Migration
How to Switch From Pic-Time: An Honest Manual Migration
There is no importer for Pic-Time. This is the manual plan: audit, download gallery by gallery while your plan is still paid, re-upload proofs, swap links, and downgrade last.
Updated September 2026
Start with the plain fact. clientgallery.io has a one-click whole-account import, and it works for Pixieset only. There is no Pic-Time importer, and this page will not pretend otherwise. Leaving Pic-Time is a manual job: you download your galleries, you upload them again, and you rebuild the settings that matter.
The order is what protects you. Pic-Time documents that photographer downloads from gallery media are not available on Free plans, and that a cancelled account reverts to Free. So the downloading has to happen while you are still paying. This guide walks through the steps in that order, says what does not come over, and ends with the studios that should stay on Pic-Time.
Step 1: Audit what you have
Before you download anything, make a list. Open your Pic-Time dashboard and write down every gallery you care about. Split the list into two groups.
- Active. Recent deliveries, galleries with open store orders, and clients still choosing photos.
- Archive. Finished work you keep for your records or for the occasional client who comes back.
For each active gallery, note its password, whether clients are still making selections, and whether anyone has an order in progress. Then ask the question that shortens the whole job: do you still have these photos in your own Lightroom catalog or on your own drives? If you do, you may not need to download them from Pic-Time at all. Download only what exists nowhere else.
Check the age of each archive gallery too. Pic-Time states that galleries uploaded from December 2024 onward are immediately downloadable for their first three years, and galleries uploaded before December 2024 for their first year. After that the photos move to long-term storage and must be prepared before the download starts. Older galleries are the ones to request first.
Step 2: Download from Pic-Time, gallery by gallery
Pic-Time documents downloading per gallery. We found no Pic-Time help article that describes exporting every gallery in an account in one action, so plan for one gallery at a time. The steps, as Pic-Time's help centre describes them:
- Select the gallery from your main dashboard.
- Open the gallery's Photos & Media tab.
- Checkmark one image to open the selection bar, then click Select All.
- Click Share photos and choose Download.
- For an archived gallery, click Prepare & Notify Me. Pic-Time emails you when the gallery is ready to download.
Two restrictions from Pic-Time's own pages. First, its Pic-Time 2.0 download article states that this feature is not available on Free plans. Second, on a phone, Pic-Time points you to the gallery itself or its mobile app rather than the desktop dashboard, and a separate article notes that in-app browsers on iOS do not allow ZIP downloads. Do this part on a computer.
Once a gallery is on your drive, open a handful of files and confirm they are the images you expect before you tick it off the list.
Step 3: Re-upload proofs and publish
Create a gallery on clientgallery.io for each gallery on your list and upload the photos through the studio in your browser. Uploads are turned into proof JPEGs sized for fast viewing, so this is a delivery and proofing copy, not a backup. Keep your masters on your own drives.
If you still have the Lightroom Classic catalog, skip the Pic-Time download for that job. The two-way Lightroom Classic plugin publishes proofs straight from the catalog and pulls client picks back in when the client sends them. The Lightroom workflow guide covers the setup.
For each gallery, set what the client will notice:
- Password. Set it per gallery. Reuse the old one so clients do not need a new one.
- Sections. Sub-galleries organise a large job on your side. The client still sees one scrolling page with a jump-to bar at the top.
- Picks. Leave picking on for galleries still in selection, or switch it off for a delivery-only gallery.
- Size. Fair use is 1,000 photos per gallery. A bigger Pic-Time gallery becomes two galleries here.
A free account holds one gallery, which is enough to test the whole flow on a single job. Moving a full archive needs the paid plan: 10 $/month or 100 $/year.
What does not come over
A manual migration moves photos. Everything else is either rebuilt or left behind.
| What | Comes over? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Photos | Yes, by hand | Download and re-upload, or publish again from Lightroom Classic. |
| Gallery passwords | Rebuilt | Set each one again from your audit list. |
| Store orders and order history | No | Close open orders on Pic-Time and save the records you need before you downgrade. |
| Print products and price lists | No | clientgallery.io has no print store and takes no commission. There is nothing to rebuild them in. |
| Client favourites and selections | No | Write down what the client chose while Pic-Time still shows it. If the client still needs to choose, run the proofing round again here. |
| Old gallery links | No | The old URLs belong to Pic-Time. Send active clients the new link. |
| RAW files and master video | No | clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs. Masters stay in your own archive. |
Step 4: Swap links for active clients
Archive clients do not need a message. When one asks for an old gallery, you send the new link then. Active clients get a short note: new link, same password, and what they should do next, whether that is choosing photos or downloading.
Then update every place an old link lives: your delivery email templates, your contract and welcome documents, and any client-login button on your website. An old Pic-Time link cannot be redirected by anyone but Pic-Time, which is why the answer on broken links argues for sequencing the move rather than hoping for a redirect. For what is machine time and what is your time, see how long a gallery migration takes.
Step 5: Downgrade or cancel only after checking
Pic-Time's cancel article states that you keep the remaining days of your current subscription before the account reverts to a free plan. Its pricing page says downgrades and cancellations take effect at the end of the current subscription period. That remaining time is your download window. Use it, and cancel only when every gallery on your list is downloaded, checked and live on its new home.
