How to Deliver Photos to Clients Online for Free
Deliver client photos online without paying for storage twice: the free options compared, their catches, and a workflow that stays free for your first client gallery.
Early in a photography business, a $40/month delivery platform is real money. The good news: if your photos already live in Google Drive, you can deliver client work online free — properly, with a real gallery — and only pay when the volume justifies it.
Can I deliver photos to clients for free?
Yes. You can deliver photos to clients for free by sharing from storage you already have. A raw Google Drive link is the zero-effort version; a free GalleryLink gallery turns that same folder into a proper client gallery — cover, lightbox, downloads — at no cost for your first gallery, because the photos never leave your Drive and there's no storage to pay for twice.
The free options and their catches
- Raw Drive/Dropbox link — free forever, but clients see a file manager, not a delivery. No password separate from the folder, no favorites, no brand.
- WeTransfer free — 2 GB per send and links expire in days; a wedding takes several sends and dies quickly.
- Free tiers of gallery platforms — usually capped at ~3 GB of their storage, so one shoot fills it. The cap exists because they host your files.
- GalleryLink free — one full gallery with no size cap, because the files stay in your Drive. The free gallery carries small GalleryLink branding; that's the trade.
Why "no storage" changes the math
Every platform that hosts your photos must charge you for gigabytes, so their free tiers are demos. A gallery that reads your Drive folder live has no such cost — which is why the free tier is a real gallery and the paid plan is $5 instead of $40. The upgrade buys unlimited galleries, passwords, your studio website and the event features — not permission to store your own photos.
When to start paying
The honest answer: when you have a second client waiting on a gallery, or when a client asks for a password. Until then, deliver free and put the $40/month you're not spending toward a lens. The full delivery workflow — folder to sent link in a minute — is in the complete delivery guide.