# Format

> Portfolio website builder for photographers and other creatives

Format is a portfolio website builder for photographers, artists, designers and filmmakers, with themes, a drag-and-drop layout tool and hosting included in every plan. Its Workflow tools add client proofing galleries, file transfers, contacts and contracts, and a built-in store sells prints, downloads and services without a platform commission.

- **Category:** Website & Landing Page Builders
- **Made by:** Ideaform Inc.
- **Website:** https://www.format.com
- **Runs on:** Web, iOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 18, 2026

## Pricing

Format is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $10 per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Basic | $10 per month, billed annually ($14 billed monthly) | $120 a year. 10 pages, 70 images, 3 client galleries and 2 GB file transfers; no store, hosted video, image storage or custom fonts. |
| Pro | $17 per month, billed annually ($24 billed monthly) | $204 a year. Unlimited pages, 1,500 images, 100 GB storage, 15 video minutes and 15 store products. Shown at $12 for a first year with a code until Oct 31, 2026. |
| Pro Plus | $26 per month, billed annually ($36 billed monthly) | $312 a year. Unlimited images, 1 TB storage, 120 video minutes, 1,000 products and priority support. Shown at $15 for a first year with a code until Oct 31, 2026. |

Read from https://www.format.com/pricing-portfolio on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Format before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Save about 29% with yearly billing** (Annual discount): Pro costs $204 a year against $24 a month billed monthly; Basic is $120 a year against $14 a month and Pro Plus $312 against $36. Source: https://help.format.com/hc/en-us/articles/40988178214035-Format-Portfolio-plans-and-add-ons
- **A free year for students** (Education): Format's Student Program gives students a free year on the platform, requested through its education page; it also offers free access to partner schools. Source: https://www.format.com/education

## Key features

- **Themes and Flex Block layouts:** Pick from more than 90 themes and switch without losing content, build custom layouts on a snap grid with Flex Block, and edit CSS and HTML on Pro and Pro Plus.
- **Client galleries and file transfers:** Workflow, included free with every plan, adds proofing galleries with passwords, file transfers of 2 to 10 GB, contacts and moodboards; contracts and CRM Light need Pro.
- **Commission-free store:** Sell physical products, digital downloads up to 100 MB and services through PayPal or Stripe with no Format commission: 15 products on Pro and 1,000 on Pro Plus.
- **Hosted video:** Upload video straight to the site so visitors see no third-party ads: 15 minutes on Pro and 120 minutes on Pro Plus.
- **Lightroom plugin and iPhone app:** Publish galleries from Lightroom Classic with the Format Publisher plugin, or upload and rearrange photos from the iPhone app.
- **SEO and translation:** Edit page titles, meta descriptions and image alt text, and connect Weglot to translate the site into other languages.

## Good for

- Photographers who deliver proofs and files to clients from their own site
- Artists, designers and filmmakers who want a portfolio without coding
- Creatives selling prints, downloads or bookings without a platform commission

## Worth knowing

- The $12 and $15 a month shown for Pro and Pro Plus need a checkout code, end October 31, 2026 and cover the first year only.
- Basic has no store, hosted video, image storage or custom fonts, and stops at 10 pages and 70 images.
- A domain costs $30 a year after a free first year on annual Pro and Pro Plus; Google Workspace email is $100 a year extra.
- There is no free plan, and the mobile app is for iPhone only.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Oct 18, 2026. Format is a portfolio builder for photographers and other creatives, and it brings the studio side along: proofing galleries, file transfers, contracts and a store that takes no commission. Basic is $10 a month billed yearly. But Basic stops at 70 images with no store, so most photographers will want Pro, and there's no free plan.

- **Value for money: B.** Basic is $10 a month billed yearly ($14 monthly), right at this category's cheaper quarter. It's capped at 10 pages and 70 images with no store, so many will move to Pro at $17. Pro's $12 offer needs a code, ends October 31, 2026 and covers the first year only.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** No free plan, but a 14-day free trial with no card needed, which is enough time to load a portfolio and see how it looks. Students can ask for a free year.
- **Features: C.** It does the portfolio job fully: 90+ themes, Flex Block layouts, proofing galleries, file transfers, hosted video and a commission-free store. That's a smaller job than a general builder does, and Basic leaves out the store, video and image storage.
- **Ease of use: C.** There's an iPhone app but no store rating on record. Themes do the heavy lifting, but you're still building a site, page by page and gallery by gallery.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web and iPhone, with a Lightroom Classic plugin, Stripe, PayPal, Weglot, Google Workspace and Google Analytics. There's no Android app and no desktop app of its own.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Format's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among website and landing page builders

- Format's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 19 of the 34 other website and landing page builders we grade, and level with 9.
- It stands best on value for money (B, above 24 of 34) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $10 a month, against a middle price of $16 for the category: 8 of the 33 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 2 tools score higher and cost less.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/website-builders

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Format you would be making a builder that other people can use without writing code. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. It costs $120 a year.

- You could make: Templates: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: A builder that other people can use without writing code.
- You could not: Storing and serving files for other people.
- You could not: A real app for iOS. Something home-made would be a web page.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, Adobe Lightroom Classic, Stripe and PayPal among them.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

Adobe Lightroom Classic, Stripe, PayPal, Weglot, Google Workspace, Google Analytics, Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts

**Tags:** Templates, No-code, File sharing

## Alternatives

- [Squarespace](https://toolgpa.com/tools/squarespace): Template-based website builder with an online store and invoicing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/format-vs-squarespace)
- [Wix](https://toolgpa.com/tools/wix): Drag-and-drop website builder with an AI agent and business apps. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/format-vs-wix)
- [Webflow](https://toolgpa.com/tools/webflow): Visual website builder with a CMS, hosting and code-level control. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/format-vs-webflow)
- [Strikingly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/strikingly): Simple website builder for small sites, stores and memberships. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/format-vs-strikingly)
- [Carrd](https://toolgpa.com/tools/carrd): One-page website builder with yearly plans from $9. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/carrd-vs-format)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026:

- https://www.format.com/
- https://www.format.com/pricing-portfolio
- https://help.format.com/hc/en-us/articles/40988178214035-Format-Portfolio-plans-and-add-ons
- https://help.format.com/hc/en-us/articles/28139460566035-Choosing-a-Plan-and-Subscribing
- https://help.format.com/hc/en-us/articles/28139355056531-Workflow-Plans-Pricing
- https://help.format.com/hc/en-us/articles/28139512330643-Format-Store-overview
- https://www.format.com/education
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/format/id1080574504

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/format
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).