What happens to storage when a plan drops, per Pic-Time's downgrade article:
| Downgrade | New storage limit |
|---|---|
| Advanced to Professional | 100 GB |
| Professional to Beginner | 20 GB |
| Beginner to Free, account under 3 months old | 10 GB |
| Beginner to Free, account 3 months or older | 3 GB |
Galleries above the new limit are permanently deleted, oldest galleries first. How soon is where Pic-Time's own pages disagree, so both are quoted here:
- The downgrade article says galleries above the limit are permanently deleted 45 days after the plan changes, and applies that wording to every path, Beginner to Free included.
- The article on the Free plan's 3 GB storage says galleries above the limit are permanently deleted 1 week after the plan changes.
A third article, on failed payments, says the account is downgraded to Free with 3 GB and that galleries over the limit begin to be deleted 45 days after the subscription expires. We cannot tell from Pic-Time's pages which clock applies to your account, so plan around the shorter one, and do not count on any window at all, because downloading from gallery media is not available on Free plans in the first place.
Who should stay on Pic-Time
A migration guide that never tells anyone to stay is a sales page. These are the cases where staying is right.
- You earn from the store. If print and product sales through your galleries are a real revenue line, clientgallery.io has nothing to replace them with. Pic-Time states its commission when it collects payment as 15% on Free and Beginner, 8% on Professional and 6% on Advanced, and commission-free on paid plans other than Beginner when you collect payment yourself. A studio making money there should keep that engine.
- You rely on automated print sales. If the gallery is where clients order wall art and albums without you touching the order, a delivery-only platform is a step backwards.
- You deliver RAW files or master video. clientgallery.io hosts JPEGs. That is what keeps the price flat, and it is a real limit.
- You need several logins. There is no seat model here. A two-person studio shares one account.
If none of those describe you, the Pic-Time alternative page sets Pic-Time's plans beside the one flat plan in more detail.
Sources
Every Pic-Time step, figure and policy above comes from one of these first-party pages. Where an article carries its own date, it is given in the title.
- Pic-Time pricing page, fetched 15 September 2026, https://www.pic-time.com/pricing
- Pic-Time help: How can I download my gallery media in Pic-Time 2.0 (dated 28 April 2026), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/11402965-how-can-i-download-my-gallery-media-in-pic-time-2-0
- Pic-Time help: Downloading zip files on iOS limitation (updated 25 April 2025), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7905084-downloading-zip-files-on-ios-limitation
- Pic-Time help: How are photos accessible from cloud storage (photo archive), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7916652-how-are-photos-accessible-from-cloud-storage-photo-archive
- Pic-Time help: How do I unarchive an older gallery, fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/8951337-how-do-i-unarchive-an-older-gallery
- Pic-Time help: How do I cancel my subscription (updated 1 June 2026), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7913370-how-do-i-cancel-my-subscription
- Pic-Time help: How do I downgrade my plan and how will my account be affected, fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7905681-how-do-i-downgrade-my-plan-and-how-will-my-account-be-affected
- Pic-Time help: Why has my free plan storage been reduced to 3GB (dated 11 June 2026), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/9210592-why-has-my-free-plan-storage-been-reduced-to-3gb
- Pic-Time help: What happens to my account if my subscription payment fails (updated 4 April 2025), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/11036902-what-happens-to-my-account-if-my-subscription-payment-fails
- Pic-Time help: What are the commission rates for various subscription plans (updated 25 April 2025), fetched 15 September 2026, https://help.pic-time.com/en/articles/7901454-what-are-the-commission-rates-for-various-subscription-plans
- clientgallery.io pricing, fetched 15 September 2026, https://clientgallery.io/
Frequently asked
Can clientgallery.io import my Pic-Time galleries automatically?
No. The one-click whole-account import works for Pixieset only. Moving from Pic-Time is manual: download each gallery, upload it again, and set passwords and picks by hand. If the photos are still in your Lightroom Classic catalog, publishing them from the plugin is the faster path.
Can I download all my galleries from Pic-Time at once?
Pic-Time documents downloading per gallery, from each gallery's Photos & Media tab using Select All, then Share photos and Download. We found no Pic-Time help article describing an export of every gallery in one action.
Can I download my galleries after I move to the Pic-Time Free plan?
Plan on no. Pic-Time's Pic-Time 2.0 download article states the feature is not available on Free plans, and a cancelled subscription reverts to Free at the end of the paid period. Download while you are still paying.
How long does Pic-Time keep galleries over the limit after a downgrade?
Pic-Time's pages disagree. The downgrade article says 45 days after the plan changes, and the Free plan storage article says 1 week. Both say oldest galleries go first and the deletion is permanent. Work to the shorter figure.
Will my clients' favourites and store orders move over?
No. Selections, order history and print products stay on Pic-Time. Save what you need before you downgrade. If a client still has to choose, run the proofing round again on the new gallery.
Do my old Pic-Time gallery links keep working?
Only as long as Pic-Time serves them. No other platform can redirect a URL it does not own, so send active clients the new link and update your templates and website before you downgrade.
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