SmugMug vs Unbounce: guide for 2024

Final verdict

SmugMug and Unbounce both offer specialized platforms, but they cater to different user needs and preferences.

SmugMug (Overall Grade: 6.3/10)

is tailored for photographers and creatives who need a platform to showcase and sell their work. It excels in providing customizable templates optimized for high-quality images and robust photo protection features. SmugMug’s ecommerce capabilities are well-suited for selling prints and digital downloads, making it an excellent choice for visual artists looking to monetize their portfolios.
Unbounce (Overall Grade: 6.4/10)

is designed for marketers and businesses focused on creating high-converting landing pages. It offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, a wide range of templates, and strong integration with marketing tools. Unbounce’s emphasis on conversion optimization and detailed analytics makes it ideal for users aiming to capture leads and improve campaign performance.

	Overall grade: 6.3	Overall grade: 6.4
Design functionalities & templates	7.1	7.8
Ease of use	7.8	8.2
Ecommerce	7.3	4.8
Website Editors	7.3	7.5
Product testing options	7.4	6.6
Price	7.8	7.0
Hosting quality	5.0	3.9
Website speed optimization	5.5	5.6
Plugins and integrations	6.2	6.8
Marketing features	3.8	7.4
Customer support	7.9	7.7
Security	6.0	8.4
AI capabilities	0	7.5
User Management	7.2	7.2

Best for ecommerce

7.3

4.8

Verdict

: SmugMug is better suited for photographers and creatives looking to sell their work online, while Unbounce is more focused on creating high-converting landing pages with ecommerce integrations.

SmugMug

: SmugMug is tailored for photographers and creatives, offering a platform to sell prints and digital downloads directly from their website. It provides robust photo protection features and a range of customizable templates optimized for high-quality images. SmugMug’s ecommerce capabilities include digital downloads, product pricing, tax handling, discounts, and multiple currencies support. With a score of 7.3, it is a solid choice for those in the creative industry.
Unbounce

: Unbounce excels in creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars, with a strong focus on optimizing conversion rates. It integrates with various ecommerce solutions like Shopify and Ecwid for payment processing. While it does not have dedicated ecommerce templates, its flexibility in creating high-converting pages makes it a valuable tool for marketers. However, with a score of 4.8, it may not be the best standalone ecommerce solution.

Best for informational & business websites

7.5

5.9

Verdict

: SmugMug is better suited for visually rich, photography-focused informational websites, while Unbounce excels in creating high-converting landing pages and marketing-focused sites.

SmugMug

: SmugMug is tailored for photographers and creatives, offering customizable templates optimized for high-quality image display. Its robust photo protection features and e-commerce capabilities make it ideal for showcasing and selling visual work. With a score of 7.5, SmugMug is a strong choice for visually driven informational websites.
Unbounce

: Unbounce specializes in creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars with a focus on conversion optimization. Its drag-and-drop interface and wide range of templates make it easy to design high-converting pages. However, with a score of 5.9, it may not be the best fit for general informational websites compared to SmugMug. When comparing SmugMug vs Unbounce, Unbounce is more suited for marketing and lead generation purposes.

Detailed comparison

7.1

7.8

🏆

Winner: Unbounce.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers more creative control and a wide array of design features, Unbounce is the preferred choice.

SmugMug offers a variety of templates and designs, catering to the diverse needs of photographers and visual artists. Users can choose from an extensive collection of customizable templates, ensuring their website or portfolio reflects their unique style and brand. The platform continuously updates its design offerings, incorporating the latest trends and user feedback, to provide a rich selection of modern, sleek, and professional layouts.

SmugMug Themes

Compared to SmugMug, Unbounce provides a gallery of over 100 high-converting templates for landing pages, popups, and sticky bars. These templates are designed with conversion in mind, incorporating knowledge and insights gained from Unbounce’s experience in optimizing landing pages. Users have the flexibility to choose from these ready-to-use templates or start with a blank canvas to create their own designs using Unbounce’s drag-and-drop builder.

