With interactive elements, sleek designs as well as aesthetically pleasing, our new image gallery feature is something worth exploring. To be fair, we want to share our pros and cons, compare this new feature to competitors, and go over pricing across the board, so you know exactly what you’re signing up for.
Okay, cool – new image galleries, how is ours different than other image delivery apps? Most image delivery services photographers use are a separate subscription, charging an average of $50 a month or more depending on the storage plan. These services do not include invoices, contracts, or other tools photographers need for projects. We believe image delivery belongs in a CRM so photographers can offer clients a seamless brand experience.
The Pros
Interactive Image Proofing
Bloom galleries allows photographers to share their art in an interactive way with clients. Clients can heart their favorite photos and leave comments. They also have the option to choose a preferred image size to download.
Set the permissions
Photographers can share private client galleries, review feedback, and enable instant downloads. No tacky, unprofessional emails here. Sharing client galleries with your brand using a personalized email template is the way to impress clients.
Track all client activity
Your project image galleries are automatically added and accessible in the client portal. No need to re-enter client and project information. You can simply drag and drop your photos, arrange, and publish to a beautiful client gallery. As a bonus, clients can pay for the project and receive images in one place.
What’s missing?
While the image galleries are free, we decided to skip on the few bells and whistles our competitors offer like slideshow features. However, the generous storage plus image proofing features at no cost make up for this.
Bloom vs. others
Before discussing Bloom’s image galleries vs. the competitors, we have to preface with this: we are not a print shop. Instead, we are a full studio management software that includes free galleries and image delivery. As a CRM for photographers, we pride ourselves on giving photographers all the tools to start and finish a project in one place. With that said, let’s take a look at how Bloom compares to the best image delivery services on the market.
Pixieset
As a popular image delivery service, Pixieset is known for its client galleries, print fulfillment, and online proofing. If you want to create a website, this software has a very limited website builder. When it comes to customizability of the galleries and grids, Pixieset is also pretty limited. This software has released a Beta version of its project management tools, and charges $60 a month for unlimited storage, invoicing, and contracts. All in all, Pixieset’s strong suit is that it’s simple, user-friendly and has features like a full print shop. The major cons? Its project management is still in Beta and has limited customization for galleries. We’re not too fond of the pricing either, but we’ll get there in a few.
Pic-time
Another great image delivery service is Pic-time with its robust print shop options and modern layout. They have a built-in photo album creator which is really convenient for wedding photographers that upsell these to clients. Pic-time is slightly more affordable than Pixieset, but takes more time to learn because it offers more features. Unlike Pixieset or Bloom, Pic-time has no project management features. Overall, if you’re looking for an online store that focuses on print sales, Pic-time would be the best option.
Pricing
We said we’d be transparent, and pricing is a big deal. With the cost of project management tools on the rise, it’s beneficial to see exactly what you’re getting from each software.
Bloom
As you can see, Bloom offers a completely free starter plan that includes unlimited invoicing, completely free galleries and image delivery up to 100mb of storage. You can purchase additional storage of 1TB for only $10/month. You can upgrade to the full suite of studio management tools for $39/month.
Pixieset
Pixieset has their pricing tiers based on storage, and offers a $40/monthly plan for unlimited storage. For any photographer, spending $480 on just image delivery a year is…a lot of money. Think about it, you could be investing in Bloom’s $39/month plan for image galleries plus all the project management tools that are essential in running your business.
Pic-time
As far as the pricing and storage ratio goes, Pic-time is by far the most expensive. $50/month for unlimited storage isn’t a bad deal, but this doesn’t include the cost of any other project management tools you’re paying for. Again, Pic-time does not have any contracts, invoices, or other management tools for projects.
Conclusion
While other image delivery services have pricing tiers based on storage, Bloom has a completely free plan, image galleries included with store up to 100 GB of photos. Our final verdict? If you’re looking for a robust print shop and online store, and aren’t afraid to invest a little more coin, go with Pic-time for image delivery. Pixieset may be a good option for those that don’t want to sacrifice an arm and a leg in finances for one service, and you’ll still have a print shop.
If you want the most monetary value of your monthly subscription to any image delivery service, Bloom may be the best option because of it’s robust management tools and generous storage plan.