Pixieset alternative for Swiss studios: galleries and invoices in one subscription
If you shoot in Switzerland and use Pixieset for your galleries, you know the gap: the photos go out beautifully, but the invoice happens somewhere else — in bexio, in Numbers, or in a Word template you paste the QR code into. This page compares Pixieset Suite with StudioFlow for exactly that case: a Swiss studio that delivers galleries AND invoices with VAT. StudioFlow is a studio suite from Zürich in which the inquiry, the quote, the contract, the shoot, the gallery and the invoice all hang off the same project.
First, honestly: Pixieset sells prints and we do not. Their gallery store, the labs behind it and the fulfilment around it are a real business, and StudioFlow has no answer to it — nor plans for one. On the gallery itself the gap is narrower than most photographers expect: StudioFlow has 14 cover styles against their 6, 8 typefaces against their 6, a cover title-size control they do not offer, and a slideshow that also runs on a phone, where theirs is documented as desktop-only. What Pixieset still has and we do not: the personalised mobile gallery app. So if print sales are a meaningful part of your revenue, Pixieset is a very good choice and this page is not going to try to talk you out of it. The difference lies elsewhere: in the Swiss paperwork that comes after delivery.
Feature comparison
| Feature | StudioFlow | Pixieset Suite |
|---|---|---|
| Client galleries | Yes — 14 cover styles, 8 typefaces, free colour choice, password-protected | Yes — 6 cover styles, 6 fonts, store included |
| Slideshow | Yes — desktop and phone | Yes — desktop browsers only |
| Client favourites and selection sign-off | Yes — named lists, a note per photo, final submit | Yes — favourite lists with notes |
| Gallery expiry with reminder emails | Yes — the client is warned a week ahead | Yes |
| Download and view activity | Yes — per gallery, no IP or device tracking | Yes — downloads |
| Print and product sales | No | Yes |
| Quotes | Yes — from your service catalogue | Yes (Studio Manager) |
| Contracts with an accept link | Yes — with a timestamp | Yes (Studio Manager) |
| Invoices | Yes — deposit and final invoice | Yes |
| Swiss QR-bill | Yes — included in the invoice PDF | Not found on their public pages |
| VAT reporting (CH, incl. the flat-rate method) | Yes — period close inside the product | Not found on their public pages |
| Languages of client pages and client emails | Six (DE, FR, IT, EN, ES, PT) | English |
| Hosting of application and database | Europe (Hetzner, Germany) | United States |
| Client questionnaires | Yes — multilingual, on the project | Yes |
| Tasks for editing and selection | Yes — assignable across the team | Not found on their public pages |
| Team chat in the app | Yes | Not found on their public pages |
| Calendar synchronisation | Yes — two-way, Google Calendar | Yes |
"Not found on their public pages" means exactly that: we did not find the feature on pixieset.com in August 2026. It does not mean it does not exist. If you know better, write to us — we will correct the row.
Pricing
StudioFlow Studio: CHF 24 per month billed annually (CHF 29 monthly), 2 TB of storage, every feature in every tier, up to 15 team members.
Pixieset Suite Pro: USD 38 per month, 2 TB of storage.
Both lines refer to the 2 TB package so the comparison starts from the same amount of storage. Exchange rate and VAT are not included — for a clean comparison, apply your own rate.
Prices verified August 2026.
When you should stay with Pixieset
There are studios for which switching would simply be a step backwards. For example:
- Print and product sales through the Pixieset store make up a noticeable part of your revenue. StudioFlow has no shop and is not planning one.
- You rely on the personalised mobile gallery app your clients install. StudioFlow has no equivalent and none is planned for this year.
- You do not invoice in Switzerland, you are not VAT-registered, and your clients are English-speaking. Then StudioFlow solves a problem you do not have.
- You have spread your gallery links across blogs, portfolios and emails for years and you do not want to touch them.
Migration
If you want to switch, we do the move for you: you export your clients and sessions from Pixieset as CSV, we import them and set up your services, templates and QR-bill settings. It is free and it usually takes two days. You can keep your old gallery links running in parallel until they expire — there is no cut-off date on which something breaks.
Frequently asked questions
Can StudioFlow produce a Swiss QR-bill?
Yes. Every invoice carries the Swiss QR payment part in the PDF as soon as an IBAN is stored in the studio settings. Your client scans the code in their banking app and pays without typing anything out.
Does StudioFlow cover VAT reporting?
StudioFlow calculates VAT on quotes and invoices automatically, records the rate per document, and produces the period close for your filing — for both the effective method and the flat-rate method. It does not replace a fiduciary, but it replaces the spreadsheet in front of one.
Are StudioFlow galleries as good as Pixieset galleries?
On design and presentation we think they are at least as good: 14 cover styles against 6, 8 typefaces against 6, free colour choice, a live preview at 3 device sizes, and a slideshow that also works on a phone. On print sales the two are not comparable at all — Pixieset has a store and we have none. What we are still missing is specific and short: their mobile gallery app. Judge it yourself in the trial rather than taking our word for it: build a gallery, open the link on your phone, and see whether you would send it to a client.
Can I really have galleries and invoices in one subscription?
Yes, in every subscription. StudioFlow has no feature tiers: Starter, Studio and Agency differ only in storage and number of team members, not in what the product can do. We have not found another studio suite that brings the Swiss QR-bill and client galleries in the same subscription.
Where is my data?
The application and the database run at Hetzner in Germany, so inside the EU. The list of every subprocessor with its role and location is public on the "Subprocessors" page — including the services located in the United States.
Which languages do my clients see their documents in?
Client pages and client emails appear in each client’s own language: German, French, Italian, English, Spanish or Portuguese. You set the language per client; otherwise the studio language applies.
Can I use both in parallel?
Yes, and plenty of studios do exactly that for a few months: Pixieset for galleries already running, StudioFlow for everything new. The 30-day trial needs no credit card, so you can run both before you decide.
Try it for 30 days, no credit card
Create a studio, write a quote and look at how the QR-bill comes out at the end. If it is not for you, the trial simply expires.