Unbounce Themes

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7.8

8.2

🏆 Winner: Unbounce

. With a score of 8.2, Unbounce edges out SmugMug (7.8) in terms of ease of use. Unbounce’s intuitive drag-and-drop builder and wide selection of templates make it easy for users to design and customize landing pages. SmugMug, while user-friendly and efficient for photographers, may not be as versatile for other types of websites.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Unbounce

. Unbounce offers a rich collection of learning resources, including a comprehensive Help Centre, the Unprompted Podcast for marketing insights, and a Video Library for visual learning. SmugMug provides a variety of learning materials and features, including beginner’s guides and a wide array of tutorials on YouTube created by content creators.

Learn SmugMug

Learn Unbounce

7.3

4.8

SmugMug and Unbounce offer different ecommerce capabilities tailored to their specific user bases. SmugMug, designed for photographers and creatives, provides a platform for selling prints and digital downloads directly from the website. Unbounce, on the other hand, is designed for creating custom landing pages and integrates with various ecommerce solutions for payment processing.


Ecommerce themes and templates	8.0	2.0
Product page customization	6.5	3.0
Payment processing and commissions	6.0	6.5
POS capabilities	0.0	0.0
Payment gateways	5.0	7.0
Product numbers	9.0	0.0
Additional ecommerce features	6.5	4.5

SmugMug ecommerce features:

Digital Downloads
Product Pricing
Tax handling
Discounts and Coupons
Multiple Currencies support

Unbounce ecommerce features:

Shopify, Ecwid, or and other ecommerce solutions integration

Ecommerce themes & templates

Almost all of the templates of SmugMug are designed with ecommerce in mind, providing built-in shopping cart functionality. Unbounce, however, primarily focuses on building landing pages and does not have ecommerce specific templates.

Product page customization

SmugMug offers a platform tailored for photographers to showcase and sell their work, despite having more limited product page customization compared to dedicated e-commerce platforms. Unbounce, on the other hand, does have the possibility to create or customize product pages, but it’s primarily focused on building landing pages, with the possibility to integrate with ecommerce platforms such as Shopify or Ecwid.

Payment processing

SmugMug has a unique approach to payment processing, where you must complete a Tax & Payment form to set up your payment preferences. You can choose your profit payment schedule, with automatic monthly payments for balances over $500, or request payments for lower amounts. Payments are made via ACH direct deposit for U.S. users or PayPal for international users.

Unbounce supports payment processing through an integration with Stripe, allowing users to create landing pages that can handle transactions directly, with Stripe facilitating global payments in over 135 currencies. Unbounce itself does not mention charging additional fees for transactions, implying that fees are subject to Stripe’s own pricing structure. The platform is focused on optimizing online conversions and does not offer Point of Sale (POS) capabilities, as its core features are designed for enhancing digital experiences such as landing pages and pop-ups.

7.3

7.5

🏆

Winner: Unbounce

. Unbounce, with a score of 7.5, offers a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, enabling users to design and customize landing pages without the need for coding skills. It offers a variety of templates, widgets, and elements such as forms and buttons, alongside options for integrating custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for advanced customization. The platform supports responsive design, ensuring landing pages perform well across all devices, and includes features for A/B testing and dynamic text replacement to optimize conversion rates.

Unbounce website editor

SmugMug’s website builder editor, scoring 7.3, offers a user-friendly interface that allows for the creation of visually appealing, professional-grade photography websites without the need for coding knowledge. Users can customize their site by choosing from a variety of templates, adjusting layouts, and incorporating their own branding elements like logos and colors. The editor also supports easy uploading, organizing, and showcasing of high-quality images, with robust privacy and security settings to protect content.

Smugmug website editor

Mobile editor/app

7.5

🏆

Winner: SmugMug

. Both SmugMug and Unbounce offer unique features in their website builders, but when it comes to mobile editing, SmugMug takes the lead. SmugMug offers a mobile editing app, but its functionality is limited to adding new photos and editing descriptions. This feature can be particularly useful for photographers and creatives who need to make quick updates to their portfolio on the go.

On the other hand, Unbounce does not offer a mobile editor app. This means that all editing and customization of Unbounce landing pages must be done on a desktop, which can be less convenient for users who prefer to work on their mobile devices.

In summary, while SmugMug’s mobile editing capabilities are limited, it still offers more flexibility than Unbounce in this regard.

