Carbonmade vs Portfoliobox (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Carbonmade and Portfoliobox share a 2.0 GPA, and only Portfoliobox has a free plan.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Carbonmade
Drag-and-drop portfolio sites for creatives
Portfoliobox
Portfolio website builder with a built-in AI editor and a free plan
Which one is for you
Pick Carbonmade if
- Fits if you are a photographer or illustrator who wants a simple showcase site
- Works for people who want to try the builder before paying
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have a big body of work, since Beginner holds 8 projects and Professional 50
- Skip it if you sell online, as the pricing page lists no store
- Watch out: portfolio statistics, custom pages and private portfolios are not on Beginner
- Not for you if you want it free, because going live needs a paid plan
- Watch out: Beginner has SD video only, and 4K starts on Professional at $149 a year
Pick Portfoliobox if
- Fits if you want a small portfolio of up to 30 images online without paying
- Works for artists who want an AI assistant to draft pages
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you have more than 30 images, since that is the free plan's cap and Personal stops at 150
- Pricey if you need the store, bookings, custom email or analytics, all on Professional at $15.90
- Watch out: removing Portfoliobox branding is Professional only
- Watch out: monthly plans do not include a domain, and domains renew at the standard rate after year one
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACarbonmadeFair | 2.0GPAPortfolioboxFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBeginner is $99 a year, about $8.25 a month, which is inside the middle band of website builders. Unlimited is $249. | C$8.90 a month yearly for Personal and $15.90 for Professional, against a category middle of $12 a month. |
| Free plan and trial | CThe trial has no time limit and needs no card, but a paid plan is needed to go live. | CA free plan, but 30 images, 3 products, a Portfoliobox subdomain and its branding is a cap you will hit. |
| Features | CBlocks, galleries, video and statistics. Beginner caps 8 projects, and statistics, custom pages and private portfolios are not on it. No store. | CGallery layouts, an AI editor, custom domain, hosting and SEO tools. Store, bookings, invoices, custom email and analytics are Professional only. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build each layout yourself, though no code is needed. | CNo rating on record. You build the pages yourself, with the AI assistant to help. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA web builder only, with no integrations listed. | CWeb only, and no integrations are on record. |
| Best for | a block-built portfolio for creatives | a portfolio site for artists and photographers |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Carbonmade and Portfoliobox. How we grade
Price against what you get
Carbonmade starts at $8.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Portfoliobox starts at $8.90 a month and scores 2.0.
They score the same, and Carbonmade starts $0.65 a month lower. Of the other website and landing page builders on the chart, 21 score higher than Carbonmade for less, and 22 score higher than Portfoliobox for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Carbonmade also covers web analytics.
- Portfoliobox also covers invoicing, quotes and estimates, appointment booking and online store.
At a glance
| Carbonmade | Portfoliobox | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $99 per year ($9.99 billed monthly) | $8.90 per month, billed yearly ($12.90 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | 30 images, 25 pages, a Portfoliobox subdomain, Portfoliobox branding and 25 AI requests a month. |
| Free trial | Free trial with no time limit and no card; pay only to go live | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Carbonmade | Portfoliobox |
| Price read from | carbonmade.com | portfoliobox.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Carbonmade
- A paid plan is needed to go live; the free trial is for building and testing.
- Beginner caps a portfolio at 8 projects and Professional at 50; only Unlimited removes the cap.
- Portfolio statistics, custom pages and private portfolios are not on Beginner.
- It builds portfolio sites; it has no online store on the pricing page.
Portfoliobox
- The free plan caps at 30 images and keeps Portfoliobox branding and a subdomain.
- Custom email, analytics and removal of branding are Professional-only.
- Monthly plans do not include a domain; domains renew at the standard rate after the first year.
- Prices exclude VAT, which depends on the billing country.
Key features
Carbonmade
- Block-based layouts
- Build pages by mixing premade blocks and layouts with drag and drop instead of fixed templates.
- Galleries and sliders
- Show work in full-screen grids, galleries and slideshows, with a before-and-after block for process shots.
- Video and media uploads
- Unlimited image and video uploads on every plan; 4K video and audio start on Professional.
- Hosting and domains
- Hosting is included, with a free carbonmade.com, portfolio.site or gfx.work address, or a connected custom domain.
- Visitor statistics
- Portfolio statistics show visits and which projects are popular; the pricing page lists them on Professional and above.
- Private portfolios
- Professional and Unlimited can make a portfolio private, and the features page lists password protection.
Portfoliobox
- AI editor
- An assistant built into the editor creates pages, galleries and menu entries from written requests, with monthly request caps by plan.
- Gallery layouts
- Full-bleed, grid, masonry, slideshow and lightbox layouts for showing images.
- Store with no commission
- Professional includes an e-commerce store where Portfoliobox takes 0% commission.
- Bookings, invoices and quotes
- Professional adds appointment bookings, invoices and quotes, with up to 1,000 of each.
- Custom domain
- Personal and Professional include a custom domain; yearly plans cover registration for the first year on eligible extensions.
- Hosting, SSL and SEO tools
- Included on every plan, with meta titles, descriptions and a sitemap.
Plans
Carbonmade
Beginner$99
per year ($9.99 billed monthly)
8 projects total, basic blocks, 3 navigation options, SD video and limited support.
Professional$149
per year ($14.99 billed monthly)
50 projects, premium blocks, custom pages, private portfolio, statistics, 4K video and priority support.
Unlimited$249
per year ($24.99 billed monthly)
Everything in Professional, with unlimited projects and unlimited pages.
Portfoliobox
Free$0
30 images, 25 pages, 3 products, a Portfoliobox subdomain and mobile-responsive layouts.
Personal$8.90
per month, billed yearly ($12.90 billed monthly)
150 images, 50 pages, 100 blog posts, custom domain and 250 AI requests a month.
Professional$15.90
per month, billed yearly ($22.90 billed monthly)
1,000 images and pages, store with 0% commission, bookings, invoices, quotes, custom email and analytics.
Ways to pay less
Carbonmade
- Annual discount
Save about 20% with yearly billing
The pricing page marks yearly billing as saving about 20%, for example $99 a year on Beginner against $9.99 a month.
Portfoliobox
- Annual discount
Yearly billing and a first-year domain
Yearly costs $8.90 and $15.90 a month against $12.90 and $22.90 monthly, and yearly plans include a new domain for the first year.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Carbonmade or Portfoliobox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Carbonmade is cheaper to start with: $8.25 a month when paid by the year, against $8.90 a month for Portfoliobox. Carbonmade starts at $99 per year ($9.99 billed monthly), and Portfoliobox starts at $8.90 per month, billed yearly ($12.90 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Carbonmade or Portfoliobox?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Portfoliobox has a free plan. Carbonmade does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.