Pic-Time and Pixieset are both favourites with wedding and portrait photographers, and both deliver beautiful, branded galleries. Pic-Time is built around selling — prints, albums, products and the marketing that drives those sales. Pixieset is built around a broad studio suite — galleries, a website, a store and Studio Manager for the business side. Here's how they compare, checked against both platforms' own pages in November 2026.
Choose Pic-Time if print, album and product sales are a meaningful part of your income: its store, lab network and sales automations are the strongest here, and its app lets you create galleries and upload from your phone. Choose Pixieset if you want clean galleries plus a website builder and Studio Manager for bookings, invoices and contracts in one subscription. Neither accepts live uploads from a tethered camera, so both are for delivery after the shoot.
| Pic-Time | Pixieset | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Selling prints, albums and products | Galleries plus an all-in-one studio suite |
| Free plan | Yes — 10 GB, dropping to 3 GB after 3 months | Yes — 3 GB, unlimited galleries |
| Paid storage | 20 GB, 100 GB or unlimited (terms apply), plus video storage | 10 GB, 100 GB, 1 TB or unlimited by plan |
| Sales fees | Commission on your markup only, falling with each plan; none on self-collected payments on Professional and Advanced | 15% on the free plan; none on paid plans |
| Print store | On every plan, 30+ labs worldwide | Store with print labs and digital downloads |
| Marketing | Sales automations, coupons and gift cards; email flows on higher plans | Store promotions; client email in Studio Manager |
| Photographer app | Create galleries and upload from the phone (iPhone, iPad, Android) | Studio Manager for bookings, payments and contracts |
| Studio management | CRM integrations; a free year of Studio Ninja on higher plans | Studio Manager built in |
| Website | Focused on galleries and sales | Website builder available |
| Live upload from your camera | No — not a CloudTether destination | No — no upload connection for other apps |
Pic-Time puts a print store with more than 30 labs worldwide on every plan, adds premium store features such as custom products and self-fulfilment on Professional and Advanced, and builds in sales automations, coupons and gift cards. Its commission applies only to your markup, not production costs, falls as you move up the plans, and disappears on payments you collect yourself on Professional and Advanced. Pixieset's store is simpler: 15% commission on the free plan and none on paid plans. If selling is central, Pic-Time's tools are deeper; if it's occasional, Pixieset's flat rule is easier to reason about.
Pic-Time's free plan starts with 10 GB but drops to 3 GB after three months; paid plans give 20 GB, 100 GB or unlimited photo storage (terms apply) with separate video allowances. Pixieset's free plan is 3 GB with unlimited galleries, and paid plans run from 10 GB to unlimited, with RAW upload on the top two plans and video minutes rising by plan. Compare on the plan you'd actually pay for, including video if you deliver highlight films.
Pic-Time's mobile app, included on every plan, lets you create galleries on a phone or tablet, upload photos and video from the device or a connected camera, rename and organise, and share to social or chat apps. Pixieset's photographer app is Studio Manager, which runs bookings, invoices, payments and contracts; gallery work happens in Pixieset's mobile-optimised site. Pixieset said a dedicated Client Gallery app was in development.
Pixieset's Studio Manager is part of its own suite, which suits photographers who want one login for galleries, website and admin. Pic-Time integrates with CRMs and, on Professional and Advanced, includes a free year of Studio Ninja for new users. If you already have a CRM you like, Pic-Time's approach costs you nothing; if you don't, Pixieset's is ready to go.
Neither Pic-Time nor Pixieset offers an upload connection that a tethering app can use, so photos can't flow from your camera into either gallery as you shoot. For same-day sneak peeks or a live event gallery, photographers on either platform use CloudTether to send frames to a shared Dropbox or Google Drive folder, or to a SmugMug or ShootProof gallery, during the shoot — then deliver the edited set in Pic-Time or Pixieset afterwards. Pic-Time's app can also upload a handful of phone-side selects on the day.
Pick Pic-Time if your galleries are a sales channel — prints, albums, products and the automations that sell them. Pick Pixieset if you want beautiful galleries with a website and studio admin in one place. For live delivery during the shoot, pair either with a CloudTether destination that accepts live uploads.
How live delivery works, camera by camera: camera to cloud.
For selling prints, albums and products, Pic-Time is usually stronger: a store with 30+ labs on every plan and built-in sales automations. For an all-in-one suite with galleries, a website and Studio Manager, Pixieset is the better fit.
It depends on the plan and how much you sell, and both change their pricing — check current pricing on each site. Both have free plans: Pic-Time's 10 GB falls to 3 GB after three months; Pixieset's is 3 GB with unlimited galleries.
Pic-Time charges commission only on your markup, not production costs, and the rate falls with each plan. On Professional and Advanced there's none on payments you collect yourself.
Yes. It's included on every plan and lets you create galleries and upload photos and video from your phone, tablet or a connected camera, on iPhone, iPad and Android.
Not from a tethered camera: neither offers an upload connection that tethering apps can use. Use CloudTether to fill a Dropbox folder or a SmugMug or ShootProof gallery during the shoot, then deliver the final set in Pic-Time or Pixieset.
Pic-Time's free plan starts larger (10 GB) but drops to 3 GB after three months; Pixieset's stays at 3 GB with unlimited galleries, with a 15% store commission. Both are best for trying the platform before you pay.
Facts about Pic-Time and Pixieset were checked against these pages in November 2026. Plans, storage and fees change often — check each platform for current details and pricing. Product names are trademarks of their owners.