7.4

6.6

Overall Result

:

SmugMug Wins

. SmugMug scores 7.4, slightly higher than Unbounce’s 6.6. Both platforms offer a 14-day free trial, but neither offers a free version. SmugMug allows users to test premium features during the trial period, while Unbounce also allows testing of premium features during the trial, but requires users to enter their billing information. Neither platform offers a money-back guarantee.


Free Plan	No	No
Trial Duration	14 days	14 days
Testing Premium Features	During the free trial	During the free trial (billing info required)
Money Back Guarantee	No	No

7.8

7.0

SmugMug and Unbounce offer a range of price plans to cater to different user needs, with SmugMug scoring slightly higher in terms of price.

	Offerings	Offerings
$10-$20	Power ($15.00/month): Best for the photographer who wants their entire photo catalog safe and shareable on their own terms. Unlimited storage, Seamless Lightroom integration. Value for price: 6.5	No offering at this amount.
$30-$40	Portfolio ($31.00/month): Best for the photographer who wants to start selling photos and keep their archive organized perfectly. All Power plan’s features, plus 21 premade templates, prints and digital downloads sales, Custom Watermarks, Payment integration for credit cards and PayPal, Integrated cart and checkout experience, Sales statistics. Value for price: 8.0	No offering at this amount.
$40-$50	Pro ($45.00/month): Adds to Portfolio with custom price lists and coupons, Platform access for assistant or second shooter, Full control over client downloads, Branded packaging and thank you notes for print sales, coupon creator. Value for price: 8.5	No offering at this amount.
$90-$100	No offering at this amount.	Build ($99.00/month): Provides tools for building and launching high-converting landing pages, unlimited pages, popups, sticky bars, a form builder, free hosting, AI copywriting, custom scripts, 1,000+ integrations, support for 1 root domain with unlimited subdomains, catering up to 20,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 6.5
$100-$200	No offering at this amount.	Experiment ($149.00/month): Includes everything in the Build plan plus unlimited A/B tests, advanced reporting, dynamic text replacement, support for 2 root domains, and up to 30,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 7.5
$200-$300	No offering at this amount.	Optimize ($249.00/month): Adds to the Experiment plan with AI traffic optimization, visitor behavior insights, advanced targeting, supports 3 root domains, and caters to up to 50,000 monthly unique visitors. Value for price: 8.0
$500+	Venture (Starts with $500/month): All Pro features, plus dedicated support contacts and account representative for all Smugmug needs, Design, workflow, and organization consultation and support.	Concierge (Starting at $649/month): Offers everything in the Optimize plan plus dedicated support, implementation services, client and user management, flexible add-on plans for scaling, starting with 5 root domains and 100,000 monthly unique visitors, with options to scale.

In some cases companies have different prices based on various components like a
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.

5.0

3.9

Winner: Unbounce

. Both SmugMug and Unbounce offer hosting services, but neither provides detailed information about their hosting features. However, Unbounce has a slight edge over SmugMug due to its disclosed uptime of 99.96%, even though it doesn’t offer an uptime guarantee. SmugMug, on the other hand, does not provide any information about their uptime, but offers a 99.9% uptime guarantee.


Do they offer hosting?	Yes	Yes
Data Centers:	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
Type of hosting:	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
Uptime:	Not disclosed	99.96%
Uptime Guarantee:	Yes, 99.9%	No

5.5

5.6

🏆 Winner: Unbounce

Both SmugMug and Unbounce have similar scores for website speed optimization, but Unbounce edges out slightly due to its more comprehensive speed optimization strategies.


Focus	Mobile Responsive design	Image optimization, Caching, Speed Booster
Performance Tools	Not specified	Not specified
Key Strategies	Mobile Responsive design	Image optimization, Caching, Speed Booster
Load Times	Varies widely, depending on optimization	Varies depending on optimization
Page Speed Scores Range	Varies widely, depending on optimization	Varies depending on optimization
Core Web Vitals Improvement	Not specified	Not specified

SmugMug, a website builder designed for photographers and creatives, focuses on mobile responsive design for speed optimization. However, the load times and PageSpeed scores can vary widely depending on the optimization and website complexity. SmugMug does not provide any specific information on their Core Web Vitals improvements.

On the other hand, Unbounce, a website builder designed for creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars, employs a more comprehensive approach to speed optimization. It focuses on image optimization, caching, and a feature called Speed Booster. Similar to SmugMug, the load times and PageSpeed scores can vary depending on the optimization and website complexity. Unbounce also does not provide any specific information on their Core Web Vitals improvements.

