Pixieset vs GalleryLink (2026): Which Client Gallery Is Right for You?
Pixieset vs GalleryLink compared feature by feature: storage and price, proofing and favorites, print sales, download controls, video, Lightroom and email marketing, with Pixieset's 2026 plans ($8 to $40 a month billed yearly), GalleryLink's ($5 a month or $50 a year), yearly costs by workflow, and when each is the better choice.
Short answer
Pixieset is the better choice if you sell prints and downloads from your galleries or need proofing with notes and download PINs; commission-free selling starts on Basic at $8 a month billed yearly, with storage from 10 GB to unlimited as the price rises. GalleryLink is the better choice if you mainly deliver galleries from Google Drive: Pro is $5 a month or $50 a year for unlimited galleries, and Drive-linked galleries use no storage, so the price doesn't grow with your archive. Prices as of October 2026.
Pixieset is the client gallery most photographers try first, and for good reason: its galleries look polished, clients find their way around them easily, and the free plan lets you start without a card. GalleryLink is newer and narrower. It turns the Google Drive folder you already deliver from into a gallery, for a flat $5 a month.
They overlap on the core job of getting photos to a client. They differ on almost everything around it: storage, selling, price, and how much of your workflow you hand over. This comparison goes through both honestly, including where Pixieset is the better choice. Prices are from each company's own pricing page, as of October 2026. If you're weighing more than these two, our roundup of Pixieset alternatives covers ten tools.
- The short answer
- At a glance
- What Pixieset does well
- What Pixieset costs in 2026
- What GalleryLink does differently
- What GalleryLink costs in 2026
- Feature by feature
- What a year costs, by the way you work
- Which one to choose
- Moving from Pixieset without losing anything
The short answer
Choose Pixieset if you sell prints and digital downloads from your galleries, or want proofing with notes, download PINs and email campaigns in one place. Commission-free selling starts on Basic at $8 a month billed yearly, with storage rising from 10 GB to unlimited as you pay more. Choose GalleryLink if your main job is delivering galleries and your edited photos already go to Google Drive: Pro is $5 a month or $50 a year for unlimited galleries, and Drive-linked galleries don't use any storage, so the price doesn't climb as your archive grows.
At a glance
| Pixieset | GalleryLink | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Galleries, proofing and selling prints | Delivering galleries fast, often from Google Drive |
| Free plan | 3 GB, unlimited galleries, 15% commission on store sales | Build a gallery free; share it free for 24 hours |
| Cheapest paid plan | Basic: $8/mo billed yearly ($96/yr), or $10 monthly | Pro: $5/mo, or $50/yr |
| Storage | 10 GB (Basic) to unlimited (Ultimate, $40/mo yearly) | Drive-linked galleries use your own Google storage; 10 GB of uploads on Pro, 250 GB on Studio |
| Print and download sales | Yes, commission-free on paid plans | No |
| Favorites | Yes, with notes and editing requests | Yes, with album selection (Pro) |
| Download controls | Download PINs, choice of sizes, download tracking | Downloads on or off per gallery, ZIP downloads, optional email before download (Pro) |
| Watermarks | Yes | On previews of uploaded galleries (Studio) |
| Video | 30 minutes HD (Basic) to 5 hours 4K (Ultimate) | Plays from Drive; Studio hosts uploads up to 5 GB per file |
| Lightroom | Upload and sync from Lightroom | No plugin; works with any export to a Drive folder |
| Email marketing | Campaigns (100 to 10,000 emails a month by plan) | No |
What Pixieset does well
It's worth being fair first, because some of these are good reasons to stay.
- A polished client experience. Clean galleries, branded email invites, collections grouped into folders, and galleries that display in several languages.
- Proofing with notes. Clients pick favorites and attach notes or editing requests to individual photos, and you can export the lists in a few clicks. For album design or retouching rounds, that saves a lot of email.
- Download controls. Password and download PIN protection, a choice of download sizes from web-ready to high resolution, and a record of who downloaded what and when.
- Selling built in. Prints and digital downloads straight from the gallery, with printing, packaging and shipping handled. Paid plans are commission-free; the free plan takes 15%.
- Email campaigns and a Lightroom integration, so you can promote print sales and pull photos straight from Lightroom.
- More than galleries if you want it. Pixieset also sells a website builder and Studio Manager (booking, contracts and invoices) as separate products, with a Suite bundle.
If you sell regularly, or your clients pick photos for albums with notes, Pixieset is a strong all-rounder.
What Pixieset costs in 2026
Client Gallery plans, from Pixieset's pricing page, as of October 2026:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Storage | Video | Store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 3 GB | Not listed | 15% commission |
| Basic | $8/mo ($96/yr) | $10/mo | 10 GB | 30 minutes HD | Commission-free |
| Plus | $16/mo ($192/yr) | $20/mo | 100 GB | 1 hour HD | Commission-free |
| Pro | $24/mo ($288/yr) | $30/mo | 1 TB | 2 hours 4K | Commission-free |
| Ultimate | $40/mo ($480/yr) | $50/mo | Unlimited | 5 hours 4K | Commission-free |
Every paid plan adds your own logo and branding and a custom domain. Pro and Ultimate add bulk sharing and RAW uploads. Add-ons include extra video at $5 a month per hour and extra email campaigns at $10 a month per 5,000 emails. The website and Studio Manager are priced separately.
