Noodle Gallery vs SmugMug
Noodle Gallery
opennoodle.de
SmugMug
smugmug.comSide by side
| Figure | Noodle Gallery | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 12 |
| Spec score · Photo Storage Services | 7.8 (#50) | 8.6 (#11) |
| API | Each running instance serves OpenAPI-described REST API documentation and Swagger UI at /doc. | SmugMug provides a REST-style API v2 for integrated applications, with an interactive Live API Browser and access for current subscribers. |
| Mobile apps | Native iOS and Android apps offer background camera backup, CLIP search, a map, and Shared Spaces. | iOS and Android apps provide viewing, organizing, downloading, editing, automatic upload and offline viewing. |
| Product | Noodle Gallery is a self-hosted photo and video app with smart search, face recognition, Shared Spaces, and S3 storage. | SmugMug describes its service as an all-in-one platform for storing, sharing, and selling photography. |
| Support | The maker directs users to its official documentation, Discord, and GitHub issues for help. | SmugMug advertises 24/7 human customer support and provides a support center and contact channel. |
Plans
SmugMug
- Direct$20 a month
- Portfolio$23.50 a month
- Pro$37 a month
- SmugMug Source RAW add-on$10 a month
- SmugMug Source RAW storage add-on$10 a month
- Direct$20 a month
- Portfolio$23.50 a month
- Pro$37 a month
- Direct$240 a year
- Portfolio$282 a year
In their own words
Noodle Gallery
Noodle Gallery is a self-hosted photo and video app for storing and organizing media on a server you provide. Its Shared Spaces let several people contribute to one chronological timeline while keeping their personal libraries separate. A Cmd/Ctrl+K palette searches photos, people, places, tags, albums, Spaces, commands, and settings. The server supports S3-compatible storage, including AWS S3, MinIO, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, and Wasabi. A browser import wizard reads Google Takeout archives while retaining dates, GPS coordinates, descriptions, favorites, and album structure. Native iOS and Android apps include background camera backup, CLIP search, a map, and Shared Spaces. The developers say media, metadata, face-recognition data, and accounts stay on the user’s server, which they cannot access. Noodle Gallery is open source under AGPL-3.0, and each instance provides REST API documentation and Swagger UI at /doc. The free self-hosted plan has no subscription or storage cap, but runs on user-provided hardware.
SmugMug
SmugMug is a photography service for storing, sharing, and selling images. Its plans include unlimited full-resolution JPEG storage; RAW storage is a separate add-on priced at $10 a month for up to 1TB, then $6/mo for each additional TB. The Direct plan is $20 a month billed annually and includes privacy controls, digital delivery, Lightroom integration, and 24/7 live human support. Portfolio costs $23.50 a month billed annually and adds print and digital download sales, website templates, and order fulfillment. Pro costs $37 a month billed annually and adds custom pricelists, coupons and packages, client favoriting, and customer download limits. Subscribers can manage photos with iOS and Android apps, or use macOS and Windows apps for automatic uploads. Integrations include Adobe Lightroom and uploads from Flickr and Dropbox. Privacy settings, passwords, watermarks, and right-click protections help control access to photos and galleries. SmugMug offers a 14-day trial but no free plan.