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Pelli vs SmugMug: from delivered gallery to signed quote

SmugMug has hosted and sold photos for over twenty years, with unlimited JPEG storage and a solid print fulfilment chain. Pelli starts from a different place: covering the whole job, from the gallery you deliver to the client all the way to the signed quote, the invoice and the appointment booked online. Both platforms host your images and take payment for your sales; one keeps 15% of the markup you add, the other takes no commission — you only pay the usual Stripe fees on your own account. Here, line by line, is what each one covers and what it leaves out.

Pelli takes no commission on your sales; you only pay the usual Stripe fees. SmugMug keeps 15% of the difference between your price and its base price, but states that it absorbs credit card processing fees.
Quotes, invoices, signed contracts and online booking (Ultra plan) are built into Pelli. SmugMug does offer “Customer Leads” client records, but neither quotes nor invoicing appear in its published offering.
SmugMug gives unlimited JPEG storage on every plan, a genuine strength next to the 1 TB on Pelli's Ultra plan; its videos are capped at 20 minutes at 1920×1080.
With SmugMug, selling starts on the Portfolio plan at $23.50/month billed annually, and there is no free plan. With Pelli, the store opens on the Pro plan, at $390 a year.
Pelli is built in France, available in French, and ready for the French 2026-2027 e-invoicing reform (Peppol, on the Pro and Ultra plans).

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Detailed Comparison

Discover why Pelli is the best choice for your photography business

Galleries and client delivery

Feature

Pelli

SmugMug

Client galleries under your own brand

Photo storage

10 GB on Lite, 100 GB on Pro, 1 TB on Ultra

Unlimited full-resolution JPEG; RAW is an add-on at $10/month for the first TB

Video

1 hour on Lite, 5 hours on Pro, 15 hours on Ultra

20 minutes and 1920×1080 maximum per video, 3 GB per file

Password-protected galleries

Watermarking and image protection

Lightroom plugin

Selling and getting paid

Feature

Pelli

SmugMug

Selling prints and digital files

Included on the Pro and Ultra plans

From the Portfolio plan ($23.50/month billed annually)

Platform commission on your sales

0% Pelli commission; only the usual Stripe fees apply on your own account

15% of your markup, meaning the gap between your price and SmugMug's base price; credit card processing fees are stated as covered

Base cost on a digital file

None

$0.49 per file and $1.99 for a gallery download

How your earnings reach you

Straight into your own Stripe account

Automatic payout once you reach $500 in profits, otherwise a manual request; processed after the 7th of the month

Printing and shipping handled for you

Yes, through the Pelli printing solution (Pro and Ultra plans)

Coupons, packages and gift cards

Pro and Ultra plans

Coupons and packages from the Pro plan ($37/month billed annually)

Running your business

Feature

Pelli

SmugMug

Client records and sales pipeline (CRM)

“Customer Leads” client records (contact details, purchase history and gallery subscriptions), in the selling tools on the Portfolio and Pro plans

Quotes with electronic signature

Not mentioned in its published offering

Invoices and payment tracking

Not mentioned in its published offering

Contracts signed online

Not mentioned in its published offering

Appointment booking with a deposit

Included on the Ultra plan

Not mentioned in its published offering

French 2026-2027 e-invoicing (Peppol)

Pro and Ultra plans, once activated

Not mentioned in its published offering

Brand, marketing and support

Feature

Pelli

SmugMug

Portfolio website

Website included: 1 page on Lite, 3 pages on Pro, unlimited on Ultra, with visitor statistics; built with Léa, the AI assistant, on Pro and Ultra

No-code site templates on every plan; advanced gallery-style customisation from the Portfolio plan

AI assistant: natural-language search, face detection

Léa, the AI assistant, on the Pro and Ultra plans, with natural-language search and face detection

SmugMug's “Assistant” is delegated access for another person, not an AI; no artificial-intelligence feature is mentioned in its published offering

Email and SMS campaigns

Marketing tools and sales analytics are advertised; email or SMS campaigns are not mentioned in its published offering

Google review booster

Not mentioned in its published offering

Express transfer for large files

Digital delivery through the galleries

Interface and documentation languages

Interface in 9 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Swedish

Help centre published in English only; interface languages are not stated in its published offering

Pricing: what you actually pay

Subscription for subscription, SmugMug's selling tiers start lower: selling opens at $282 a year on Portfolio, while Pelli's store opens on the Pro plan at $390 a year. The gap closes as soon as you sell, because the 15% taken from your markup grows with your revenue while Pelli's commission stays at zero — bearing in mind that SmugMug states it absorbs credit card processing fees, whereas with Pelli the Stripe fees apply on your own account. Then there is scope: Pelli includes the CRM, quotes and invoices, and online booking on the Ultra plan, which many photographers currently pay for in a second subscription. The other way round, SmugMug offers unlimited JPEG storage that Pelli does not match.

