Migration
How to Export Galleries From Pixieset: What You Get
Does Pixieset export galleries? Yes, as a spreadsheet. The photos come out another way. Here is what each route produces, step by step.
Updated 23 September 2026
Does Pixieset export galleries? Yes, and the button is easy to find. What it produces is a spreadsheet: a CSV of collection details, names, client names and emails, download PINs, passwords and links. Pixieset's help center says the file "does not contain any photos or videos." If you want your images somewhere else, the Export button is the wrong tool, and nothing else on the dashboard does the job: Pixieset has no photo export.
The photos come out one of two ways. Per gallery, the way a client would: open the collection, enter its PIN, receive a ZIP at 3600px or Original resolution, Original being available on upgraded plans, then repeat for the next collection. Or as a whole-account import into clientgallery.io: one click on your Pixieset dashboard reads every collection and rebuilds it under your brand, with its title, its password, its photo order and its sets.
One thing to be clear about before you start, because it decides which route you need. The import takes Pixieset's largest web size, the biggest copy the dashboard serves. It does not take the original file you uploaded. It moves your delivery, not your archive, so it is not a backup, and your masters stay where they already are: on your own drives. If what you want is the original files themselves, that is the per-gallery download below, and only on a plan where Pixieset offers Original resolution.
What the Export button actually produces
Pixieset's help center describes the export as a way to see passwords, download PINs, client details and links in one place without opening each gallery. It covers collection details only; photos and videos are not part of it. Its columns:
- Collection Name
- First Name and Last Name
- Download PIN
- Collection Password
- Client Private Password
- Folder Password
- Collection URL
A second CSV exists per collection: on a collection's download activity page, an Export button writes its download activity to a CSV. Two spreadsheets, no pixels.
Why the CSV is still the first thing to download
Nothing in that file moves a photo, but it is the inventory a migration needs. Download it first and keep it open through the move.
- One row per collection is your checklist. Tick rows off as galleries land; the last untouched row is what is left.
- The Download PIN column is what the per-gallery route asks for at every collection.
- The Email column is your client list, the one you send new links to.
- The Collection URL column lets you check each old link against its new one before you cancel.
- The three password columns tell you which galleries are protected. The whole-account import carries a collection's password across; gallery by gallery, this is where you read what to set again.
- The download-activity CSV shows which clients have already pulled their files, so you know which links can go quiet.
Route 1: download each gallery, the way a client would
Pixieset's help center says a Pixieset user can download photos from a collection the same way clients do, and it documents no download that spans more than one collection. The manual route is one collection at a time.
- Check the collection's download settings. High-resolution downloads are 3600px or Original, and Original is available on upgraded plans; Pixieset recommends checking the setting before you download. The web sizes, 640px, 1024px and 2048px, are proofs, not masters.
- Open the collection as a visitor, from the Collection URL column of the CSV.
- Enter the download PIN. By default every collection asks for a 4-digit PIN before it releases photos or videos; it is in the CSV's Download PIN column.
- Start the download. Pixieset packages the collection into a ZIP file rather than sending images one by one.
- Unzip, count and file. Compare the file count with the collection's photo count and store the folder under the client's name. Title, description, password and client email do not come with the ZIP; they come from the CSV.
- Repeat for the next row of the CSV.
What this yields: each collection's image files, one ZIP at a time, with no structure around them. Which pixels you actually receive depends on the size the collection is set to offer, and the sizes are a short list.
| Size offered | Pixieset's label | What it is | Plan requirement Pixieset states |
|---|---|---|---|
| 640px, 1024px or 2048px on the width | Web size | A proof copy, for sharing and for the web | None stated |
| 3600px on the long edge | High resolution | A large delivery file, not the file you uploaded | None stated |
| Original resolution | High resolution | The file you uploaded, untouched | "Available on upgraded Client Gallery or Suite plans" |
Two notes on that table. A photo smaller than the size on offer comes out at its own dimensions; Pixieset does not upscale it. And only the bottom row is a copy of your master.
So the cheapest route to your own masters runs through a paid plan. Basic is the first one, and these are the two plans that decide whether you can get Original resolution out at all. Prices as printed on Pixieset's pricing page on 23 September 2026, in US dollars.
| Pixieset plan | Billed monthly (USD) | Billed annually (USD) | Photo storage | Store commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 0 $ | 0 $ | 3 GB | 15% |
| Basic | 10 $/month | 8 $/month | 10 GB | Commission-free sales |
Pixieset states that Original resolution is available on upgraded Client Gallery or Suite plans, and Basic is the cheapest of those, at 10 $/month billed monthly or 8 $/month billed annually. Choose monthly billing if the plan is only there to get one export out, since Pixieset's billing article states that refunds are not issued for account cancellations.