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6.2

6.8

🏆 Winner: Unbounce.

Unbounce scores 6.8, slightly ahead of SmugMug’s 6.2. Unbounce offers a wide array of apps and integrations that enhance the functionality of landing pages, including advanced analytics, enhanced marketing automation, and direct e-commerce transactions. SmugMug, on the other hand, offers integrations with several photo-hosting services, enhancing its functionality for photographers. However, Unbounce’s broader range of integrations gives it the edge in this category.

Unbounce Applications

Unbounce apps and integrations

3.8

7.4

🏆

Overall Winner: Unbounce

. Unbounce stands out for its strong focus on conversion optimization, offering a wide range of marketing features, including SEO tools, email marketing through third-party integrations, social media integration, detailed analytics and reporting, and the ability to create landing pages for ads and promotions. SmugMug, while offering some marketing features, lacks in areas such as email marketing, blogging, and ads and promotions.


SEO Tools	Basic SEO tools	Advanced SEO tools
Email Marketing		✓ (through third-party integrations)
Blogging
Social Media Integration
Analytics and Reporting	Basic analytics with Google Analytics integration	Detailed analytics and reporting
Ads and Promotions		✓ (landing pages for ads and promotions)

7.9

7.7

🏆 Winner: SmugMug

. In the SmugMug vs Unbounce comparison, SmugMug edges out with a slightly higher customer support score. SmugMug offers email and chat support available 364 days a year, with rapid response times. While phone support is limited to higher-tier business subscriptions, the platform ensures that users have access to immediate assistance through their help portal.

Unbounce, on the other hand, provides a variety of support options, including live chat, email, and phone support available Monday to Friday. Additionally, Unbounce offers 24/7 support through their Help Centre, Community, and Chat Bot, ensuring users can get help whenever needed. Despite this, SmugMug’s more consistent availability and rapid response times give it a slight edge in customer support.

6.0

8.4

🏆

Winner: Unbounce

. Unbounce has a higher security score and provides a more comprehensive security framework than SmugMug. Unbounce ensures compliance with key regulations and maintains high security standards by achieving PCI Level 4 Merchant status and adhering to GDPR. It employs a secure, multi-tenant environment with strict access controls and daily data backups to safeguard customer information. Unbounce’s security framework focuses on the protection of user data and employs a defense-oriented architecture and network safety measures.

SmugMug, on the other hand, takes privacy and security seriously and implements strict privacy settings and controls that allow users to manage who can access their content. However, it does not disclose detailed information about its website security measures, which makes it difficult to compare with Unbounce’s comprehensive security measures.

7.5


AI Builder		Unbounce’s Smart Builder optimizes landing page creation
AI Ecommerce features
AI content generation		Unbounce’s Smart Copy generates various types of content
Additional AI features		Unbounce’s Smart Traffic and Conversion Intelligence Insights

🏆 Winner: Unbounce

. Unbounce, with a score of 7.5, utilizes AI to optimize landing page creation, generate content, and intelligently direct visitors to the most appropriate landing page variant. These features make building and optimizing landing pages faster and more efficient, and provide practical advice and recommendations to boost overall conversion rates.

SmugMug, unfortunately, does not have any AI capabilities. It is a premium website builder specifically designed for photographers and creatives, but it does not utilize AI to enhance its features or user experience.

7.2

🏆 Winner: Tie

. Both SmugMug and Unbounce offer robust user management systems with similar scores of 7.2.

SmugMug allows the primary account holder full control over the account, with the ability to add additional users through “Shared Account Management” for Portfolio and Pro level accounts. These additional users can be given various roles with different permissions, enabling them to manage or edit the website without full access to billing or account settings.
Unbounce offers one staff account on its basic plan, with the option to expand up to 15 accounts on the premium plan. It also provides customizable permissions, enabling you to restrict or grant access based on roles such as viewer, author, and administrator.

SmugMug User Roles and Access Levels:

Role	Description	Access Highlights
Owner	The primary account holder who has full control over the site.	Complete access to all features, settings, content management, and billing.
Admin	Users granted almost the same level of access as the owner, minus some critical billing or account settings.	Manage content, order prints, access to stats, and settings except for account and billing changes.
Contributor	Users who can upload and manage content in specific galleries.	Upload content to assigned galleries, edit captions, and keywords. Limited access to settings.

