towards your iCloud storage. Every client album you keep up draws on the same storage as your personal library. On version 26 or earlier it did not count, but the photos were reduced.
The picks.A shared album lets people react and comment. It does not hand you a list of chosen frames to act on. clientgallery.io lets the client mark picks and send them, and the two-way Lightroom Classic plugin writes those picks back into your catalog. The plugin works with Lightroom Classic only, not the cloud Lightroom app.
The name on the page.A shared album is an Apple album. A client gallery sits on your own studio subdomain with your logo, and clientgallery.io puts no platform branding on client pages.
One smaller point: Apple states that deleting a shared album permanently deletes all of its photos. Photos a viewer already saved stay in that viewer's library. So tidying up your shared albums list also ends the delivery for any client who had not saved the photos yet.
Where clientgallery.io is narrower than a version 27 album
A fair comparison has to say this part out loud.
- The hosted photos are compressed proofs, not originals. A version 27 shared album keeps originals in the album itself.
- Full-resolution files travel as a separate ZIP that stays live for 3 days per handoff, and that ZIP is a paid feature.
- No RAW files and no master video. The platform hosts JPEGs.
- It costs money. A shared album does not, beyond your iCloud storage.
- Clients cannot add their own photos, which a family event album often wants.
The two-file model is deliberate: a light gallery that stays online, and a heavy file the client downloads once. The reasoning is laid out in how to send full-resolution photos to a client.
Who should just use a shared album
If the people receiving the photos are friends or family on Apple devices, use a shared album.It is free, it is already on their phones, and on version 27 or later it keeps originals.
Stay with shared albums for client work as well if all of these are true.
- Your albums are created on version 27 or later, so the photos keep their original size.
- You have iCloud storage to spare for every client album you keep up.
- You do not need a password, only an invite or an unguessed link.
- You do not collect picks, or a comment thread is enough.
- Your clients do not mind that the page is Apple's rather than yours.
Who should use a client gallery
- You want a password on each delivery.
- You want client picks to come back as a list, and into Lightroom Classic.
- You do not want client work drawing on your personal iCloud storage.
- You want your studio name on the page the client opens.
- You want the gallery to stay up with nothing to manage, while the full-resolution ZIP handles the big download.
Sources
Every Apple figure, limit and quote on this page was read on the pages below on 18 September 2026.
- Apple Support, "Shared Albums limits" (version 27 or later: originals at full resolution, counts towards iCloud storage, no item limit beyond storage, 100 participants; version 26 or earlier: 2048 pixels, panoramas 5400 pixels, 15-minute 720p video, 5,000 items, 100 subscribers, 200 albums, 1,000 an hour and 10,000 a day; temporary shared albums 5,000 items), published 14 September 2026, fetched 18 September 2026, https://support.apple.com/en-us/148868
- Apple Support, "How to use Shared Albums in Photos on your iPhone, iPad, or Apple Vision Pro" (iOS 27 additions, web contribution without an Apple Account starting in iOS 27, Public Website, Can Add Photos, deletion, saving to a library), published 14 September 2026, fetched 18 September 2026, https://support.apple.com/en-us/108314
- Apple Support, "File types that you can use in Shared Albums" (originals on version 27 or later, RAW and TIFF on iCloud.com, Windows exceptions), published 14 September 2026, fetched 18 September 2026, https://support.apple.com/en-us/148676
- clientgallery.io product facts (10 $ a month or 100 $ a year, free account of 1 gallery and 5 GB, proofs of about 0.6 MB, 1,000 photos per gallery, 250 GB of proofs per paid account, full-resolution ZIP live 3 days with 100 GB of standing ZIPs, password per gallery, client picks, two-way Lightroom Classic plugin, no platform branding, galleries that never expire, JPEG hosting only), checked in code 18 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Does an iCloud shared album reduce photo quality?
It depends on when the album was created. Apple states that albums created on version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, visionOS or macOS, or on the web, store photos in their original formats at full resolution. Albums created on version 26 or earlier reduce photos to 2048 pixels on the long edge, with panoramas up to 5400 pixels wide.
How many photos can an iCloud shared album hold?
For albums created on version 27 or later, Apple lists no limit beyond the owner's available iCloud storage. For albums created on version 26 or earlier, the limit is 5,000 photos and videos from all contributors combined.
Do iCloud shared albums use my iCloud storage?
Albums you own that were created on version 27 or later count towards your iCloud storage, according to Apple. Albums created on version 26 or earlier do not count towards it.
Can a client without an iPhone open an iCloud shared album?
Yes, through Public Website, which Apple describes as a website anyone can see in an up-to-date web browser. Apple also says that starting in iOS 27, people can join and contribute on the web even without an Apple Account or Apple device.
Can I password-protect an iCloud shared album?
Apple's shared albums guide does not describe a password. Access is by invitation, or open to anyone with the address when Public Website is on. clientgallery.io lets you set a password on each gallery.
Should a photographer use iCloud shared albums for clients?
For friends and family on Apple devices, yes. For paying clients, a client gallery adds a password, picks that come back to the studio and into Lightroom Classic, your own subdomain, and storage that does not draw on your iCloud plan.
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