Lightroom plugin
Pixieset vs clientgallery.io: The Lightroom Plugin Compared
One comparison, one subject: the Lightroom Classic plugin each platform ships. What installs, what a Publish click pushes, and what comes back into the catalog once the client has finished choosing.
Updated September 2026
This page compares two pieces of software, not two companies. If you want the platform comparison, with price, storage and store commission, that is a different page: Pixieset vs clientgallery.io. In one line, so it is out of the way: Pixieset runs a five-tier ladder from 0 $ to 50 $ a month with storage as the meter, clientgallery.io is one flat plan at 10 $/month or 100 $/year. Nothing below depends on that.
What is below is the plugin. Both install into Lightroom Classic. Both appear as a Publish Service. From there they diverge on one axis that decides most workflows: whether client selections come back into your catalog as data, or as text you paste into a search field. Every Pixieset statement on this page is quoted from Pixieset's own help center, fetched 4 September 2026 and listed at the end. Every clientgallery.io statement was checked against the shipped plugin, version 3.2.0, the same day.
The two plugins, capability by capability
"Not documented" below means exactly that: Pixieset publishes no help article describing the behaviour. It is not a claim that the behaviour is absent.
| Capability | Pixieset Lightroom Plug-in | clientgallery.io plugin |
|---|---|---|
| Lightroom versions | Lightroom Classic only, Lightroom 4 and above, Mac OS X 10.11 and Windows 7 and above | Lightroom Classic only |
| Documented version | 1.0.4 | 3.2.0 |
| Installs a Publish Service | Yes | Yes |
| Installs an Export destination | Not documented | Yes, a ClientGallery destination in the Export dialog |
| Credential check before the render starts | Not documented | Yes, a Check button validates the studio key |
| Render settings | Set in the plugin's export settings; exported files are capped at 50 MB | Forced: sRGB JPEG, no output sharpening, location metadata removed |
| Tracks New and Modified photos | Yes, edits mark images for re-publishing | Yes, one Publish pushes exactly the New and Modified ones |
| Metadata-only change triggers a re-push | Not documented | No, only develop edits mark a photo Modified |
| Removing a photo removes it from the live gallery | Yes, deletions can be pushed | Yes |
| Renaming the collection renames the gallery | Not documented | Yes |
| Deleting the collection deletes the gallery | Not documented | Yes |
| Nested collection sets | Yes, it mirrors Pixieset's Collection and Set structure | No, published galleries are flat |
| Pulls gallery structure down from the server | Yes, Sync Gallery Structure pulls Collection and Set names into Lightroom | No |
| Pulls photos down into the catalog | No: "Your photos from Pixieset will not be imported into Lightroom" | No |
| Client picks return as catalog data | Not documented. The documented route is a copy-pasteable filename list run through Lightroom's Find field | Yes, Library, Plug-in Extras, Import ClientGallery Picks |
| Picked photos get star ratings | Not documented | Likes become 3 stars, loves become 5 stars |
| Picked photos get flagged | Not documented | Loves are flagged as Picks |
| Client colour labels become Lightroom colour labels | Not documented | Yes, red, yellow, green, blue and purple |
| Selections gathered into a collection | Not documented | Yes, named after the gallery, inside a ClientGallery collection set |
| Client comments written to IPTC captions | Not documented | Optional, off by default because it overwrites an existing caption |
| Selection import can be re-run | Not applicable | Yes, at any time |
| Photos per gallery | No photo cap; storage is the only meter | 1,000, and the plugin says so when a gallery fills |
| Free account | Unlimited galleries within 3 GB of storage | One gallery, and the plugin says so before it fails |
Two rows in that table decide real workflows. The rest is detail. Those two are the return path for client picks, and what a Publish click actually pushes.
Row one: how client picks come back
Pixieset describes its plugin in one sentence: "The Pixieset Lightroom Plug-in allows you to upload photos to Pixieset directly from Lightroom Classic." Upload, by its own description. Nothing in Pixieset's documentation describes importing client selections back into a Lightroom Classic catalog. There is no documented collection created, no star set, no flag raised, no colour label applied, no metadata written.
What Pixieset documents instead is the Lightroom Copy List. The favourite list becomes "a list of all images in a Favorite List, formatted perfectly for Lightroom's search function". You copy it, go to Library, Find, set the field to Any Searchable Field and the rule to Contains, and paste. The matching photos come up in the grid.
Give that method its due, because it works, it is free, and for a photographer with tidy filenames who does not use virtual copies it is a serviceable two-minute job. Pixieset also documents a second route: download the favourites as a ZIP or have the list emailed from the Favorite Activity screen, then re-import by hand.
