Print-ready PDF
300 DPI · 3 mm bleed · sRGB
A Pixieset album-design alternative that keeps the gallery you love.
This is not about replacing Pixieset. Keep it for galleries and store. Use Cuppafolio for the part you want more control over: designing the album and owning the print-ready PDF.
3-day free trial · Cancel anytime before day 4
An album-design alternative, not a Pixieset replacement
Most people searching for a Pixieset album-design alternative are not unhappy with Pixieset. They like the galleries, the client experience and the store. What they want is more control over the album itself, and a finished file that belongs to them rather than living inside a platform.
Cuppafolio is built to sit beside Pixieset, not on top of it. You keep delivering and selling through Pixieset exactly as you do now. When it is time to design the album, you do it in Cuppafolio's focused editor and export a print-ready PDF you own and can print with any lab.
Keep the gallery, upgrade the album step
An all-in-one platform has to spread its attention across galleries, store, proofing and album design. A dedicated album designer does not. Cuppafolio puts all of its design effort into spreads: designer templates, precise snapping and a layout flow tuned for albums specifically.
Crucially, the output is yours. Instead of an album that exists only inside a platform's print pipeline, you get a press-ready PDF you can keep, archive and send to whichever album supplier you trust.
A focused tool that does the album job brilliantly.
Everything you need for the album, nothing you don't, and the finished file is always yours.
Fits your stack
Beside your tools, not on top.
Keep Pixieset, Pic-Time, ShootProof and HoneyBook exactly as they are. Cuppafolio handles the album job and hands you a finished PDF.
Smart templates
Designer spreads, ready to fill.
Start from a layout you love and drop in your selects. Smart guides snap to bleed, gutter, centre and neighbours, so every page is balanced, every time.
Print-ready PDF
300 DPI. 3 mm bleed. Yours.
One click and a press-ready PDF lands in your downloads: 300 DPI, sRGB, embedded fonts, optional crop marks. No watermark, no expiry, no per-album unlock fee.
Flat pricing
One monthly price. No per-album fees.
From £19/month. Design as many albums as your plan allows for the same price every month, with no surprise charge when a busy season hits.
Where an all-in-one platform gets tight
The album step should be the fun part. Too often the tooling gets in the way.
Album design that feels like an afterthought next to the gallery
The finished album living inside a platform instead of in your hands
Wanting to choose your own album lab, not the bundled one
Cuppafolio vs Pixieset (album design)
The honest differences that matter when you are choosing where to design your albums.
| Feature | Cuppafolio | Pixieset (album design) |
|---|---|---|
| Where you design | A dedicated album-design app that does only the album step | Browser, inside the wider Pixieset gallery and store platform |
| Getting started | Sign in for the album step only, keep Pixieset exactly as you have it for galleries and store | Inside the Pixieset suite |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly album-design pricing decoupled from gallery delivery volume | Bundled with the gallery suite (check current pricing) |
| The finished file | Print-ready PDF you own and choose the lab for — Pixieset never sees it | Album fulfilment within Pixieset's print store |
| Your existing stack | Sits beside Pixieset, not over it — no migration, no integration, no platform lock | All-in-one gallery, store and album — coupled together |
| Free trial | 3-day free trial, cancel anytime before day 4 | Check the vendor's current trial |
Comparison reflects publicly available information about the other product and was last reviewed in May 2026. Always check the vendor's own site for current features and pricing. Cuppafolio is not affiliated with or endorsed by any product named here.
The difference is in what we deliberately leave out.
A narrow tool, an honest deal, and a file that is genuinely yours.
It does one job well
No gallery, no CRM, no store bolted on. A focused album designer that respects, rather than replaces, the tools you already pay for.
You own the export
Every album leaves as a print-ready PDF with no watermark and no per-album unlock fee. It is a real deliverable you keep, not a file held hostage.
Any lab, no markup
We do not print or fulfil anything. Your PDF goes to the album supplier you already trust, with no print margin quietly skimmed along the way.
Where Cuppafolio sits next to Pixieset
Cuppafolio is deliberately narrow. It does not deliver galleries, take payments or manage clients, so it never competes with Pixieset. It picks up exactly one job: turning your final selects into a designed, print-ready album.
Keep Pixieset for galleries, client proofing and your print store. When the album is what is on your plate, open Cuppafolio, design it from designer templates with smart snapping, and export a PDF you own and send to any lab. Nothing about your existing setup has to change.
- Keep Pixieset exactly as it is today
- Bring final selects into Cuppafolio for the album step
- Export a print-ready PDF and send it to your album lab
- No migration, no integration to configure, no lock-in
An album layer that respects your Pixieset stack
- Pixieset stays the gallery, store and proofing tool you already use
- Cuppafolio becomes the album-design step that Pixieset's print store cannot match
- Designer templates built only for printed album spreads, not adapted from print-store products
- Print-ready PDF you own at 300 DPI, sent to whichever album lab you prefer
- Decoupled from Pixieset's print-store fulfilment — you control the lab and the markup
- Flat monthly pricing that does not move with gallery delivery volume
“Finally a tool that doesn't assume I want to order prints through them. I have a lab I trust. I just needed the design side sorted.”
Good questions, straight answers.
Why would I move album design away from Pixieset if I already pay for it?
Pixieset's album product is part of a bundled print store, so the album lab and markup are part of the platform. Photographers who want a specific premium album lab (or a margin they control) move the design step out to a dedicated tool, keep Pixieset for galleries and store, and route the printed-album sale separately.
Do I have to leave Pixieset for galleries?
No, and that is the whole point. Cuppafolio only does album design. Keep delivering galleries and selling through Pixieset, and bring the final selects into Cuppafolio when it is time to lay out the printed album.
Does Cuppafolio compete with Pixieset's print store?
Indirectly, for the album product specifically — yes. The albums you design in Cuppafolio go to a lab you choose, not to Pixieset's bundled fulfilment. Galleries, proofing and other print products stay on Pixieset, where Cuppafolio does not compete.
Is there an integration to set up?
No. Cuppafolio does not need a Pixieset integration because the two tools never share data. Export your final selects from Pixieset using the existing download tools, drag them into a Cuppafolio project, design the album. Both sides stay simple.
What does this cost me beyond what I pay Pixieset?
Cuppafolio is £19/month Solo, £39/month Studio, £79/month Agency, on top of whatever your Pixieset plan costs. For photographers selling printed albums regularly, the album-margin gain from choosing a specific lab usually offsets the added Cuppafolio cost within a handful of albums.
Is there a direct Pixieset integration?
There is no integration to set up, because none is needed. Export your selects from Pixieset as you would for any tool, design the album in Cuppafolio, and export a print-ready PDF. Two simple steps, no configuration.
Will this change my client experience?
No. Clients still see your Pixieset galleries and store exactly as before. Cuppafolio is only the behind-the-scenes album-design step.
More ways Cuppafolio fits your studio
Other album-design solutions photographers weigh up alongside this one.
Add a proper album designer to your stack
Free 3-day trial, cancel anytime before day 4. Keep your gallery tool and just design the album somewhere better.
3-day free trial · Cancel anytime before day 4
