Buyer’s guide
The best website builders for photographers in 2026
Seven builders photographers actually use, compared on what matters: how good your site looks, how long it takes, client galleries, selling prints and what it costs each month.
Updated · Every price checked on the maker’s own website that day · Sources
The quick list
- 01SitesBy.AIBest for a custom portfolio site, finished today
- 02PixiesetBest all-in-one for client galleries and the studio
- 03SquarespaceBest big platform with a full online store
- 04ShowitBest for design freedom and blogging
- 05SmugMugBest for unlimited storage and hands-off print sales
- 06ZenfolioBest on a budget, and for volume photography
- 07FormatBest for design-first portfolios with a commission-free store
Photography website builders side by side
| Builder | Starts at | Free plan or trial | Client galleries | Selling prints | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SitesBy.AI | Free; Plus $19/mo | Free plan (1 published site) | Portfolio galleries; link out for proofing | Price lists; orders by inquiry form | Builds and edits the whole site |
| Pixieset | Free; Website Plus $15/mo ($12 billed yearly) | Free plan | Yes, with proofing | Built-in store with lab fulfilment; no commission on paid plans | AI copywriting on Website Pro; AI photo editor add-on |
| Squarespace | $25/mo ($19 billed yearly) | 14-day trial | Portfolio galleries | Full store; 2% fee on Basic, none from Core | Blueprint AI starting point, AI credits by plan |
| Showit | $27/mo ($22 billed yearly) | 14-day trial | None built in; link to a gallery service | Through embeds or WooCommerce | None listed |
| SmugMug | $29/mo ($20 billed yearly); templates from $35.50/mo | 14-day trial | Yes; favourites and download limits on Pro | Lab fulfilment from Portfolio; SmugMug keeps 15% of your markup | None for websites |
| Zenfolio | $9/mo ($7 billed yearly) | Free trial | Yes, with proofing on every plan | From Professional; 7% fee per order | AI tagging; AI culling add-on |
| Format | $14/mo ($10 billed yearly) | 14-day trial | Yes | Commission-free store via PayPal from Pro; you print and ship | None listed |
Swipe the table sideways to see every column. Prices in US dollars. “Billed yearly” is the monthly price when you pay for a year up front.
How we chose
We looked at the builders photographers use most, and the ones they search for when choosing, and judged each on five things: how good a portfolio looks with little effort, how quickly you can go from nothing to a published site, client gallery delivery and proofing, selling prints and downloads, and the real monthly cost.
Prices and features come from each company’s own pricing and feature pages, checked on October 2, 2026. We make SitesBy.AI, so it is listed first; the rest are in the order we would suggest them to most working photographers.
01
SitesBy.AI: best for a custom portfolio site, finished today
Describe your photography business in a sentence or two and SitesBy.AI builds a finished site in about 20 seconds: a large opening photo, galleries, your story, prints with prices and a form for inquiries, laid out and written for you. There is no template, so it looks like your work rather than everyone else’s.
Change anything by asking (“make the gallery darker”, “add a page for elopements”) or by clicking text and typing. Galleries come in justified, masonry, grid and editorial layouts with a full-screen viewer. For client delivery and proofing, link the site to the gallery service you already use.
- Starts at
- Free; Plus $19/mo
- Free plan or trial
- Free plan (1 published site)
- Client galleries
- Portfolio galleries; link out for proofing
- Selling prints
- Price lists; orders by inquiry form
- AI
- Builds and edits the whole site
Where it shines
- A finished, one-of-a-kind site from a description, with no signup to see it
- Changes in plain English, each saved as a version you can restore
- Free plan to publish; Plus is $19 a month with your own domain
02
Pixieset: best all-in-one for client galleries and the studio
Pixieset puts client galleries, a website, a print store, a mobile gallery app and Studio Manager (booking, contracts, invoices) in one account. Every product has a free plan, and there is no commission on store sales on paid plans.
The website is built from customizable templates in a drag-and-drop editor. Website Plus is $15 a month ($12 billed yearly) and Pro, with AI copywriting and more design control, is $24 ($18 billed yearly); the Suite bundle starts at $35 a month ($28 billed yearly).
- Starts at
- Free; Website Plus $15/mo ($12 billed yearly)
- Free plan or trial
- Free plan
- Client galleries
- Yes, with proofing
- Selling prints
- Built-in store with lab fulfilment; no commission on paid plans
- AI
- AI copywriting on Website Pro; AI photo editor add-on
Where it shines
- Mature client galleries: proofing, favourites, PIN protection, download controls
- Print store with automatic lab fulfilment
- Booking, contracts and invoices in the same account
03
Squarespace: best big platform with a full online store
Squarespace is known for polished designer templates, and Blueprint AI can now turn a description into a multi-page starting point that you refine in its drag-and-drop editor. Every plan includes a store, with no transaction fee from Core up.
There is no free plan: you build during a 14-day trial and need a paid plan to publish. Basic is $25 a month ($19 billed yearly) and Core is $39 ($29 billed yearly).
