Skerp vs Picflow
Looking for a Picflow alternative?
Picflow ships strong video proofing, but its image-review tools — annotations, comments, approval status, color labels — sit behind the Plus tier. Skerp puts annotations and comments on every plan, adds side-by-side compare and real-time presence, and ships a real two-way Lightroom plugin.
Facts verified against picflow.com in May 2026.
Why photographers move to Skerp
Five reasons, in roughly the order we hear them.
Annotations and comments on Free, not gated at Plus
Picflow puts pin annotations, comments, approval status, and color labels behind the Plus tier. Skerp has annotations and per-image comment threads on every plan, including Free. The proofing surface should not be the paywall.
Side-by-side compare with synced zoom
No Picflow tier ships side-by-side image comparison with synchronised zoom and pan. Skerp does, on every plan. For photographers comparing similar frames (the third blink in a series, two crops of the same shot, the same setup at different lighting), this is the single most-used proofing tool we ship.
A real Lightroom Classic plugin, not a filename export
Picflow lists "Lightroom" as an integration — what it actually offers is filename export. Skerp ships Skerper, a Lightroom Classic Publish Service that flows client approvals, ratings, and comments straight into the catalog, and your replies back to the gallery. Two-way sync, not one-way export.
Per-photographer-seat team pricing
Picflow's team tier is structured as fixed seat bundles (10 at Biz, 20+ at Enterprise). Skerp Studio is per-photographer-seat with Owner + Member seats unlimited — a studio with 1 working photographer + 1 producer + 1 retoucher pays for 1 photographer-seat, not 3.
Real-time viewer presence and offline mode
Skerp shows you who is viewing the gallery right now, syncs selections live across viewers, and queues offline reviews via IndexedDB for retry on reconnect. Picflow does none of these. For high-pressure shoots (commercial decision-makers reviewing in real time, weddings with patchy venue WiFi), it changes the workflow.
Feature delta, side by side
Feature-level only — competitor dollar figures change too fast to print.
| Capability | Skerp | Picflow |
|---|---|---|
| Pin annotations on images | Yes — every plan, including Free | Paid tiers only (Plus+) |
| Per-image comment threads | Yes — every plan, 50 MB attachments | Paid tiers only (Plus+) |
| Side-by-side compare with synced zoom | Yes — every plan | No |
| Real-time viewer presence | Yes — every plan | No |
| Offline review mode | Yes — IndexedDB queue | No |
| Two-way Lightroom sync (plugin) | Yes — Skerper, Standard+ | Integration only (filename export) |
| EU-only data residency | Disclosed · EU-only | Disclosed · EU / CH |
| Team / studio pricing | Per-photographer-seat; Owner + Member unlimited | Tier-bundled (10 seats at Biz, 20+ at Enterprise) |
| PDF proof reports | Yes — annotations, comments, QR back to gallery | No |
| Delivery galleries (WeTransfer-style) | Yes — built-in second mode | No |
| Video proofing | No — proof images only | Yes — HD on Free, 4K on Plus+ |
| Color labels / status workflow | Tri-state (approve / reject / undecided) + 5-star ratings | Color labels + approval status (Plus+) |
What Picflow still does better
Honest deltas — Skerp isn't the right tool for every workflow.
- Video proofing — Picflow ships strong video review with frame-accurate timecodes, HD on Free and 4K HDR on Plus+. Skerp is image-only.
- Color labels and richer approval-status workflow — Picflow has a kanban-style approval flow with color labels that some photographers prefer over Skerp's tri-state + star rating model.
- Established creative-team brand — Picflow is well-known among agencies and creative directors. If your end-clients are agencies that already use Picflow, working in the same tool may reduce friction.
- Built-in version control on uploads (Plus+) — useful for retouching iterations where you want to keep every revision visible to the client.
Skerp pricing, in one line each
Full breakdown on /pricing.
Free
$0
3 galleries · 3 GB · every proofing feature
Standard
$15/mo
Unlimited galleries · 50 GB · Skerper plugin · custom branding
Pro
$29/mo
Unlimited galleries · 500 GB · for high-volume work
Studio
Contact us
For teams · per-photographer-seat · Owner + Member seats unlimited
Switching questions
I use Picflow for video proofing. Can I use Skerp alongside it?
Yes — and that's probably the right setup if video is core to your work. Skerp is image-only and we don't plan to add video proofing on the current roadmap. Use Picflow for video, Skerp for stills; or pick whichever fits the project. Both are link-based and the workflows are independent.
Does Skerp have a Lightroom plugin like Picflow says they do?
Skerp does. Picflow doesn't — what they call a "Lightroom integration" is filename export. Skerp's Skerper plugin is a real Lightroom Classic Publish Service: client selections, ratings, and comments flow into the catalog automatically, and your replies sync back to the gallery. Two-way, not export-only. Standard+ plans.
How does Skerp Studio compare on team pricing?
Skerp Studio is contact-only and priced per photographer seat — never published publicly. Picflow's team tier is bundle-priced (10 seats at Biz, 20+ at Enterprise). For studios with 1–3 working photographers + producers / EAs, Skerp's per-photographer model is typically dramatically cheaper because Owner + Member seats are unlimited. Reach out via /contact for a Studio quote.
Do clients need to register?
No. Skerp galleries are link-based — clients open the link and start selecting immediately. Optional magic-link login at /my-galleries lets clients see every gallery you've sent them in one place, but registration is never required to view, select, or approve.
Is Skerp's data hosted in the EU like Picflow's is?
Yes — EU-only. Skerp is operated by Bruring Ops B.V., Amsterdam (KvK 81008716), with storage in EU regions. Both Skerp and Picflow disclose EU data residency, which sets them apart from most US-hosted competitors.
What about color labels and approval status workflow?
Skerp uses tri-state selection (approve / reject / undecided) plus 5-star ratings, which most photographers find sufficient for client decisioning. Picflow's color-label workflow is richer if you need multi-stage approvals across teams. For photographer-to-client flows, Skerp's primitives are usually the better fit; for agency-to-creative-team flows, Picflow may map better.
How long to try Skerp on a real client?
Free plan, no credit card, 3 galleries — most photographers ship their first real proofing gallery in under 30 minutes. The honest validation: use Skerp for your next selection round and ask the client whether the workflow felt different.
See Skerp on your next gallery.
14-day trial on every paid plan. No credit card. Free plan is genuinely useful if you want to test the workflow with one real client first.
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