Compare SmugMug vs. Zenfolio
The epic battle for domination of the prosumer photo-sharing segment...who comes out on top?
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.
Product
|
Smugmug |
Zenfolio |
| Full Review | ||
| Overall Rating |
||
| 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) |
| 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. |
Somewhat customizable, including
logo, about me page, photographer photo, and 7 different styles of homepage. 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. |
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 24 megabytes . |
Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth with unlimited and premium plans. 12 MB photo upload limit except with premium, 24 MB limit. |
| 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. Two photo fulfillment labs to choose from. |
Yes, wide Selection. |
| Add Videos? |
Yes, up to 10 minutes in HD quality (up to 512 megabytes max size). 10 minutes of DVD for Power users, no HD. Basic users get no video. |
No |
| Sell Digital
Downloads? |
Yes, multiple sizes with different license terms available. |
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. Can only watermark pictures as you upload, not after the fact. Right click protect your photos to prevent visitors from saving a copy. |
Yes, very nice watermark manager 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. |
4x6 | 8x10 | Postcard Wholesale Prices |
4x6 - $.19 to $.38 based on finish. Color correction included free. 8x10 - $1.99+ Postcard - $12.95 per 20 |
4x6 - $.19 for value prints (no color correction), .29 for normal prints 8x10 - $1.99+ Postcard - $5.40 per 12 |
| Cost (per year) | $149.95
Pro Account |
$50 (Unlimited Storage, but cannot sell pictures) $100 Premium (Sell Pictures no storage limit) |
| Give 'em a spin! |
Best Offer - Try Smugmug |
Best Offer - Try Zenfolio Professional |
Smugmug Professional Account Review
Smugmug Professional Account is $149.95 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 diskspace 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.
Give Smugmug Pro a spin: Get Your Free Smugmug Trial Now!
Find SmugMug Coupons: Click Here For Coupons!
Zenfolio Professional Account Review
Save $10 on Any New Zenfolio Account with this code:
9EN-BKB-H6W
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 $100 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.
Dislikes:
Cannot create a true "custom" look and feel. Can only change the text, and some other attributes. Cannot modify the CSS. No video.
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. Picasa vs. Snapfish