Pixieset is also honest about where the copy list breaks, and both warnings are Pixieset's own words rather than ours. The first is over-selection: "If you are searching for IMG_1, for example, IMG_101 might come up as well." A Contains search matches partial sequences, so a short filename stem pulls in frames the client never chose. The second is silent under-selection: "If you use virtual copies when editing images, and export these virtual copies, the Lightroom Copy List will not pull the virtual copies up." Pixieset's remedy is to double-check that all images are selected. Over-selection is visible in the grid. Under-selection is not, which is why it is the worse of the two.
The other point about a search result is that it is a search result. It lives until you type something else into the field. There is nothing in the catalog afterward that says this frame is a love and that one is a maybe. You either act on the grid immediately or you build the collection by hand.
clientgallery.io's plugin writes the selection into the catalog. Library menu, Plug-in Extras, Import ClientGallery Picks. Paste the studio key and the gallery link you already sent the client. Likes are rated 3 stars. Loves are rated 5 stars and flagged as Picks. The client's colour labels become Lightroom colour labels, filterable in the Library filter bar and usable in smart collections. Everything found is gathered into a collection named after the gallery, inside a ClientGallery collection set. Client comments can be written into the IPTC caption, off by default because it overwrites an existing caption. The import is re-runnable, so a client who adds three more loves next week costs you one menu click, not a rebuild.
The practical difference is that ratings and labels survive. A week later the catalog still knows which frames were loved, which were liked, and what colour the client put on them. The longer walkthrough is in getting client picks back into Lightroom.
Row two: what a Publish click pushes
Both plugins install as a Publish Service, and that is a tie rather than a differentiator. In both, the gallery appears in Lightroom's left panel as a published collection, Lightroom tracks which photos are new and which changed since the last push, and one Publish sends the difference. In both, deletions can be pushed to the live gallery. If your question is whether you can keep a delivered gallery in step with your catalog without re-uploading everything, the answer on both platforms is yes.
Three details differ. The first is what counts as changed. On clientgallery.io a develop edit marks a photo Modified, and a metadata-only change does not, so keywording an old job does not queue a hundred re-renders. Pixieset documents that edits mark images for re-publishing without splitting develop from metadata.
The second is what the collection itself controls. On clientgallery.io renaming the published collection renames the live gallery, and deleting the published collection deletes the gallery. The Lightroom panel is the control surface. That cuts both ways, and a studio that deletes published collections as housekeeping should know it before it clicks.
The third is render settings, which clientgallery.io forces rather than offers: sRGB JPEG, no output sharpening, location metadata removed. There is no export preset to get wrong, and no gallery that ships in a working colour space because a preset was left on from a print job. Location metadata coming off matters for a home address in a newborn session. Pixieset exposes its export settings in the normal way, and caps exported files at 50 MB. If you want control over the render, that flexibility is a point for Pixieset, not against it.
One clientgallery.io detail has no Pixieset equivalent and saves the most time in practice: a Check button that validates the studio key before the export starts. A typo surfaces on the spot rather than three hundred renders later. Publishing a gallery from Lightroom Classic covers the full sequence.
Where Pixieset's plugin does more
One capability belongs to Pixieset outright. Its plugin syncs structure downward: Sync Gallery Structure "will pull the Collection, Set structure and names from your existing Collections on Pixieset to Lightroom". If you build and rename collections on the web, Lightroom follows. clientgallery.io does not do this. Its Publish Service galleries are flat, with no nested collection sets, and structure only travels upward from the catalog.
For a studio whose organising happens on the web, that is a genuine reason to prefer the Pixieset plugin, and no feature on our side offsets it. Be clear on the limit though, because Pixieset is: the sync is names only. "Sync Now will only attempt to sync your gallery structure (collection/set names). Any photos uploaded/removed will not be synced", and "Your photos from Pixieset will not be imported into Lightroom." Structure comes down. Pixels never do, on either plugin.
Pixieset's plugin also has years of installed base behind it, and it is documented in a maintained help center. The install article was edited on 3 September 2026, one day before this page was written.
The limitation both products share
Neither product carries an image identity from the gallery back to your catalog. Both match on filename. Pixieset's copy list is filenames pasted into a search field, and clientgallery.io's pick import matches picked filenames against the catalog. The same discipline therefore applies on both: consistent, unique filenames, and care with virtual copies and renamed exports. If none of the picked filenames are in the catalog, clientgallery.io's importer says so and tells you to import the shoot folder first. The difference between the two products is not how the match is made. It is what happens after the match: a transient search result on one side, stars, flags, labels and a collection on the other.
When this comparison decides nothing
If you do not use Lightroom Classic, stop here. Both plugins are Classic only. Pixieset states it plainly, "this plugin only works for Lightroom Classic", and clientgallery.io's plugin is a Classic plugin as well. Neither has a Lightroom cloud path. A Capture One studio, a Photo Mechanic and Photoshop studio, or a photographer working entirely in the Lightroom mobile and desktop cloud apps gets nothing from either plugin, and should choose a platform on other grounds.
