Yes, Pixieset is free to start: the free Client Gallery plan gives you 3 GB of storage and takes 15% of anything you sell through it. The free alternatives trade that in different ways. ShootProof's free plan takes no commission but holds 3 GB of photos only, about 1,000. CloudSpot gives you 5 GB across three galleries and also takes 15%. Pic-Time starts you on 10 GB and cuts it to 3 GB after three months. picdrop and Picflow are free review tools that do not sell photos at all.
So the useful question is not which one is free. It is which limit you hit first: storage, gallery count, file type, or the fee on a sale. Every figure below comes from the data behind our comparison pages, read off each platform's own pricing page. We make Xposure, which appears near the end and is not a free alternative; that is said plainly there.
The free plans, side by side
| Platform | Free storage | Limit that bites first | Fee on sales | Sells from the gallery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixieset | 3 GB | Storage | 15% | Yes |
| ShootProof | 3 GB, photos only | Storage, no video | 0% | Yes |
| CloudSpot | 5 GB | 3 galleries, JPEG only | 15% | Yes |
| Pic-Time | 10 GB, then 3 GB after 3 months | Storage, after month three | 6% to 15% of your markup | Yes |
| Picflow | 2 GB | Storage | None, no store | No |
| picdrop | 1 GB | 3 galleries | None, no store | No |
Card processing fees apply on top of every sales fee here. Prices and plans change; each platform's pricing page in our compare section carries the source link.
Is Pixieset free good enough?
For a handful of galleries with no sales, yes. 3 GB holds roughly 300 delivered JPEGs at 10 MB each, which is one portrait session or two.
The fee is the part that matters once you sell. At 15%, $640 a year in print and download sales costs the same as Pixieset Basic billed yearly at $8 a month, which also takes nothing and gives you 10 GB. Billed monthly at $10, the break-even is $800. Past that, the free plan is the expensive one. The real cost of commission on client galleries runs the sum at other volumes. Xposure vs Pixieset has the full plan ladder.
ShootProof: the free plan with no commission
ShootProof charges 0% commission on every plan, including the free one, so if you sell from a free gallery you keep the whole sale minus card fees.
The catch is the space. The free plan holds 3 GB of photos only, which ShootProof puts at about 1,000 photos: roughly one wedding, and no video. The next tier, Starter, is 20 GB of photo and video at $9.99 a month, or $8.33 billed yearly. See Xposure vs ShootProof and the ShootProof vs Pixieset breakdown.
CloudSpot: more room, same 15%
CloudSpot's free plan is 5 GB, which is more than Pixieset's, spread over at most three galleries. It takes 15% of store sales, as does Entry at $7 a month, and both accept JPEG only. Commission drops to 0% and all file types open up at Lite, $17 a month.
That makes CloudSpot free a reasonable test bed and a poor long-term home if you sell. At 15%, Lite pays for itself at $1,360 a year in sales. See Xposure vs CloudSpot and CloudSpot vs Pixieset.
Pic-Time: generous for three months
Pic-Time's free plan starts at 10 GB, the most here, and falls to 3 GB after three months. Anything you deliver in month one has to fit in 3 GB by month four, so it suits a trial, not a running business.
Pic-Time takes 6% to 15% of your markup on sales, not of the order total, and nothing on Professional and Advanced if you collect payments yourself. Its cheapest paid plan, Beginner, is $7 a month billed yearly for 20 GB. See Xposure vs Pic-Time and Pixieset vs Pic-Time. If you already pay for Pic-Time and want out, Pic-Time alternatives compares the paid options.
Picflow and picdrop: free, but not for selling
Both appear on "Pixieset alternatives" lists and neither replaces it for a wedding or portrait photographer. They are review tools. picdrop states that selling photos is not on its agenda, and Picflow has no store.
They are good at what they do. picdrop has yes, no and maybe flags, drawing on an image and comments per file. Picflow is built for agency approval rounds. Free gives you 1 GB and three galleries on picdrop, 2 GB on Picflow. If your client is an art director, not a couple, start with Picflow vs Pixieset or Xposure vs picdrop.
The cheap paid alternatives
If free runs out, these are the entry paid tiers that compete with Pixieset Basic at $8 a month billed yearly:
- Pic-Time Beginner: $7 a month yearly, 20 GB, fee on your markup.
- CloudSpot Entry: $7 a month, 15 GB, 15 galleries, JPEG only, 15% fee.
- ShootProof Starter: $8.33 a month yearly, 20 GB photo and video, 0%.
- Zenfolio Basic: €6 a month yearly at EU rates, 15 GB.
- Pixpa Basic: $9 a month, 3 GB, 0% commission, three store products.
- Xposure Starter: €8 ($9) a month, 25 GB, 10% on sales, 0% from Pro at €18 ($21).
On Xposure, since we make it: there is no free plan for client galleries. Free is a portfolio and 5 GB; galleries start on Starter after a 14-day Pro trial with no card. Starter includes a custom domain and online booking with contracts and deposits, which Pixieset sells as a separate Studio Manager subscription, with deposits on its Pro plan, and Pic-Time does not offer. Where it is weaker: it is a young product, founded in 2026, with fewer integrations than Pixieset, Starter takes 10% where ShootProof takes nothing, and 25 GB is a quarter of what CloudSpot Lite gives you for $17.
How to choose without paying twice
Write down three numbers before you sign up anywhere: photos delivered a year, how long galleries stay online, and what you sold through galleries last year. Put them into the gallery platform cost calculator. If sales are zero and volume is small, any free plan works and Pixieset's is fine. If you sell anything at all, compare the paid tier against the free plan's commission, because that is the line where free stops being cheaper. For the wider shortlist beyond free plans, the best client gallery for photographers compares the paid platforms side by side.
