Pixieset vs Pic-Time: which client gallery fits your business.
Both deliver photos to clients well, so the choice comes down to what sits around the gallery. Pixieset is the broader business platform, with a website and studio manager beside it. Pic-Time is built around print sales. Both were built for photos, so if you deliver video too, a third option applies.
The short answer
Three outcomes, one for each product.
Disclosure. FRGMT publishes this page and competes with both. We are not one of the two being compared, and every Pixieset and Pic-Time price and feature on this page comes from their own pages.
Broader business tools
You deliver galleries and want a website and studio manager from the same company.
Print-led studios
Print sales are a real revenue line and you want sale campaigns running on every plan.
Galleries plus video, review and files
You also deliver video, send files back and forth, need client review or embed on your own site.
Where each one wins
They are not the same product. The difference is what surrounds the gallery.
Pixieset wins if you want the business tools.
Pixieset sells a website builder and a studio manager for contracts and invoicing beside its gallery, and bundles all three as Suite Starter at $28 a month billed annually.
- Website and Studio ManagerFrom the same account, or bundled as the Suite.
- No store commission on paid plansEvery paid tier keeps the full sale.
- Campaigns and couponsEmail campaigns from Basic, coupons and gift cards on every plan.
- 4K video from ProWith 2 hrs included.
Pic-Time wins if prints are real revenue.
Pic-Time puts its sales tools on every plan, the free one included: automated campaigns, coupons and gift cards, built around getting a client to order after the gallery lands.
- Automated sale campaignsOn every plan.
- More storage at entry20 GB on Beginner.
- Slideshows and video embedsOn Professional and Advanced.
- No commission when you collectFrom Professional up, on payments you collect yourself.
Head to head
What each one does, from export to client.
| What you need | Pixieset | Pic-Time | FRGMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client photo galleries | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Print store | Yes | Yes | Through WHCCStarter and up |
| Store commission on paid plans | None | 15%, 8% or 6% by plan | None; you set the markup |
| Sale campaigns, coupons, gift cards | Yes | On every plan | No |
| Website | Separate product, or the Suite | Portfolio page and blog | No |
| Contracts and invoicing | Studio Manager | Through integrations | No |
| How video is counted | Hours per plan, 30 min to 5 hrs | Separate storage, 1 GB to 60 GB | Same storage as the photos |
| Client review on a timecode | No | No | Every plan |
| Video embeds on your site | No | Professional and Advanced | Starter and up |
| A library for working files | No | No | Every plan |
Pixieset
- Client photo galleries
- Yes
- Print store
- Yes
- Store commission on paid plans
- None
- Sale campaigns, coupons, gift cards
- Yes
- Website
- Separate product, or the Suite
- Contracts and invoicing
- Studio Manager
- How video is counted
- Hours per plan, 30 min to 5 hrs
- Client review on a timecode
- No
- Video embeds on your site
- No
- A library for working files
- No
Pic-Time
- Client photo galleries
- Yes
- Print store
- Yes
- Store commission on paid plans
- 15%, 8% or 6% by plan
- Sale campaigns, coupons, gift cards
- On every plan
- Website
- Portfolio page and blog
- Contracts and invoicing
- Through integrations
- How video is counted
- Separate storage, 1 GB to 60 GB
- Client review on a timecode
- No
- Video embeds on your site
- Professional and Advanced
- A library for working files
- No
FRGMT
- Client photo galleries
- Yes
- Print store
- Through WHCCStarter and up
- Store commission on paid plans
- None; you set the markup
- Sale campaigns, coupons, gift cards
- No
- Website
- No
- Contracts and invoicing
- No
- How video is counted
- Same storage as the photos
- Client review on a timecode
- Every plan
- Video embeds on your site
- Starter and up
- A library for working files
- Every plan
Pricing
The entry prices are close. The meters are not.
