Zenfolio alternative: a client gallery from the EU instead of a platform mid-rebuild
Zenfolio runs two systems, bills in dollars and lost trust with auto-archiving. A Zenfolio alternative with face search, priced in euros, as of August 2026.
Zenfolio is one of the oldest names in photographer websites with galleries and print sales (on the market since 2006, based in California). Anyone searching for a “Zenfolio alternative” in the past few years usually has a specific reason: the automatic archiving of older galleries that caught many customers off guard in 2023 and 2024, the move to the new “NextZen” platform, which runs alongside the old system, or simply the bill in US dollars. This article goes through those points, as of 17 August 2026.
Zenfolio in three paragraphs
Zenfolio, Inc. is based in Menlo Park, California, and sells photographer websites with galleries, print sales through partner labs, video, booking and CRM (Zenfolio: features). Since summer 2025, “NextZen” has been the plan on offer, a new platform on new infrastructure, with AI features such as “Face Finder” and automatic keywording (Zenfolio: NextZen). The old “Classic” system keeps running for existing customers; some features exist only there, others only in NextZen.
Three NextZen plans: Basic at $9 a month ($7 billed annually) with 15 GB of photos and no sales; Professional at $23 ($11.50 annually) with 150 GB; Advanced at $40 ($20 annually) with unlimited photo storage, each with 150 GB of video on top (Zenfolio: pricing). Sales carry a 7 % commission plus the Stripe or PayPal fees (Zenfolio help: sales fees). Prices appear in euros in some regions, otherwise in dollars; there is a 14-day trial.
The point where Zenfolio lost trust: from 2023, Zenfolio automatically archived galleries that hadn’t been touched for around 14 months, with long loading times and, in some cases, damaged captions after restoring. Users describe it in forums and reviews (DPReview forum: Zenfolio archiving, Capterra: Zenfolio); Zenfolio itself admitted to PetaPixel in May 2025 that it had had “a rough decade” and promises to do better with NextZen (PetaPixel, 6 May 2025).
Pricing: dollars against euros
| Zenfolio NextZen (monthly / annual, US$) | aftersnap (monthly, € incl. VAT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Basic: $9 / $7, 15 GB of photos, no sales | Basic: €7.99, 50 GB, 15 galleries |
| Middle | Professional: $23 / $11.50, 150 GB | Pro: €14.99, 300 GB, unlimited galleries |
| Top | Advanced: $40 / $20, unlimited photos | Studio: €24.99, 1 TB Unlimited: €99, unlimited |
| Commission on sales | 7 % + payment provider | none: you pay the plan, nothing else |
| Trial | 14 days | 14 days with Studio features, no payment details |
Sources: Zenfolio: pricing, aftersnap pricing.
Billed annually, Zenfolio is cheap: $11.50 for 150 GB, $20 for unlimited photo storage. Our Pro is €14.99 a month incl. VAT for 300 GB, Studio €24.99 for a terabyte; if you really need more, you pay €99 with us and $20 with Zenfolio. Zenfolio is clearly cheaper there. What you get from us for the money is below, and you get it in euros, with VAT included, cancellable monthly, with an annual plan for the price of ten months. The euro figures are prices for Germany including 19 % VAT; other EU countries apply their own rate, and businesses with a valid VAT number are billed ex VAT (reverse charge).
What guests see
Both have face search. Zenfolio’s “Face Finder” lets guests find their photos with a selfie; according to Zenfolio, the selfie isn’t stored (Zenfolio: Face Finder). At aftersnap, face search is part of the Studio plan: upload a selfie, see your own photos, no account needed. The data behind it is used only inside the gallery it was created for and disappears with it; we don’t train any AI on your photos (not third-party, not our own), and the analysis runs on our own servers in Europe.
Content search for guests. Zenfolio keywords your images automatically for you; a subject search for guests isn’t documented. Our content search runs in the gallery from Pro upwards: dancing, cake, flowers, view as filters, combinable with a person.
Slideshow. Zenfolio Classic has a slideshow with music; for NextZen it isn’t documented. Our slideshow runs from Pro upwards with music from a licensed aftersnap library, as the first impression before the gallery opens.
Languages. Whether Zenfolio’s guest-facing gallery speaks your guests’ language (we checked German) we could only confirm indirectly; the dashboard is in English. aftersnap shows galleries in 32 languages (all 24 official EU languages plus eight more, chosen automatically from the browser setting) and the dashboard in 14 languages, English included.
