Own the booking and the galleries
Clients, sessions, invoices, and galleries live in your WordPress database, not a third-party cloud.
Session vs Mankai
Session is a hosted booking platform - clients book, sign, pay, and get galleries in one flow. Mankai puts that stack on WordPress you host.
Mankai
The short version
Neither product is junk. The fit depends on hosting tolerance, galleries, and how you want to get paid.
What Session does well
- Booking is the product: clients can choose a time, sign a contract, answer a questionnaire, and pay in one pass.
- Galleries ship with the subscription, so many studios avoid a separate gallery tool for digital delivery.
Where Mankai takes a different approach
- Mankai runs as a WordPress plugin. Client records, galleries, and invoices live in your database on your hosting.
- Flat annual licensing with no per-client meters from Mankai, and no Mankai cut on Stripe or PayPal payments.
Stay with Session if…
- You want a polished hosted booking flow and do not want to touch WordPress or hosting.
- Session’s mini-session and self-booking experience already covers most of how you sell.
Consider Mankai if…
- You want booking, CRM, and galleries on your own domain and server, not another cloud login.
- You are outgrowing Session’s gallery storage tiers, or you want the full studio record in WordPress.
At a glance
Simple side-by-side facts as of July 24, 2026. Their plans change, so double-check before you decide.
| Topic | Session | Mankai Self-hosted |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | Session hosts it for you | On your WordPress site |
| Built for WordPress | No | Yes, as a plugin |
| Studio CRM | Yes, booking-first with a session board | Yes: clients, sessions, pipeline |
| Booking | Yes, that is the main product | Yes, included |
| Contracts and questionnaires | Yes, during booking | Yes: contracts and forms |
| Invoices and payments | Your Stripe, Square, or PayPal | Your Stripe or PayPal |
| Extra fee on payments | No Session commission; processor fees only | No Mankai cut; processor rates only |
| Client galleries | Yes, with 3GB included storage | Yes: proofing and a print shop |
| Public website | Branded booking site, not a full website builder | Optional Photography Theme |
| Where client data sits | Session’s servers | Your WordPress database |
| Starting price | From $228/yr ($19/mo) | $149.99/yr for the CRM; hosting is separate |
| How you pay for it | Monthly or yearly, plus optional gallery storage | Flat monthly or yearly license |
| Client limits | Unlimited sessions and bookings | Unlimited clients from Mankai’s side |
| Moving over | Export what you can; rebuild the rest | Optional Setup & Migration help; no auto-import |
What this page does not claim
- Exact annual vs monthly discount when Session’s pricing page UI hides the annual figure without interaction.
- Dollar savings versus any specific Session + storage configuration.
- Whether every Session gallery upsell feature has a one-to-one Mankai match.
Switch or stay
Honest cases in both directions. Session may still be the better fit. Switching for the wrong reasons wastes a season.
Why someone might switch
Reasons not to switch
What migration involves
Session will not pour itself into WordPress. You export what you can, rebuild booking and templates, and cut over on purpose.
-
Export your people and open jobs
Pull the client list and note which sessions still need delivery before you change links.
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Save contracts and payment history
PDF or export active paperwork, and keep Stripe or Square history with the processor.
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Rebuild booking and templates
Session types, contracts, questionnaires, and availability get recreated once in Mankai.
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Point new bookings at your site
When you are ready, new leads and galleries go to your WordPress install.
Old galleries, favorites, and booking threads do not transfer automatically. Finish mid-stream jobs where they are when that is safer.
Setup & Migration is optional help after you buy. We agree on scope first. Magic imports are not part of it.
Questions people ask before leaving Session
For many studios, yes: booking, contracts, questionnaires, invoices, and galleries. Session’s one-pass booking UX is a specialty. Compare the flow you actually sell.
No. Session’s help docs say there is no Session commission; you connect Stripe, Square, or PayPal and pay processor fees only. Mankai works the same way on fees.
That is Session’s included cloud storage, with paid add-ons after. Mankai stores gallery files on your WordPress hosting, so limits follow your host, not a Session meter.
They will notice a new booking and gallery URL on your domain. Plan messaging and a clean cutover for active jobs.
Stay on Session, or hire Setup & Migration and solid WordPress hosting so you are not the sysadmin. Self-hosting is a real tradeoff, not a slogan.
This is a comparison, not a pitch. Neither product is the right fit for every studio. Read their current docs, skim Mankai’s features if the WordPress path interests you, and pick the stack that matches how you want to work.
Session site (opens in a new tab) Mankai features Mankai pricing
Reviewed 2026-07-24.
See the full feature set
This page is about the switch. Features and a clickable demo live elsewhere.