Which is better among SmugMug Vs 500px in 2022? If you are looking for a professional photo sharing platform to host your pictures and create a virtual gallery for promoting and selling your pictures then this article will help you for sure.
This article will compare SmugMug and 500px, two top-rated photography communities that allow users to store and share high-quality photos and videos. In the primary section of this article, we will compare the two products mentioned above on the basis of a few standard features/characteristics.
Finally, at the end of this comparison article, we will mention the winner’s name amongst SmugMug and 500px depending on the results in each category. However, before going into the primary section of this article, we will briefly describe both the products.
What is SmugMug?
SmugMug is a top-rated online platform that allows users to store and share videos and photos with clients. It even allows users to set up small or medium online stores to sell their photos and eventually earn a hefty amount.
This company first started in 2002, and eventually, it has emerged as one of the best web services for hosting photos and videos among photographers.
What is 500px
500px is a fantastic company launched in 2009 and is currently the leading online network for photographers with millions of members worldwide.
Experienced photographers come to this platform to discover and share incredible photos, gain meaningful exposure, compete in photo contests, and license their photos through various exclusive distribution partners.
As mentioned earlier, now we will move into the primary section of this article, where we will compare SmugMug and 500px based on a few standard features.
Basic comparison between SmugMug Vs 500px
SmugMug Vs 500px: Ease of Use
SmugMug: SmugMug comes with a complex user interface manageable by expert web designers, but beginners often find it challenging to handle this online platform smoothly. However, after spending a fair bit of time, users get used to the interface and can control it to some extent, even if they are not experts.
The best part of SmugMug is that as users execute the sign-up procedure, this platform provides helpful tips on how to go through the web design steps with maximum convenience. Furthermore, SmugMug also helps users to select the most suitable design and eventually upload the required content.
500px: 500px provides a user-friendly and beginner-friendly user interface so all users can easily navigate through this platform without prior knowledge. Users can easily upload images on their profile by clicking the large upload button and then dragging any images onto the page.
Furthermore, the 500px photo manager supports a batch editing feature that enables users to submit multiple photos for licensing. 500px offers mobile apps for both iOS and Android OS, allowing users to upload pictures right from their camera roll.
Winner: 500px
500px wins in this category since it offers an easier user interface than SmugMug, allowing both beginners and web experts to work without facing any difficulties.
SmugMug Vs 500px: Storage
SmugMug: As mentioned earlier, SmugMug is an exceptional online platform where users can store photos and videos. Storage capacity is vital for any platform whose essential feature is storing pictures and videos.
SmugMug being such a platform gives enormous importance to its storage capacity and hence offers massive storage capacity. However, a slight downside of this platform is that it provides unlimited storage only to paid users. Free users also get an enormous storage facility, but it is not unlimited.
500px: 500px, on the other hand, also gives importance to the storage capacity feature as users always look to store a huge number of pictures and videos on this platform. However, the best part of this exceptional platform is that it offers unlimited storage capacity to both free and paid users.
Winner: 500px
500px easily wins this round because it provides unlimited storage capacity to both free and paid users, whereas SmugMug offers unlimited storage capacity only to its paid users.
SmugMug Vs 500px: Integrations
SmugMug: SmugMug flawlessly integrates with several third-party software and add-ons. Adobe lightroom, Mambo, PicBackMan, Flickr, MigrateMan, etc., are some popular software with which SmugMug flawlessly integrates. SmugMug also flawlessly integrates with the WooCommerce plug-in.
500px: 500px integrates flawlessly with several add-ons and plug-ins like Drupal. However, unfortunately, 500px does not integrate with the WooCommerce plug-in, so users cannot set up an online store using this platform.
Winner: SmugMug
SmugMug wins this round since, unlike 500px, SmugMug flawlessly integrates with the eCommerce plug-in. Due to this reason, users can easily set up small or medium online stores and eventually sell their photos and videos online.
SmugMug Vs 500px: Customer Support
SmugMug: SmugMug provides a 24/7 customer support facility via email. Users can also take help from the support staff by mentioning about their issues in the contact form present in the help section of the official website.
