DELIVERY AS EVIDENCE
A chain, not a counter.
Hash-chained per studio, tamper-evident, exportable, and periodically anchored by an independent timestamp authority's own token. The point is that it is checkable by somebody who does not trust us.
CloudSpot is the closest comparison on this list: storage-metered galleries, a print store, studio management on the higher tiers. The separation is narrower here, so it is worth being exact about it.
vs
CloudSpot
SHA-256
Receipts chain
9:16
Reel auto-cut
365d
Anniversary email
1-of-1
Per-tenant brand
The argument
CloudSpot's published tiers are storage-metered like ours - 5GB free with a three-gallery cap, then 15GB, 100GB, 500GB and unlimited - with the print store on every plan and commission at 15% on the two lowest tiers, commission-free above them. Studio management appears from their Lite tier up. That is a coherent product and the pricing is legible, which is more than can be said for parts of this category.
What Encore does that is not in that list is treat delivery as a record. Every view, favourite and download is written into a per-studio append-only chain where each entry carries the hash of the one before it, so altering history is detectable rather than silent, and the head is periodically countersigned by an RFC 3161 timestamp authority. The trail exports. If you have ever had a client insist they were never sent anything, you already know why that matters.
The other two are timing and identity. Pit Pass makes a gallery live during the shoot. Roll IDs give every frame one permanent, quotable identity that survives being copied into another gallery, exported, or reprinted years later.
On file types, read their tiers: their published free and entry plans are JPEG-only, with the full set of formats from Lite up. Worth knowing before you pick a plan around a price.
Where they fall short
DELIVERY AS EVIDENCE
Hash-chained per studio, tamper-evident, exportable, and periodically anchored by an independent timestamp authority's own token. The point is that it is checkable by somebody who does not trust us.
LIVE DURING THE SHOOT
Frames land in a live gallery while the night is still happening, not after you get home and cull.
ONE ID, FOREVER
A permanent ID per frame, across every gallery it appears in. Copy a photo elsewhere and it is still the same photo, with the same name.
ALL FORMATS, EVERY TIER
CloudSpot's published free and Entry plans accept JPEG only; the rest of the formats start at Lite. Encore does not gate file types by plan.
Brutal honesty
We respect your time enough to name when CloudSpot (or another platform) is genuinely the better call. Read this before you switch.
CloudSpot's store is on every tier and commission-free from Lite up. Ours is not shipping. That is the clearest reason on this page to stay where you are.
Their higher tiers bundle studio management. Encore is a delivery tool and does not do this.
If a bottomless archive on one bill is the job, their unlimited tier is a direct answer and our metered plans are not.
Side by side
Metered by
File types on entry plans
Gallery cap on the free tier
Live gallery during the shoot
Tamper-evident audit chain, exportable
Permanent Roll IDs across galleries
Print store
Print commission
Studio management
Custom domain
One-tap 9:16 highlight reel
| Feature | Encore | CloudSpot |
|---|---|---|
| Metered by | Storage | Storage |
| File types on entry plans | All | JPEG only below Lite |
| Gallery cap on the free tier | No cap | 3 galleries |
| Live gallery during the shoot | Yes | No |
| Tamper-evident audit chain, exportable | Yes | No |
| Permanent Roll IDs across galleries | Yes | No |
| Print store | Not yet | Yes, all tiers |
| Print commission | n/a | 15% on Free/Entry, none above |
| Studio management | No | Lite tier and above |
| Custom domain | Yes | Not stated on their pricing page |
| One-tap 9:16 highlight reel | Yes | No |
Migration
Export a gallery from CloudSpot as a zip. Drop it on the Import page. We unzip, run every frame through the variant pipeline, and assign Roll IDs starting from your studio's next number. Multi-GB shoots run server-side so you can close the tab - Roll IDs appear as photos finalize.
Also comparing
Encore vs Pixieset
Pixieset is a filing cabinet. Encore is the gig.
Encore vs Picflow
Picflow looks great. Encore is built to ship.
Encore vs SmugMug
SmugMug answered 2002. The job is 2026.
Encore vs ShootProof
ShootProof runs your business. Encore ships the night.
Encore vs Pic-Time
Pic-Time sells the print. Encore proves the delivery.
Encore vs Dropbox
Dropbox is storage. A gallery is a delivery.