The frustrating reality: most gallery software companies publish their pricing in monthly increments, making it easy to underestimate the annual cost. $10 a month sounds reasonable until you realize you are paying $120 a year regardless of whether you shot zero events or twenty.
Platform pricing breakdown
These are the real numbers as of 2026, based on the lowest and highest published tiers for each platform:
What you actually pay for
The number on the pricing page is rarely the number you pay. On most platforms the entry tier is feature-gated: a custom domain, white-label branding, a storefront, or extra storage each push you to a higher plan or an add-on. By the time you have the setup a working studio actually needs, the $10/mo plan is a $30–40/mo plan.
Pixbox prices the opposite way: a free Starter, then two flat business plans, with storage as a separate dial you size yourself. Starter is free (1 event, 5 GB). Pro is $10/mo — AI guest-selfie delivery and People, unlimited events and guests, watermarking, bulk download, contracts and proofing, reseller tools, 0% commission, and 3 team seats. Max is $20/mo — everything in Pro plus unlimited AI, white-label, custom domain, storefront, unlimited seats, analytics, and API. Storage is its own box: 5 GB free, then $5 (100 GB) up to $100/mo (Unlimited), and you resize it any time without touching your plan.
Hidden costs to factor in
The monthly fee is not the whole story. Three other costs frequently catch photographers off guard:
Commission on sales
Pixieset charges 15% on digital downloads on their free plan. If you sell a $500 package through your gallery, they take $75. Pic-Time, ShootProof, Sprout Studio, and Pixbox all charge 0% — but make sure you verify the exact plan you are on.
Custom domain costs
Most platforms only allow a custom domain (studio.com instead of studio.pixieset.com) on mid- or high-tier plans. On Pixbox, a custom domain and full white-label are included in Max at $20/mo — no separate add-on, no per-feature upsell. Budget roughly $10–15/yr for the domain registration itself on top, but there's no extra plan tier to climb.
Storage overages
Entry-tier plans often include 5–15 GB of storage — barely enough for one wedding shoot. Overage charges or forced upgrades can add $10–30/mo unexpectedly. Pixbox keeps storage separate from your plan: you pick the size (5 GB free, then $5 for 100 GB up to $100/mo for Unlimited) and move up or down anytime with proration — no surprise overage fees, and your plan's feature set never changes when you resize.
Which is cheaper for you?
The honest comparison is total cost with the features you actually need turned on:
A fully loaded studio typically lands on Pixbox Max ($20/mo, $240/yr) — white-label, custom domain, storefront, unlimited team seats, unlimited events, unlimited AI guest-selfie delivery, and 0% commission — plus a storage box sized to the season (say 500 GB at $10/mo). The equivalent feature set on Pixieset, Pic-Time, or ShootProof typically means a higher tier plus add-ons — and Pixieset still skims 15% on its free plan. You keep 100% on sales on Pixbox either way.
See full pricing and run the math yourself
Pixbox pricing page includes a full comparison table and India pricing in INR.