CompareSmugMug alternative
A SmugMug alternative for delivering work, not archiving it.
SmugMug is the best-known permanent home for photographs on the internet, and its central promise — unlimited storage, never delete another photo — is real and hard to match. The mismatch shows up when what you actually need is not an archive but a way to hand this month’s shoot to the people who paid for it.
No card to sign up · Publish a gallery for €9.99 · 4K video and face search included
Why photographers switch to Galerist
€9.99 a delivery, not $293 a year
If you hand over a handful of shoots a year, you should pay for a handful of shoots. There is no subscription to enter and no card kept on file.
RAW is not an add-on
Whatever you upload is delivered exactly as uploaded, in its original format and resolution. It counts against your storage and nothing else.
Photos and 4K in one gallery
Your client browses the stills and plays the film in one place, under your branding, and AI face search lets guests find themselves without asking you.
Where SmugMug stops fitting
01
There is no small door
The cheapest plan is Direct at $24.42 a month billed annually. There is no free tier and no per-gallery option, so a photographer delivering three jobs a year still pays roughly $293 for the privilege. The entry ticket costs more than most of the category’s mid plans.
02
Unlimited means unlimited JPEG
The feature list reads “unlimited full resolution JPEG storage”. Directly underneath, RAW file storage is marked as an add-on on all three plans. If your archive is the reason you are paying for unlimited, the format your camera actually writes is charged separately.
03
It is built around your website, not your handover
Templates, portfolio pages, SEO, print fulfilment and pricelists are the core of the product, and they are good. But a client receiving a delivery does not need a website — they need their photographs, once, quickly, with a download that works on a phone.
04
Video is not part of the plan story
The plans page does not list video among the features it compares. For a photographer who also delivers a film with the stills, that silence is itself the answer.
Side by side
| Galerist | SmugMug | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest way to deliver one gallery | €9.99, once, no subscription | $24.42/month billed annually — about $293 a year, minimum |
| Free tier | Free account with a preview workspace; publish from €9.99 | None — a trial, then a paid plan |
| RAW files | Originals of any format delivered exactly as uploaded | Listed as an add-on on all three plans |
| Long-term archiving | Not the product — galleries have a published window | Yes, and it is their central promise: unlimited full-resolution JPEG |
| Video | Adaptive streaming up to true 4K in the same gallery as the stills | Not listed among the compared plan features |
| AI face search for clients | Included on the €9.99 gallery and from the Plus plan | Not listed among the compared plan features |
| Portfolio website | Not offered — galleries at your studio subdomain | Yes — templates, SEO tooling and a full site |
| Print sales | Not offered (delivery-focused) | Yes — full-service fulfilment, pricelists, tax handling |
| Client proofing | Selections and comments drawn on the photo itself | Client favouriting on the Pro plan |
Who should stay on SmugMug
If you want one permanent, searchable home for every photograph you have ever taken, plus a portfolio site and a print business attached to it, SmugMug is genuinely built for that and Galerist is not — we do not sell unlimited storage and we are not an archive. Their support is well regarded and their site tooling is mature. We are the better answer for the narrow job of delivery: one gallery, one client, one payment, and nothing to keep paying for afterwards.
Frequently asked
Can I use Galerist as my photo archive?
We would not recommend it. Galleries are published for a window and storage is capped in gigabytes by plan. Keep your archive wherever it lives — a NAS, a cloud drive, or SmugMug — and use Galerist for the handover.
Is there any free way to try Galerist?
Yes. Signing up is free and takes no card. You can build a gallery, arrange it and preview it exactly as your client will see it; you pay €9.99 only when you publish.
Does Galerist charge extra for RAW files?
No. Whatever you upload is delivered as uploaded, in its original format and resolution — the files count against your storage figure and nothing else.
Do you offer a portfolio website?
No, and we are not planning one. Galleries live at yourstudio.galerist.photo under your branding; your public website stays where it is.
SmugMug details from their public pricing page (smugmug.com/plans), plans page, annual billing — last verified September 17, 2026. Prices shown in each platform's listed currency. SmugMug is a trademark of its owner; Galerist is not affiliated. Spotted something outdated? Tell us and we'll fix it.