- Starts at
- $25/mo ($19 billed yearly)
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day trial
- Client galleries
- Portfolio galleries
- Selling prints
- Full store; 2% fee on Basic, none from Core
- AI
- Blueprint AI starting point, AI credits by plan
Where it shines
- Designer templates and fine layout control
- A full store, invoicing and email campaigns on one platform
- 24/7 support
04
Showit: best for design freedom and blogging
Showit is a free-form, drag-and-drop builder where you design the desktop and mobile layouts separately, with a WordPress blog on most plans. It is popular with photographers who want pixel-level control or hire a designer.
It has no client galleries of its own (Showit’s help center suggests linking to a gallery service) and no built-in store. Plans run from $27 a month ($22 billed yearly), and the blog plans start at $34 ($27 billed yearly).
- Starts at
- $27/mo ($22 billed yearly)
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day trial
- Client galleries
- None built in; link to a gallery service
- Selling prints
- Through embeds or WooCommerce
- AI
- None listed
Where it shines
- Complete design freedom, including a separate mobile design
- A managed WordPress blog for SEO
- A large market of templates from independent designers
05
SmugMug: best for unlimited storage and hands-off print sales
SmugMug stores unlimited full-resolution photos on every plan and sells prints and downloads with lab fulfilment. SmugMug keeps 15% of your markup on sales, which it says covers card fees and customer service.
Website templates and your own domain start on the Portfolio plan, $35.50 a month ($23.50 billed yearly). The entry Direct plan, $29 a month ($20 billed yearly), is for galleries without templates.
- Starts at
- $29/mo ($20 billed yearly); templates from $35.50/mo
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day trial
- Client galleries
- Yes; favourites and download limits on Pro
- Selling prints
- Lab fulfilment from Portfolio; SmugMug keeps 15% of your markup
- AI
- None for websites
Where it shines
- Unlimited full-resolution photo storage
- Hands-off print fulfilment
- Live support around the clock
06
Zenfolio: best on a budget, and for volume photography
Zenfolio includes a website, your own domain and client galleries with proofing on every plan, from $9 a month ($7 billed yearly). Selling prints and downloads starts on Professional, with a 7% fee per order.
It has strong tools for schools, sports and events, and AI tagging on Professional and up, with AI culling as an add-on or included on Advanced.
- Starts at
- $9/mo ($7 billed yearly)
- Free plan or trial
- Free trial
- Client galleries
- Yes, with proofing on every plan
- Selling prints
- From Professional; 7% fee per order
- AI
- AI tagging; AI culling add-on
Where it shines
- The lowest yearly price for a site, galleries and your own domain
- Workflows for school, sports and event photography
- Booking and studio tools on higher plans
07
Format: best for design-first portfolios with a commission-free store
Format is a portfolio builder for photographers and other creatives, with design-led themes and free-form layouts. Every plan includes password-protected client galleries, and from Pro up there is a store that charges no commission: payments go through your PayPal account, and you handle printing and shipping yourself.
Basic is $14 a month ($10 billed yearly), Pro is $24 ($17 billed yearly), and Pro Plus is $36 ($26 billed yearly), with first-year discounts on yearly Pro plans until October 31, 2026.
- Starts at
- $14/mo ($10 billed yearly)
- Free plan or trial
- 14-day trial
- Client galleries
- Yes
- Selling prints
- Commission-free store via PayPal from Pro; you print and ship
- AI
- None listed
Where it shines
- Design-first portfolio themes
- Commission-free store
- Human support seven days a week
Try the first pick on your own business.
Describe it in a sentence or two and look through a finished site in about 20 seconds. No signup needed.
Questions
Before you start
What is the best website builder for photographers?
It depends on what the site has to do. For a custom portfolio site that is finished in minutes, SitesBy.AI. For client galleries, proofing and print sales in one account, Pixieset. For a full online store on a big platform, Squarespace. Many photographers pair a website builder with a separate gallery service.
Do I need a separate client gallery service?
Only if your website builder does not deliver galleries. Pixieset, SmugMug, Zenfolio and Format include client galleries; SitesBy.AI and Showit sites usually link to a gallery service such as Pixieset for delivery.
Which photography website builder is cheapest?
SitesBy.AI and Pixieset both have free plans you can publish on. Of the paid plans, Zenfolio Basic is $7 a month billed yearly ($9 month to month), and Format Basic is $10 a month billed yearly ($14 month to month).
Can AI build a photography website?
Yes. SitesBy.AI builds a finished portfolio site from a description of your work in about 20 seconds, and you change it by asking. Squarespace’s Blueprint AI also generates a starting point. Pixieset, SmugMug, Zenfolio, Format and Showit use AI for smaller jobs, like writing, tagging or culling, if at all.
Sources and how we compared
SitesBy.AI wrote this guide and makes the first pick, so weigh our ranking with that in mind. Every other builder is described from its own website, checked on October 2, 2026; prices change often, so check them before you buy. Product names are trademarks of their owners; SitesBy.AI is not affiliated with them.
- Pixieset Website pricing
- Pixieset Suite pricing
- Pixieset Online Store
- Squarespace pricing
- Squarespace AI website builder
- Showit pricing
- Showit help: client galleries
- Showit help: selling products
- SmugMug plans
- SmugMug help: getting paid
- Zenfolio plans and pricing
- Format pricing
- Format help: plans and add-ons
- SitesBy.AI plans