Piwigo vs SmugMug
Piwigo
piwigo.org
SmugMug
smugmug.comSide by side
| Figure | Piwigo | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | €32/mo | $10/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 8 | 12 |
| Spec score · Photo Storage Services | 8.3 (#17) | 8.6 (#11) |
| Spec score · Photo Sharing Software | 8.3 (#14) | 8.6 (#8) |
| API | Both Cloud and self-hosted versions provide access to the Piwigo API. | SmugMug provides a REST-style API v2 for integrated applications, with an interactive Live API Browser and access for current subscribers. |
| Founded | 2002 | 2002 |
| Headquarters | France | Mountain View, California, United States |
| Integrations | The pricing comparison lists Google Analytics and Matomo as external analytics tools that can be added. | Official integrations include Adobe Lightroom, Flickr uploads and Dropbox uploads. |
| Intended users | Piwigo identifies public-sector organizations, companies, tourism organizations, universities, nonprofits, clubs, and photographers among its users. | SmugMug says photographers use the service for hobbies, side-hustles, and businesses. |
| Mobile apps | Piwigo offers iOS and Android apps for browsing libraries, editing photo details, and uploading photos and videos. | iOS and Android apps provide viewing, organizing, downloading, editing, automatic upload and offline viewing. |
| Product | Piwigo is open-source photo management software for organizing and sharing photo and video collections. | SmugMug describes its service as an all-in-one platform for storing, sharing, and selling photography. |
| Support | Cloud subscriptions include email support, with priority support on higher plans; self-hosted professional support is available through support plans. | SmugMug advertises 24/7 human customer support and provides a support center and contact channel. |
Plans
Piwigo
- Free (self-hosted)Free
- Pro€32 a month
- Light (self-hosted support)€43 a month
- Standard (self-hosted support)€87 a month
- Team€109 a month
- Premium (self-hosted support)€165 a month
- Enterprise€219 a month
- VIP€439 a month
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
Piwigo
Piwigo is open-source photo management software for organizing and sharing photo and video collections. Albums, sub-albums, tags, metadata, and search help structure a library; roles, groups, and permissions let users publish galleries or restrict access. The software can be extended with plugins, themes, settings, and custom code, and both cloud and self-hosted versions provide API access.
Piwigo Cloud is hosted in France on Piwigo’s own infrastructure; the company says customer data is not transferred to the United States. Android and iOS apps support browsing libraries, editing photo details, and uploading photos and videos. Piwigo describes automatic tag and description generation and OCR text extraction, with its AI hosted on its own infrastructure. Users can export photos, videos, and metadata without charge and switch between Cloud and self-hosted deployments. The self-hosted plan is free. Cloud Pro costs €32 a month, billed annually and excluding VAT, and includes 10GB storage, one administrator, unlimited users, and no contributors. Other listed plans vary in storage, formats, contributors, and support. A Cloud subscription is limited to one Piwigo.
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.