Compare SmugMug vs. Zenfolio
The epic battle for domination of the prosumer photo-sharing segment...who comes out on top?
May 18,2013 Smugmug vs. Zenfolio! The two biggest and best professional photo-sharing sites currently available. A lot of their features are very similar, so which one comes out on top? Read more below to find out about the small differences that could make or break either service, depending on your needs and what you are looking for.
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Product
|
Smugmug - Pro Business |
Zenfolio |
|
| Full Review | |||
| Overall Rating |
3 out of 5 Stars Save 20% on any SmugMug account with this code: PSReviews20 |
4.5 out of 5 Stars Save $10 (up to 33%) on any Zenfolio account with this code: AT7-A7G-82Y |
|
| Sell Photos to make a profit? |
Yes - You keep 85% of the Profit above SmugMug's minimum prices |
Yes - You keep 88% to 96% of the profit depending on product type (prints compared to digital downloads) |
|
| Highlighted Features |
|
By far, the best bargain. Now includes HD Video too. Great looking galleries right out of the box. Organize folders and galleries anyway you like, unlimited nested folders. Easily create a client access page with password. Apply client logo and branding throughout entire checkout process (only site that can do this). Create smart discounts or coupons for your clients. And still at only $120 a year, you can sell your photos and digital downloads from your custom branded page. |
|
| Customizable Galleries? |
Yes, fully customizable
galleries from many styles pre-made, and the ability to import your own
CSS style sheets and change just about anything you want. |
7 clean looking main layout options with many customizable variables, including logo, about me page, photographer photo. Can modify text colors and styles. Cannot arrange layouts or modify any CSS. |
|
| Replace Site logo with your
own? |
Yes, including custom
headers and footers. Still, SmugMug will appear at the bottom of your page on the footer |
Yes, you can replace the name and
basic info,as well as add your logo in various places. Cannot fully modify header or footer. |
|
| Web 2.0 and social features |
Easy integration with facebook, twitter, and many other social bookmarking sites like reddit and digg. Users can comment
on your photos, and send links to friends. RSS feeds available. Create cool custom badges and slideshows for sharing. |
|
|
| Disk Space, Max Size of
Photo Upload |
Unlimited Storage and bandwidth. Photo size up to 50 megabytes and 100 Megapixels |
Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth with unlimited and premium plans. 64 MB photo upload limit with pro. |
|
| File Types |
JPEG, GIF, PNG (RAW, TIFF, PSD with
SmugVault at extra cost) |
JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF |
|
| Sell Photo Books
and other gifts? |
Yes, wide selection. Four photo fulfillment labs to choose from. |
Yes, wide Selection. Can also self-fulfill products with a lab of your choice or on your own if you don’t want to use the default photo labs offered. |
|
| Add Videos? |
Yes, up to 20 minutes in HD quality (up to 3 GB max size). |
Yes, Zenfolio now supports HD 1080p video files up to 2GB in size and up to 20 minutes long. No limit on the number of video clips you can upload. |
|
| Sell Digital
Downloads? |
Yes, multiple sizes with different license terms available with the Pro Business Account |
Yes, multiple sizes with different license terms available. | |
| Customize Domain Name? |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Watermarks and copyright
protection |
Yes, make any watermark you wish and apply it to photos or galleries. Right click protect your photos to prevent visitors from saving a copy. |
Yes, best and easiest to use watermark manager we have used, with 4 defaults to choose from, or create your own. Can apply to photos instantly, or easily remove them. Right click protect your photos to prevent visitors from saving a copy. |
|
| Geotagging capabilities |
Automatically accesses Geotag info, or manually geotag your photos to see them on a map. | None |
|
| Keywords and Search |
Add keywords to any photos. Search box only searches photos on your site so you can sell more. Smart galleries can automatically upload keyword tagged photos to galleries. | Yes, keyword tag your photos. |
|
| Privacy |
Can password protect galleries
or just "hide" them so you need the link in order to view. |