SmugMug — the subscription, plus 15% of your markup

Direct: $20/month billed annually, or $240 a year. This plan does not allow selling.
Portfolio: $23.50/month billed annually, or $282 a year. This is the first plan that allows selling.
Pro: $37/month billed annually, or $444 a year, with multiple pricelists, coupons and packages.
No free plan. A 14-day trial, during which gallery sharing is not available.
On every sale, SmugMug keeps 15% of the gap between your price and its base price.
Unlimited JPEG storage is included; RAW files are an add-on at $10/month for 1 TB, then $6/month per extra TB.
SmugMug states that it covers credit card processing fees (“Credit card processing fees: None”).

Pelli — the subscription only, 0% commission

Lite: $9/month or $90 a year, with 10 GB of storage, 1 hour of video and unlimited galleries.
Pro: $39/month or $390 a year, with 100 GB, 5 hours of video, the online store and Léa, the AI assistant.
Ultra: $79/month or $790 a year, with 1 TB of storage, 15 hours of video, the full store and online booking.
0% commission: your sales land directly in your own Stripe account, where only the usual Stripe fees apply.
A 15-day trial with no credit card, then a 30-day money-back guarantee.
CRM, quotes, invoices and contracts are included in the subscription, at no extra cost.

So, Pelli or SmugMug?

SmugMug remains a safe choice for hosting alone: unlimited JPEG storage, a Lightroom plugin, mobile apps, 24/7 support and credit card processing fees it says it covers.
If you sell regularly, the 15% taken from your markup eventually weighs more than the difference in subscription price.
Pelli covers what happens after the gallery: a full CRM, quotes, invoices, signed contracts and online booking (Ultra plan), none of which appear in SmugMug's published offering.
For a business registered in France, Pelli is built in France, available in French, and ready for the e-invoicing reform (Pro and Ultra plans).
A 15-day trial with no credit card and a 30-day refund: you can compare without committing.

If what you mainly need is unlimited photo hosting and a well-oiled print store, SmugMug has done that job well for twenty years. If you also want to issue a quote, get it signed, send the invoice, fill your calendar and keep your margins with no platform commission, that is the ground Pelli covers.

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Premium Support

For pro photographers ready for the next level

Human expertise on top of the platform: strategic advice, a private circle of fellow photographers, priority handling and exclusive partner deals.

On request

Methodology note

This comparison is based on public information (vendors' websites) and on feedback from users who switched to Pelli. Some points reflect experience reported by these users — a subjective impression — rather than an objective measurement; they may differ from the competitor's current offering, which changes over time. For the most up-to-date information, please check the vendor's own website. Last updated: July 2026.

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Pelli vs SmugMug: from delivered gallery to signed quote

Pelli takes no commission on your sales; you only pay the usual Stripe fees. SmugMug keeps 15% of the difference between your price and its base price, but states that it absorbs credit card processing fees.

Quotes, invoices, signed contracts and online booking (Ultra plan) are built into Pelli. SmugMug does offer “Customer Leads” client records, but neither quotes nor invoicing appear in its published offering.

SmugMug gives unlimited JPEG storage on every plan, a genuine strength next to the 1 TB on Pelli's Ultra plan; its videos are capped at 20 minutes at 1920×1080.

With SmugMug, selling starts on the Portfolio plan at $23.50/month billed annually, and there is no free plan. With Pelli, the store opens on the Pro plan, at $390 a year.

Pelli is built in France, available in French, and ready for the French 2026-2027 e-invoicing reform (Peppol, on the Pro and Ultra plans).

Pricing: what you actually pay

SmugMug — the subscription, plus 15% of your markup

Direct: $20/month billed annually, or $240 a year. This plan does not allow selling.
Portfolio: $23.50/month billed annually, or $282 a year. This is the first plan that allows selling.
Pro: $37/month billed annually, or $444 a year, with multiple pricelists, coupons and packages.
No free plan. A 14-day trial, during which gallery sharing is not available.
On every sale, SmugMug keeps 15% of the gap between your price and its base price.
Unlimited JPEG storage is included; RAW files are an add-on at $10/month for 1 TB, then $6/month per extra TB.
SmugMug states that it covers credit card processing fees (“Credit card processing fees: None”).

Pelli — the subscription only, 0% commission

Lite: $9/month or $90 a year, with 10 GB of storage, 1 hour of video and unlimited galleries.
Pro: $39/month or $390 a year, with 100 GB, 5 hours of video, the online store and Léa, the AI assistant.
Ultra: $79/month or $790 a year, with 1 TB of storage, 15 hours of video, the full store and online booking.
0% commission: your sales land directly in your own Stripe account, where only the usual Stripe fees apply.
A 15-day trial with no credit card, then a 30-day money-back guarantee.
CRM, quotes, invoices and contracts are included in the subscription, at no extra cost.

So, Pelli or SmugMug?

SmugMug remains a safe choice for hosting alone: unlimited JPEG storage, a Lightroom plugin, mobile apps, 24/7 support and credit card processing fees it says it covers.

If you sell regularly, the 15% taken from your markup eventually weighs more than the difference in subscription price.

Pelli covers what happens after the gallery: a full CRM, quotes, invoices, signed contracts and online booking (Ultra plan), none of which appear in SmugMug's published offering.

For a business registered in France, Pelli is built in France, available in French, and ready for the e-invoicing reform (Pro and Ultra plans).

A 15-day trial with no credit card and a 30-day refund: you can compare without committing.