Expiry date, password, download, watermark. Both have them. Zenfolio’s own sources contradict each other on how many watermarks each plan allows; with us, from Pro upwards your logo sits on every downloaded photo while the image stays clean in the gallery view, and you can switch it off per gallery.
Delivery and proofing: two kinds of gallery
At aftersnap, every gallery has one of two modes. The delivery gallery is the evening the couple sees their photos for the first time: slideshow first, large view, download on your terms, face search for the guests. The proofing gallery (Studio plan) is the step before: clients make their selection and write notes right on the photo, you edit and replace the images in the same gallery, and as soon as the download is open, your clients are notified. We started this one from a blank sheet: everything happens on the photo, nothing lives in email threads. Zenfolio has favourites and comments for clients; whether edited images can go back into the same gallery isn’t documented there.
Where Zenfolio is clearly ahead
- Everything under one roof. Website, booking, CRM, sales, gallery. aftersnap is a client gallery with a profile page, and stays focused on that.
- Print shop with labs, including Fujifilm in Europe; 7 % commission. aftersnap concentrates on delivery and presentation.
- Video in every plan. Video is on our roadmap.
- Unlimited photo storage for $20 billed annually.
- Client app “Photo Moments”, even if its status differs between the two platforms. Our galleries are built for the phone and run in the browser: selfie search included, nothing to install.
Where aftersnap is different
- One system, always moving forward. There is one version of aftersnap, and every feature in it is there for everyone. aftersnap is young and continuously developed: what you read here is the state as of August 2026. Team accounts, video and a blog module that lets your galleries live inside your own website are on the roadmap, and updates arrive regularly, at no extra cost, for every account. Start with us today and you get more gallery every month.
- No automatic archiving. Your galleries expire when you set an expiry date. Otherwise they don’t. After you cancel, they stay online for 30 days, then go offline, and a week later we cancel the account; nothing is deleted in that time, and if you rebook, everything is back at once.
- Euros, VAT included, cancel monthly.
- 32 guest languages, 14 dashboard languages.
- Hosting in the EU, data processing agreement in your account. Zenfolio hosts in the US under the Data Privacy Framework (Zenfolio: Data Privacy Framework): legally covered, but another continent.
- Lightroom: a single route. Zenfolio has two: one plugin for Classic, another for NextZen. Our plugin creates the gallery and its Sets from Lightroom Classic and keeps them in sync; included from Pro upwards.
- Vendor galleries for the venue, florist and planner (vendor galleries).
Who Zenfolio remains the better choice for
If you want website, booking, CRM, sales and gallery in one place and accept dollars for it. If unlimited photo storage for $20 is your criterion. If you deliver video as well and sell through the shop.
Zenfolio alternative: who aftersnap is for
If you want a client gallery that simply runs, no platform migration, no archiving in the background. If guests should find themselves with a selfie. If you want to pay in euros and know the photos are stored in the EU. If you want to work in your own language and let your guests read in theirs. If you publish straight from Lightroom Classic.
Switching: how it works in practice
- Create an account and run both side by side. 14-day Studio trial, no payment details. Your Zenfolio galleries stay up for as long as your account there is active.
- Publish the next delivery from Lightroom. The photos are in your catalogue; with the plugin, the gallery is a right-click away. The source is your catalogue rather than the old gallery, so every photo arrives in the version you approved.
- Back up old galleries before you cancel. Zenfolio users have complained for years about the lack of a bulk export (Capterra: Zenfolio); allow time to download whatever clients might still need.
- Move your domain across. You set up your own domain at aftersnap on the Studio plan.
Frequently asked questions
Can I import my Zenfolio galleries into aftersnap? The route is the Lightroom plugin: your selection is in the catalogue and the gallery is created straight from it, no detour via the old gallery.
Does aftersnap archive old galleries automatically? A gallery expires when you set an expiry date. Otherwise it stays as long as your account runs.
Can I sell prints with aftersnap? aftersnap concentrates on delivery and presentation. If the shop is your revenue, Zenfolio or Pic-Time are built for that.
Can I upload videos? Not yet. Video is on our roadmap.
Zenfolio details as of 17 August 2026, sources: zenfolio.com/plans-pricing, zenfolio.com/features, Zenfolio help, Capterra, PetaPixel. Prices are subject to change; what counts is what the providers show on their own pages today. Our plans: aftersnap pricing.