Route 2: move the whole account in one click
The second route does not export from Pixieset at all. It reads your account through Pixieset's own dashboard API, the endpoints its web app already uses, and rebuilds each collection on clientgallery.io. Pixieset is only read, never changed; your Pixieset password never reaches clientgallery.io.
- Create your studio on clientgallery.io and open the import page. Drag the button labelled Import to clientgallery.io to your bookmarks bar (Command-Shift-B on a Mac, Ctrl-Shift-B on Windows, if the bar is hidden). It carries your private import key; treat it like a password.
- Sign in at galleries.pixieset.com, the admin page that lists all your collections. That is the only Pixieset page you need.
- Click the bookmark. A small panel appears and reads your account: every collection, its title, its password, its sets and the order you arranged the photos in, plus the event date and any set descriptions.
- Watch everything land. Your galleries are rebuilt one by one, in your order, under your brand and your studio's own subdomain. Each photo comes across at Pixieset's largest web size, the biggest copy its dashboard serves, not the original file you uploaded. Password-protected collections come over with their password; you are already signed in to Pixieset when you click.
- Run it again whenever you like. What already came over is skipped, never duplicated, so a large account can move in stages. A single-gallery button exists as well.
What comes across as its own field: the gallery's title, its password, the photo order, and the sets, which are reproduced as sections of the gallery, but only when a collection had more than one set. A collection with a single set simply becomes the gallery. The event date and any set descriptions are written into the gallery's welcome note as paragraphs rather than kept as separate fields, and there is no cover photo field and no collection description field at all.
What the import is not: a backup. It carries Pixieset's largest web size, never your original file, so the galleries that arrive are a delivery copy. Nothing on this page is a reason to delete anything from your own drives. Your masters are your masters, they stay with you, and a migration does not change that. If you want your originals off Pixieset as well, run the per-gallery route above at Original resolution alongside the import.
What this yields: every collection live under your name with its structure intact, and clients who download the whole gallery in one click or any single image, and hosted galleries that never expire. A free clientgallery.io studio holds one gallery; the unlimited plan, 10 $/month or 110 $/year, holds them all, with no per-gallery fees and no storage tiers. The limits are 1,000 photos per gallery and 500,000 photos per paid account; free accounts hold one gallery of up to 1,000 photos. Uploaded photos are browser-compressed proof JPEGs, hosted for as long as the account exists. Full-resolution delivery is on every plan, free included: you upload 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.
What it does not read: your client list. The import reads collections, not the names and emails attached to them, so the CSV stays the place where the addresses live. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video, so a clip in a Pixieset collection comes out through the first route. Feature by feature, see Pixieset vs clientgallery.io.
The three outputs side by side
Only one of the three carries a photo and its context together.
| Output | How you get it | What it contains | What it leaves out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collection CSV export | Export on the Pixieset dashboard, one file for the account | Collection names, client first and last names, emails, download PINs, collection passwords, client private passwords, folder passwords, collection URLs | Every photo and video |
| Per-gallery download | Open each collection as a visitor, enter its 4-digit PIN, receive a ZIP | The image files of one collection, at 3600px or at Original resolution on upgraded plans | Titles, descriptions, passwords, client details and photo order; one collection per download |
| Whole-account import to clientgallery.io | One click of the import bookmark on galleries.pixieset.com | Every collection at Pixieset's largest web size, under your brand, with its title, password and photo order, and its sets as sections when a collection had more than one. Event date and set descriptions land in the gallery's welcome note as paragraphs | Your original files: this is a delivery copy, not a backup. Also client names and emails, download activity, and any cover photo or collection description, which are not fields here; RAW files and video are not hosted |
Before you cancel Pixieset
Order matters, because three Pixieset policies shape a clean exit.
- Collections do not expire on their own. Only the Auto-Expiry feature does that, and an expired collection is set to Hidden, not deleted, so it is still in your account to move.
- After a cancellation, Pixieset keeps collections for a period of time before deleting them, and puts no number on that period. Treat it as short: move first, cancel second.
- Refunds are not issued for account cancellations, so cancel at the end of a paid period.
A safe sequence: export the collection CSV; run the import, or the per-gallery downloads; check the CSV's row count against the gallery count at the destination; spot-check the largest galleries; send clients their new links; then cancel at the end of the billing period. The plan you are leaving is costed in the real cost of Pixieset; delivery from the new home is covered in the photo delivery guide.