Can password protect galleries. Private galleries, or add only certain people to a list (nice feature) |
|
| Cost (per year) | $20 a month / $150 a year for a "Portfolio" Account $35 a month / $300 a year to sell photos SmugMug doubled "Pro" prices in 2012, making Zenfolio significantly cheaper for more features. Save 20% on Any New SmugMug Account with this code:
|
$60 / year (Unlimited Storage, but cannot sell pictures) $120 / year Premium (Unlimited Storage, Sell Pictures) Save $10 (up to 33%) on any Zenfolio account with this code: AT7-A7G-82Y
|
|
| Give 'em a spin! |
Best Offer - Try Smugmug |
Best Offer - Try Zenfolio Professional |
Date Review Added: 2012-06-16
How Long They Have Used Zenfolio Vs SmugMug: 2 years
Overall Rating:
out of 5 Stars Value for My Money:
5 out of 5 Stars Zenfolio Vs SmugMug Pros: I really like Zenfolio better than SmugMug, I think its easier to use, although I only had a free SmugMug account
Zenfolio Vs SmugMug Cons: The price just went up
Tom's other comments about Zenfolio Vs SmugMug: none
Aggregate rating:
Total number of reviews: 1
Add your own Zenfolio Vs SmugMug review, click here now!
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Smugmug Professional Account Review
Smugmug Professional Account is $150 a year and includes all the features you need to setup and customize your own photo website. You can set your own print prices and make 85% of the markup. You can even sell digital downloads in three sizes with personal or commercial use licenses. SmugMug will take the order, pay the credit card processing fee, and ship prints right to your customer. Easy for you to upload and arrange. Easy for your admirers to navigate and buy prints. Upload 100s of photos with a few click. Bulk caption, bulk move, and bulk delete. The best part is that you can really make the site look like your own. Even replace SmugMug's logo, header, footer, and color scheme with your own. Automatically apply custom watermarks to your photos, and protect your photos so nobody can “right click” save them. You can also add IPTC keywords to your photos before uploading to SmugMug, and our search engine will return results matching those keywords. It's a way for you to embed hidden search terms in your photos.
Likes:
Free Trial, Completely customizable interface, create an entire site with Smugmug's tools. Great photo management tools, including many bulk upload options with some just for the mac. Backprint photos with your website and photo ID for easy reorders. No disk space or bandwidth limits.
Dislikes:
Some options are a bit complex to setup, because there are so many choices. No different price levels for pro accounts. The more expensive option.
Give Smugmug Pro a spin: Get Your Free Smugmug Trial Now!
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Zenfolio Professional Account Review
Zenfolio offers a very slick and professional looking experience designed with both professional and aspiring beginner photographers alike. They make it very easy to create great looking portfolios, add slideshows, and sell your photos. for $120 a year if you opt for the professional account, it is a bit cheaper than SmugMug yet offers a lot of same functionality. The only way you would be disappointed with Zenfolio is if you want your homepage to look a specific way, and its not one of the 7 ways zenfolio has to offer. Overall, Zenfolio is a highly recommend way to get your photos online!
Likes:
Clean, "Zen-like" Interface, Easy to setup print prices, watermarking feature easy to use and apply to photos already uploaded. Print prices are a bit high compared to other sites, so you make a bit less profit. Easy to customize, great social media sharing features. Can modify the URL of your galleries to be whatever you like. SEO features make it a bit easier to optimize your site to get more traffic. And to top it off Zenfoli's new video sharing option lets you upload unlimited 1080p HD videos, up to 20 minutes long. Very nice feature.
Dislikes:
Cannot create a true "custom" look and feel. Can only change the text, and some other attributes. Cannot modify the CSS.
Save up to 33% on Any New Zenfolio Account with this code:
9EN-BKB-H6W
Give it a spin: Free Zenfolio Professional Trial and Print Offer
Go to Zenfolio Detailed Review >> | Go to SmugMug Detailed Review >> | Professional Photo Sharing | Compare SmugMug vs. Zenfolio vs. PhotoShelter
