Pixieset vs Mankai

Pixieset hosts your galleries and studio tools for you, while Mankai puts galleries, booking and contracts on your own WordPress site.

What is a good Pixieset alternative that runs on my own WordPress site?

Mankai, a WordPress plugin for photographers, is a Pixieset alternative that puts galleries, proofing, a print shop, booking and contracts on your own site and database. Pixieset hosts it all for you, with Suite from $336 a year. Mankai is free to start, Pro is $249.99 a year, and hosting is separate.

Elijah Lemanski, the photographer who makes Mankai

The short version

Both are good tools. Which one suits you comes down to hosting, galleries and how you like to get paid.

What Pixieset does well

Polished galleries, proofing and print sales.
No web host needed. It’s all hosted for you.

What Mankai does differently

Runs on your WordPress site and hosting.
No per-client fee and no cut of your payments.

Stay with Pixieset if…

You’d rather not touch WordPress or hosting.

Try Mankai if…

You want galleries and CRM on your own domain.

At a glance

Last checked July 24, 2026. Their plans and prices can change, so check their site before you decide.

Mankai compared with Pixieset, last checked July 24, 2026
Running the studio
	Mankai	Pixieset
Studio CRM	Yes: clients, sessions, pipeline	Yes, through Studio Manager
Booking	Yes, included	Yes, in Studio Manager
Contracts and quotes	Contracts on Free; new quotes on Pro	Yes
Client galleries	Yes: proofing and a print shop	Yes, it’s the main product
Client login	Portal on your own domain	Gallery and Studio Manager client links
Money
Starting price	Free, or Pro at $249.99/yr; hosting is separate	From $336/yr for Suite (billed yearly)
Invoices and payments	Your Stripe or PayPal	Stripe, PayPal, or Pixieset Payments
Extra fee on invoices	No Mankai cut	No Pixieset cut on Studio Manager invoices
Print store cut	No Mankai cut on your print orders	15% on Free galleries; 0% on paid Gallery or Suite
How you pay for it	Free download, or Pro yearly	Monthly or yearly plans, plus storage limits
Client limits	No per-client fee from Mankai	Storage and plan features cap what you can do
Your site and your data
Where it lives	On your WordPress site	Pixieset hosts it for you
Built for WordPress	Yes, as a plugin	No
Public website	Your WordPress theme (not part of the plugin)	Yes, Pixieset Website
Where client data sits	Your WordPress database	Pixieset’s servers
Moving over	Optional Setup & Migration help; no auto-import	You can export contacts, but it isn’t one click

What this page doesn’t claim

Whether Studio Manager mainly charges by the number of team seats.
How far a full GDPR or whole-account export goes beyond the CSV exports they document.
Dollar savings against any particular Pixieset Suite setup.

Switch or stay

Here are good reasons to move and good reasons to stay put. Pixieset may still be the better fit for you.

Why you might switch

Your clients, sessions, invoices and galleries live in your own WordPress database.

One plugin runs the studio, instead of Gallery, Studio Manager, Website and storage tiers stacked up.

Your portal and galleries run from your own site, so clients don’t have to learn another brand.

Free covers the core studio work. Pro is $249.99 a year, with no seat or per-client fees and no Mankai cut on Stripe or PayPal.

Your clients, sessions, invoices and galleries live in your own WordPress database.

One plugin runs the studio, instead of Gallery, Studio Manager, Website and storage tiers stacked up.

Your portal and galleries run from your own site, so clients don’t have to learn another brand.

Free covers the core studio work. Pro is $249.99 a year, with no seat or per-client fees and no Mankai cut on Stripe or PayPal.

Why you might stay

With Pixieset you never need a web host. If running your own sounds like a second job, stay.

If proofing and delivery are most of what you need, switching may cost more than it saves.

Your clients already know Pixieset galleries, and there’s no one-click import for all of them.

Their store, lab network and mobile gallery apps are mature hosted products, and Mankai doesn’t copy them.

With Pixieset you never need a web host. If running your own sounds like a second job, stay.

If proofing and delivery are most of what you need, switching may cost more than it saves.

Your clients already know Pixieset galleries, and there’s no one-click import for all of them.

Their store, lab network and mobile gallery apps are mature hosted products, and Mankai doesn’t copy them.

What moving over involves

There’s no import button. You bring over what matters, set up your studio in Mankai, and switch when you’re ready.

Export your contacts
Export them from Studio Manager so your clients’ names and emails come with you.
Save what you still need
Download active galleries and keep your invoice history from your payment processor.
Set up your studio
Recreate your session types, contracts, questionnaires and templates in Mankai.
Send new work to your site
When you’re ready, new bookings and galleries go to your WordPress site.

Old galleries, favorites and store orders don’t move over on their own. Finish the jobs already underway where they are, and start new ones in Mankai.

If you’d like help, Setup & Migration is $799.99, paid once, after you have Pro. I go over the scope with you first, then send the invoice. The form never charges you on its own.

Ask about Setup & Migration

A Zenit-E film camera beside three instant prints, laid out on an old map

Questions people ask before leaving Pixieset

For a lot of studios, yes. You get proofing, favorites, delivery, watermarks and a print shop at your own prices. It won’t copy every Pixieset Store lab connection or their mobile app, so compare the parts you actually use.

No. The plugin works with the theme you already have. Your public website theme is separate from the CRM.

They’ll see new gallery and portal links on your own domain, which is usually the point. Let them know ahead of time, and move active jobs over cleanly.

No. Mankai doesn’t take a percentage of print orders. You set your product prices, and payments go through your own Stripe or PayPal.

Then staying on Pixieset is a fair choice. Or book Setup & Migration and choose good WordPress hosting, so you aren’t the one keeping the server running. Self-hosting is a real tradeoff.

Read their current help pages and pricing. If running your studio on WordPress appeals to you, look through Mankai’s features too. Then pick the setup that suits how you like to work. Neither one is right for every studio.

Pixieset site (opens in a new tab) Mankai features Mankai pricing