Unbounce User Roles and Access Levels:

Role	Description	Access Highlights
Viewers	Members of your team who want to view and approve pages, popups, or sticky bars before publication.	Can access pages, popups, sticky bars, stats, and leads. Cannot edit/manage pages or access account management, billing details, domains, or add users.
Authors	Designers or copywriters invited to edit landing pages.	Can edit, manage, publish/unpublish pages, popups, sticky bars. Have access to viewing leads and stats. Cannot access account management, billing details, domains, or add users.
Administrators	Manage the Unbounce account, including billing details.	Can edit, manage, publish/unpublish pages, popups, sticky bars. Can access account management, billing details, domains, and add users. Cannot delete leads or remove other Admins.

Additional Features


SSL Certificate
Custom Domain
Free Custom Domain Included
International Domains
Mobile Responsive
Page Speed
Website Builder Mobile App
Convert a Website To An App
Website Analytics
Multilingual Sites
Multiple Users

User Feedback

SmugMug

33 reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars

Unbounce

359 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Users appreciate SmugMug for its reliability, ease of use, and the platform’s ability to securely host and share high-resolution photographs and videos. Highlights include seamless mobile device syncing, excellent gallery features for showcasing assets, and robust customization options minus JavaScript support. However, some users desire improvements in facial recognition technology for automatic album creation, expanded asset management capabilities beyond primarily photos, and more advanced search functionalities. Concerns about rising costs and the platform’s intuitiveness were also mentioned. Overall, SmugMug is valued for its central storage solution, privacy features for client photos, and its ability to simplify file sharing and photo sales.

The reviews for Unbounce reveal a mixed sentiment among users. On the positive side, many appreciate its user-friendly, drag-and-drop page builder, which facilitates the quick creation and editing of landing pages without the need for technical expertise. Users find it beneficial for A/B testing, integrating with CRMs, and swiftly turning around marketing content. However, there are notable concerns, particularly with a case of unexpected switch to an annual plan without consent and refusal to refund, indicating potential issues with customer service and billing practices. Additionally, some users mention technical limitations, such as responsiveness issues and the absence of global elements for content updates across multiple pages, which can hinder efficiency.

The making of this blog

We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.

Our Ranking Criteria

FAQ

What are the main differences between SmugMug and Unbounce?

SmugMug is a website builder designed for photographers and creatives, focusing on showcasing and selling high-quality images with robust photo protection features. Unbounce, on the other hand, specializes in creating custom landing pages, popups, and sticky bars with a strong emphasis on optimizing conversion rates.

Which platform is better for ecommerce, SmugMug or Unbounce?

For users focused on selling visual content like prints and digital downloads, SmugMug is the superior choice due to its specialized ecommerce features. Unbounce, while not primarily an ecommerce platform, offers valuable integration options for optimizing landing pages for sales conversions.

Can I use Unbounce for creating a photography website?

While Unbounce is primarily designed for creating landing pages with a focus on conversion optimization, it can be used to create a photography website. However, it may not offer the same level of functionality and customization for showcasing photography as SmugMug does.

Is SmugMug suitable for businesses outside of photography?

SmugMug is best suited for visually oriented websites, particularly for photographers and creatives looking to showcase their work. While it can be used for informational business websites, its features are optimized for visual content rather than general business use.

How do SmugMug and Unbounce compare in terms of ease of use?

Unbounce scores slightly higher in terms of ease of use, thanks to its intuitive drag-and-drop builder and wide selection of templates. SmugMug is also user-friendly, especially for photographers, but may not be as versatile for other types of websites.

Which platform offers better customer support, SmugMug or Unbounce?

SmugMug slightly edges out Unbounce in customer support, offering rapid response times through email and chat, and phone support for higher-tier subscriptions. Unbounce provides a variety of support options, including live chat, email, and phone support during business hours.

Can I integrate ecommerce solutions with Unbounce?

Yes, Unbounce integrates with ecommerce solutions like Shopify and Ecwid, allowing users to create high-converting landing pages that can lead to an external ecommerce platform for completing sales.