The thing to notice is the shape of the price: it follows storage. A wedding season of full-resolution galleries outgrows 10 GB quickly, so most working photographers end up on Plus or Pro, at $192 to $288 a year.
What GalleryLink does differently
GalleryLink starts from the folder you were already going to share. Paste a Google Drive folder link, pick a look, and the client gets a proper gallery instead of a Drive file list. Subfolders become sections, and when you add or swap photos in Drive, the gallery updates within about a minute.
- No second copy, so no storage tiers. A Drive-linked gallery reads the folder you already have. It uses none of our storage, so the price doesn't rise as you shoot more. You can upload directly instead if you prefer.
- Delivery tools clients use. Favorites and album selection, a Client picks page that lists what each client chose, ZIP downloads, password protection, gallery stats (views, downloads and unique visitors), an optional email before downloads, and a closing date for the gallery.
- Looks that are yours. Every theme and layout on Pro, custom styles you describe in words or design from a reference image, your own colors and fonts, and no GalleryLink branding.
- A studio page and events. A studio website at yourname.gallerylink.live or your own domain, with an inquiry form, plus a guest photo wall and a live slideshow for events.
What GalleryLink costs in 2026
| Plan | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0, no card | Build one gallery and share it free for 24 hours, with a small "Made with GalleryLink" badge |
| Pro | $5/mo, or $50/yr | Unlimited galleries, unlimited Drive-linked galleries, 10 GB of uploads, studio page and custom domain, passwords, favorites, stats, every theme, no branding |
| Studio | $15/mo, or $150/yr | Everything in Pro, plus 250 GB of uploads, ZIP downloads for uploaded galleries, print-ready PDF export, watermarks on previews, one-click Drive-to-hosted import and video hosting |
Client views and downloads are unlimited on every plan. There are no sales commissions because there's no store.
Feature by feature
Storage and price
Pixieset's plans are priced by storage, from 10 GB to unlimited. That's fair if the gallery is where your photos live. If your photos already live in Google Drive, it means paying to store a second copy. GalleryLink's Drive-linked galleries have no storage cap from us, so the price stays $50 a year however much you shoot. If you'd rather upload, Pro includes 10 GB and Studio 250 GB.
Proofing and favorites
Both let clients pick favorites. Pixieset goes further for retouching and album rounds: notes and editing requests on individual photos, and exportable lists. GalleryLink has favorites and album selection with a Client picks page per gallery, which covers most album selections; it doesn't have per-photo notes.
Selling prints and downloads
This is Pixieset's clearest advantage. Its store sells prints and digital downloads from the gallery, with fulfilment handled and no commission on paid plans. GalleryLink doesn't sell prints. If print sales are part of your income, that settles it.
Download control and protection
Pixieset offers download PINs, a choice of download sizes, download tracking and watermarks. GalleryLink offers downloads on or off per gallery, ZIP downloads, download counts in gallery stats, an optional email before downloads (so you know who downloaded), and watermarks on previews of uploaded galleries on Studio.
Video
Pixieset includes video by plan, from 30 minutes HD on Basic to 5 hours 4K on Ultimate. GalleryLink plays videos from your Drive folder in the gallery, and Studio hosts uploaded videos up to 5 GB per file with streaming playback.
Workflow
Pixieset uploads and syncs from Lightroom. GalleryLink has no Lightroom plugin, but anything that exports to a Google Drive folder, including Lightroom exporting to a synced folder, ends up in the gallery automatically.
Marketing
Pixieset includes email campaigns on paid plans. GalleryLink doesn't send marketing email for you; it gives you a studio page with an inquiry form and a link-in-bio page.
What a year costs, by the way you work
| How you work | Pixieset | GalleryLink |
|---|---|---|
| Deliver 20 to 50 galleries a year, photos already in Google Drive | Plus (100 GB): $192 | Pro: $50 |
| A busy wedding season, about 500 GB of finals | Pro (1 TB): $288 | Pro with Drive: $50, or Studio (250 GB uploads): $150 |
| Clients choose favorites for albums | Basic or higher: from $96 | Pro: $50 |
| Sell prints and downloads | Basic or higher, commission-free: from $96 | Not offered |
Which one to choose
Pixieset is the better choice if:
- You sell prints or digital downloads from your galleries.
- Your clients proof with notes and editing requests on individual photos.
- You want email campaigns, download PINs and a Lightroom sync in one place.
GalleryLink is the better choice if:
- Your finished photos already go to Google Drive, and you'd rather not upload every shoot twice.
- Delivery is the job, and you'd rather not pay more each year as your archive grows.
- You want favorites, album selection, passwords and stats for $50 a year.
- You want to try it on a real client before paying anything.
Some photographers use both: Pixieset for the sessions they sell prints from, and GalleryLink for quick delivery of everything else from Drive.
Moving from Pixieset without losing anything
- Download your collections and keep your own copy, including favorites lists you may need for albums.
- Let open orders finish, and note any download purchases clients may still use.
- Move the galleries clients still open. Put each shoot in a Google Drive folder and link it in GalleryLink, or upload it. Subfolders become sections automatically.
- Send clients the new links, and point your website or bio link at your studio page.
If you'd like to see your own photos in a GalleryLink gallery, you can build one free, with no card, and share it with a client for 24 hours before deciding.