| Plan, billed annually | Pixieset | Pic-Time | FRGMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 3 GB, no video, 15% store commission | 10 GB, reduced to 3 GB after three months, 1 GB of video, 15% commission | 5 GB shared by photos and video |
| Entry paid plan | Basic, $8 a month billed annually. 10 GB, 30 min of HD video | Beginner, $7 a month billed annually. 20 GB, 5 GB of video, 15% commission | Starter, $12 a month billed annually. 100 GB, video in the same storage, prints |
| With a website | Suite Starter, $28 a month billed annually. Gallery, website and studio manager | Portfolio page and blog on every plan | No website builder |
Price rarely decides it at the entry tier. It starts to at volume: Pixieset meters video by the hour on plans priced for stills, with 4K from Pro, and Pic-Time keeps video in a separate allowance and takes a store commission that falls from 15% to 6% as the plan rises. Check both against what you actually shoot and sell.
The third option
Both were built for photo-only delivery. Some jobs are not.
Both platforms assume the job is delivering photos. If you also deliver video, send files back and forth, or need a client to comment on a specific frame, you are already paying for a second and third tool beside the gallery. FRGMT keeps them in one place: a client gallery, a page for the video and client review on a timecode, all from one folder.
More in photo delivery for photographers who also shoot video. The one-to-one comparisons are FRGMT vs Pixieset and FRGMT vs Pic-Time, and moving a library in is covered in migration.
- A page for the video.Cinema plays it at up to 4K when the source is, and hands over the original.
- Review before it ships.Notes on a timecode and a point in the frame.
- Files both ways.Shared folders out, upload links in.
- No bundled extras.No website builder, CRM or sale campaigns to pay for. Keep the ones you already use.
Questions
Pixieset and Pic-Time, answered.
Is Pic-Time better than Pixieset?
Neither is better across the board: Pic-Time suits a studio whose prints are real revenue and that wants automated sale campaigns on every plan, while Pixieset suits a photographer who wants galleries, a website and studio management from one company, with no store commission on any paid plan. Pixieset bundles all three as Suite Starter at $28 a month billed annually.
What is the best alternative to Pic-Time?
For a photographer delivering only stills, Pixieset is the closest alternative to Pic-Time, with a similar gallery and a built-in print store, while a studio that also delivers video, sends files back and forth or runs a client review round needs a platform built around those jobs as well. FRGMT is built for that second case, with galleries, video pages, review and embeds from one library.
Is Pixieset worth it for photographers?
Pixieset is worth it for a photographer who delivers galleries and sells prints, because Basic costs $8 a month billed annually and no paid plan takes a store commission, though the website builder and studio manager cost extra unless you buy the Suite bundle. Video changes the picture: Basic includes 30 min in HD, and 4K needs Pro at $24 a month billed annually, with 2 hrs included.
How much is Pic-Time per month?
Pic-Time costs $7, $21 or $42 a month billed annually, or $8, $25 or $50 a month billed monthly, for Beginner, Professional and Advanced, and its free plan starts with 10 GB of photo storage that is reduced to 3 GB after three months. Store commission falls from 15% on Free and Beginner to 8% on Professional and 6% on Advanced.
Can Pixieset or Pic-Time deliver video?
Both deliver video inside a client gallery, but both count it separately from the photos: Pixieset includes a set number of video hours per plan, from 30 min on Basic to 5 hrs on Ultimate, and Pic-Time gives each plan a separate video allowance, from 1 GB on Free to 60 GB on Advanced. Neither offers client review pinned to a timecode. On FRGMT, video counts against the same storage as the photos.
Can I move my galleries between these platforms?
Moving a library to FRGMT means downloading your original files from Pixieset or Pic-Time and bringing them in at full resolution, through Dropbox, which brings whole folders across, Google Drive, which brings the files you pick, or a direct upload, because FRGMT does not connect to either platform directly. Import from Dropbox and Google Drive is on Starter and above. Galleries are then built again from the folders.
Galleries, video, review and embeds in one library.
Free to start. One library for the galleries, the video, the review round and the files.
No card required. Cancel anytime.