The “Portfolio” plan and “Business” plan users can also take help from the support staff via the live chat support facility during the US working hours.
If required, users can also seek help from SmugMug’s official YouTube channel that contains video guides and educational materials. SmugMug also has a robust community forum where users can ask other users for help whenever they encounter any issue.
500px: 500px provides customer support only through the online ticketing system. Paid users get a response within two working days, while on the other hand, the free users may have to wait for ten days to get a suitable response.
Moreover, 500px also comes with an extensive documentation section containing how-to guides, helpful articles, video tutorials, and technical guides that help users overcome most of the issues they face while using this platform.
Winner: SmugMug
SmugMug is the winner in this category since, unlike 500px, it offers a 24/7 customer support facility through email and live chat support. Moreover, unlike 500px, SmugMug provides a separate YouTube channel that contains helpful education materials and video guides, allowing users to utilize the platform smoothly.
SmugMug Vs 500px: Pricing Structure
SmugMug: SmugMug offers four different premium pricing plans, including the Basic Plan, Power Plan, Portfolio Plan, and Pro Plan. The Basic plan costs $9/month, whereas the Power Plan, Portfolio Plan, and the Pro Plan are available at $13/month, $28/month, and $42/month, respectively.
500px: 500px offers one free plan along with two premium pricing plans. The free plan allows users to upload a maximum of seven photos per week. So, if users want to upload more photos, they have to go for the premium pricing plans that allow users to upload unlimited photos.
The premium membership plans include the Awesome plan and the Pro Plan. The Awesome plan is available at 6.49/month, while on the other hand, the price of the Pro Plan is 12.99/month.
Winner: 500px
500px easily wins in this category since it comes with a free plan, unlike SmugMug. Moreover, the premium plans of 500px are also cheaper than SmugMug’s premium pricing plans.
SmugMug Vs 500px: Free Trial
SmugMug: Unfortunately, SmugMug does not offer a free plan like some of its competitors. However, to cover up this disadvantage, it comes with a 14-day free trial period within which users can test out all the fantastic features of SmugMug.
Finally, after testing out all the features within the stipulated trial period, if users are satisfied with the service, then they can go for a preferred premium pricing plan.
500px: 500px, on the other hand, also comes with a 14-day free trial period. So, within the 14-days, users should test out all the premium features of 500px before going for a paid subscription. However, if users don’t subscribe to a paid plan before the expiration of the free trial, they will be downgraded to the basic plan.
Winner: Draw
We cannot declare a clear winner in this category since both SmugMug and 500px come with a 14-day free trial period.
Frequently Asked Question: SmugMug Vs 500px
Do SmugMug and 500px offer a free trial?
Yes, both 500px and Smugmug come with a 14-day free trial period. Users should try out all the premium features within the two-week trial period before subscribing to any of the premium pricing plans of SmugMug or 500px.
Can users make money on SmugMug?
Yes, the profit from download sales is 85% of the price users set above the base cost for downloads. While on the other hand, SmugMug retains 15% of the total price as the credit card payment fees, customer service, and the costs of administering the program.
How much can a user earn on SmugMug?
As per prior reports, the average estimated annual salary, basic price, and bonus included are 124,862 or $60/hour, whereas the estimated median salary is $150,090 or $72/hour.
Is 500px safe to use?
No, 500px does not have strong image security features like most of its competitors. Moreover, if users decide to license the photos, they cannot watermark them. It does not allow users to limit the photos’ display resolution, which is also a significant drawback of 500px. So, we can say that 500px lacks security features, unlike other photo sharing or storing platforms. However, 500px comes with a two-factor authentication security feature that protects the images and video to a certain extent.
Conclusions: Which Is Best Among SmugMug Vs 500px in 2022?
As promised at the beginning of this article, we have compared SmugMug and 500px, two famous photos and video storing and sharing platforms ideal for any photographer.
Finally, at the end of this comparison between SmugMug Vs 500px, we can declare 500px as the overall winner since it has won most of the rounds mentioned above. However, SmugMug is also not too far behind since it offers a better customer support facility and allows users to set up small/medium online stores for selling products.