If your business runs inside Pixieset's print store, its client CRM and the rest of its suite, weigh the whole platform, not one plugin. A commission-free store that sells prints, albums and wall art can earn back a subscription on its own, and a two-minute copy-paste on selection day is a small tax on a system that is otherwise doing your invoicing and your fulfilment. Switching a platform to change a plugin is the wrong trade. clientgallery.io has no print store and no commissions, because it has no store at all, and it hosts JPEGs rather than warehousing RAW files or master video, which is what keeps its price flat.
The case for changing is narrower than that, and it is worth stating narrowly. You shoot proofing rounds. Clients pick in the gallery. You edit only what they picked. In that loop the return path runs every single job, and a selection that lands in the catalog as ratings, flags, labels and a collection is worth more than a search you have to redo. If that is not your loop, the plugin is not your deciding factor.
Sources
All Pixieset pages fetched 4 September 2026. clientgallery.io plugin behaviour checked against the shipped plugin, version 3.2.0, on 4 September 2026.
- How do I install the Lightroom Plugin (the plugin uploads photos to Pixieset from Lightroom Classic; Sync Gallery Structure pulls Collection and Set names; photos from Pixieset are not imported into Lightroom), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003009832-How-do-I-install-the-Lightroom-Plugin
- How do I upload from Lightroom (Lightroom Classic only, Mac OS X 10.11 and Windows 7 and above, Lightroom 4 and above, version 1.0.4, Publish Service behaviour), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003504512-How-do-I-upload-from-Lightroom
- Viewing Client Favorites in Lightroom (the Lightroom Copy List, the Find field steps, the over-selection warning and the virtual copies warning), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003505192-Viewing-Client-Favorites-in-Lightroom
- How do I download my client's Favorites (ZIP download and email from Favorite Activity), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003003931-How-do-I-download-my-client-s-Favorites
- File size and format requirements for Pixieset (the Lightroom plugin caps at 50 MB), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002900632-File-size-and-format-requirements-for-Pixieset
- Uploading to Client Gallery (no limit on the number of photos in a collection, all uploads count toward available storage), fetched 4 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003740132-Uploading-to-Client-Gallery
- Pixieset pricing (the five Client Gallery tiers from 0 $ to 50 $ a month, Free at 3 GB, commission-free store sales on paid tiers), fetched 4 September 2026, https://pixieset.com/pricing/
- clientgallery.io plugin behaviour (Export destination and Publish Service, Check button, forced render settings, New and Modified tracking, rename and delete behaviour, flat galleries, 1,000 photos per gallery, one gallery on a free account, pick import writing stars, flags, colour labels and a collection), checked 4 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/lightroom
- clientgallery.io plan (10 $/month or 100 $/year, one plan, JPEG hosting, no print store), checked 4 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Does the Pixieset Lightroom plugin import client favourites back into Lightroom?
Pixieset's documentation does not describe importing client selections into a Lightroom Classic catalog. The documented return path is the Lightroom Copy List: a list of filenames you copy and paste into Lightroom's Find field with Any Searchable Field and Contains. It produces a search result, not stars, flags, labels or a collection.
What can go wrong with the Lightroom Copy List?
Pixieset documents two failure modes itself. Over-selection, because a Contains search matches partial sequences: searching for IMG_1 can also pull up IMG_101. And virtual copies, which the copy list will not pull up at all, so Pixieset advises double-checking that every image is selected.
What does clientgallery.io's pick import actually write into my catalog?
Likes become 3 stars. Loves become 5 stars and are flagged as Picks. The client's red, yellow, green, blue and purple labels become Lightroom colour labels, filterable in the Library filter bar and usable in smart collections. Everything found is gathered into a collection named after the gallery, inside a ClientGallery collection set. Client comments can optionally go into the IPTC caption, off by default. The import can be re-run at any time.
Do both plugins work with Lightroom CC or Lightroom on mobile?
No. Both are Lightroom Classic only. Pixieset states that its plugin only works for Lightroom Classic, and clientgallery.io's plugin is a Classic plugin as well. If you do not use Classic, this comparison decides nothing for you.
Does clientgallery.io's Publish Service mirror my nested collection sets?
No. Published galleries are flat, with no nested collection sets. Pixieset does more here: its plugin mirrors Pixieset's Collection and Set structure and can pull those names down from the server into Lightroom, though the sync is names only and no photos come down.
Can I choose my own export settings in the clientgallery.io plugin?
No. The render is forced: sRGB JPEG, no output sharpening, location metadata removed. There is no preset to get wrong and no home address travelling in a newborn gallery. If you want control over the render, Pixieset's export settings are the more flexible option, capped at 50 MB per exported file.
Do both plugins match photos by filename?
Yes, and it is the limitation they share. Pixieset's copy list is filenames run through a search, and clientgallery.io's pick import matches picked filenames against the catalog. Consistent, unique filenames matter on both. The difference is what happens after the match, not how the match is made.
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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