The honest counterpoint: if your print store and CRM are where your revenue comes from, there is nothing to export. Keep Pixieset. This page is for the studio whose photos should not depend on a subscription staying paid. The wider field is compared on the client gallery alternatives page.
Sources
Every figure, policy and quote on this page comes from the pages below, each read again on 23 September 2026. Pixieset help articles carry their own update date, so both dates are given: what Pixieset states, and when Pixieset last stated it. Pixieset's pricing page shows local currency to visitors in Canada; the prices printed here are its USD figures.
- Pixieset pricing page (per-plan prices and storage), read as published on 23 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://pixieset.com/pricing/
- Pixieset Help Center, Using folders to share and organize galleries (the Export), Pixieset updated it 18 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/31178129650957-Using-folders-to-share-and-organize-galleries
- Pixieset Help Center, Reviewing Collection Download Activity, Pixieset updated it 25 July 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000930212-Reviewing-Collection-Download-Activity
- Pixieset Help Center, Your client's download experience, Pixieset updated it 21 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003594212-Your-client-s-download-experience
- Pixieset Help Center, Download Sizes - Available Resolutions, Pixieset updated it 22 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003793252-Download-Sizes-Available-Resolutions
- Pixieset Help Center, Collection download settings, Pixieset updated it 22 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003795572-Collection-download-settings
- Pixieset Help Center, Do my Collections expire?, Pixieset updated it 16 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002975012-Do-my-Collections-expire
- Pixieset Help Center, How do I set an Expiry Date to the Gallery?, Pixieset updated it 10 August 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003479211-How-do-I-set-an-Expiry-Date-to-the-Gallery
- Pixieset Help Center, Managing your Pixieset subscription, Pixieset updated it 23 September 2026, fetched 23 September 2026, https://help.pixieset.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003816812-Managing-your-Pixieset-subscription
- clientgallery.io pricing (10 $/month or 110 $/year), the fair-use figures, and the Pixieset import (one gallery on a free studio, whole-account bookmark, largest web size), checked in the product code on 23 September 2026, clientgallery.io and clientgallery.io/import
Frequently asked
Does Pixieset export galleries?
Yes, as a spreadsheet. The Export button on the Pixieset dashboard writes a CSV of collection details: names, client names and emails, download PINs, passwords and collection links. Pixieset's help center is explicit that the file contains no photos or videos. To get the images out, download each collection as a client would, or import the whole account into clientgallery.io in one click.
Can I download all my Pixieset galleries at once?
Not from Pixieset. Its help center documents downloading a collection the way a client does, one at a time, behind a 4-digit PIN, as a ZIP; it documents no download across every collection. The one-click path is the whole-account import into clientgallery.io, which reads every collection in one run and skips what is already imported when re-run.
What resolution do I get when I download from Pixieset?
Pixieset offers web sizes of 640px, 1024px and 2048px on the width, and high-resolution downloads at 3600px on the long edge or at Original resolution. Pixieset states that Original resolution is available on upgraded Client Gallery or Suite plans, so Basic is the cheapest plan that gets it, at 10 $/month billed monthly or 8 $/month billed annually, in US dollars. Only the Original option is a copy of the file you uploaded. A photo smaller than the size on offer comes out at its own dimensions, because Pixieset does not upscale it.
Does the clientgallery.io import bring my photos over at full resolution?
No, and this matters. The import takes Pixieset's largest web size, the biggest copy the Pixieset dashboard serves, never the original file you uploaded. That makes it a move of your delivery, not a backup of your archive. Your masters stay on your own drives and should stay there. If you want your original files off Pixieset too, download each collection at Original resolution as a client would, on a plan where Pixieset offers it.
What does the whole-account import carry, and what does it leave behind?
It carries the gallery title, the password, the photo order, and the sets, which become sections of the gallery when a collection had more than one set. The event date and any set descriptions are written into the gallery's welcome note as paragraphs rather than kept as separate fields, and there is no cover photo field and no collection description field. It does not read your client list, so client names and emails stay in the CSV export, and it does not carry download activity. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs and does not warehouse RAW files or master video.
Does the clientgallery.io import change or delete anything in Pixieset?
No. It reads your account through Pixieset's own dashboard API, the same endpoints the Pixieset web app uses, and writes nothing back. Your Pixieset password never reaches clientgallery.io, because you click the bookmark while already signed in to Pixieset.
Will my galleries disappear when I cancel Pixieset?
Not immediately. Pixieset's help center says collections stay online while a subscription is active and are preserved for a short period after a cancellation before they are removed, without stating how long that period is. Refunds are not issued for account cancellations. Move everything first, verify the counts, then cancel at the end of a paid period.
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.
Move my Pixieset galleries