FilterPixel vs PixCull

FilterPixel is photo culling and editing software for photographers, available on macOS and Windows. Its DeepCull feature scores and explains evaluated photos using criteria for events, sports, concerts and weddings. Review Mode groups burst photos, while Survey Mode compares similar frames and supports detail inspection at up to 16× zoom. Users can apply built-in AI profiles or train custom profiles from an edited Lightroom catalog. Exports to Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, Photoshop and Capture One preserve ratings and color labels through XMP metadata. It supports JPEG and RAW, organizes photos rather than deleting them, and allows flagged rejects to be recovered with one click. Each DeepCull shoot processes up to 5,500 photos; larger projects are split into multiple shoots. The free plan and free DeepCull shoots offer a way to start, with no credit card required for the free shoots. Standard costs $14.99 per month billed annually at $180/yr and includes 20 shoots per year. Culling takes place in the cloud, not offline.

PixCull is an open-source photo and video culling tool that sorts shoots into keep, maybe, and cull groups. It scores each frame from 1–5 stars on technical quality, subject, composition, light, moment, and aesthetic, with a written rationale for each area. The product describes nine photography verticals, from weddings and wildlife to journalism and still life. For photo workflows, it exports XMP sidecars for Lightroom and Capture One, IPTC captions, and HTML galleries; it can also watch tether destinations and sync folders through iCloud, Dropbox, or NAS. Video tools score clips, identify reel candidates, transcribe audio, and export EDL files for Premiere or Resolve. RAW decoding, scoring, face analysis, and GPS analysis can run locally. The maker says photos are sent to MiniMax for judging by default since v2.50 after recorded consent; cloud judging can be disabled with `--vlm-mode off`. PixCull states it has no telemetry, and cached models plus disabled cloud judging can allow runs without a network connection. The plan is free; optional cloud model calls may incur API costs.