Zenfolio vs Carbonmade: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Zenfolio and Carbonmade both cater to creatives, but they serve different niches within the creative community.

• 
  Zenfolio (Overall Grade: 6.4/10)
  
  is tailored specifically for professional photographers and visual artists. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools for showcasing, sharing, and selling work online. With integrated e-commerce capabilities, customizable templates, and robust security features, Zenfolio is ideal for photographers looking to manage and grow their business. However, it has a steeper learning curve and less design flexibility compared to Carbonmade.
• 
  Carbonmade (Overall Grade: 4.4/10)
  
  excels in providing a user-friendly platform for creatives to build personalized, professional portfolios. Its drag-and-drop interface, customizable layouts, and support for unlimited uploads make it accessible to users without coding skills. While it lacks e-commerce capabilities and advanced security features, Carbonmade is perfect for illustrators, graphic designers, and other creatives who prioritize ease of use and design versatility.

Best for ecommerce

Verdict

: Zenfolio is the clear choice for ecommerce, especially for photographers, while Carbonmade lacks any ecommerce capabilities, making it unsuitable for selling products directly.

• 
  Zenfolio
  
  : Designed specifically for photographers, Zenfolio offers a comprehensive suite of ecommerce tools to sell prints, digital downloads, and other products directly from their websites. It includes features like multiple currency support, discount coupons, order management, and secure payment options through Stripe and PayPal. Zenfolio’s customizable templates and integrated marketing tools make it a versatile platform for managing and growing a photography business online.
• 
  Carbonmade
  
  : While Carbonmade excels in providing an easy and fast way to create and manage online portfolios, it does not offer any ecommerce features. This makes it unsuitable for users looking to sell products directly from their website. Carbonmade focuses solely on portfolio creation, emphasizing simplicity and accessibility for creatives without technical backgrounds.

Best for informational & business websites

Verdict

: Zenfolio is better suited for informational and business websites, especially for photographers and visual artists, while Carbonmade, though user-friendly, is more limited in its scope and features.

• 
  Zenfolio
  
  : Zenfolio offers a comprehensive platform tailored for photographers and visual artists, with customizable, mobile-friendly templates and integrated e-commerce capabilities. It provides tools for marketing, client proofing, and secure photo storage, making it a versatile choice for managing and growing a photography business online. With a score of 6.9, Zenfolio is a solid option for those needing a professional web presence.
• 
  Carbonmade
  
  : Carbonmade is designed for creatives who want to showcase their work online without coding skills. It offers fully customizable layouts and pre-designed templates, making it easy to create and manage online portfolios. However, it lacks the extensive features and integrations that Zenfolio offers, making it less suitable for more complex informational and business websites. With a score of 5.9, Carbonmade is ideal for users prioritizing simplicity and ease of use.

Detailed comparison

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Winner: Carbonmade.

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

Zenfolio offers a variety of customizable templates and features specifically tailored for photographers, with a focus on showcasing and selling their work. While it provides several customization options, including blocks for different layouts and styles, it may not offer as much versatility outside of photography-specific needs.

Zenfolio Themes

Compared to Zenfolio, Carbonmade does not have templates, the platform creates a personalized portfolio website based on the inputs of the users. Carbonmade offers a specialized platform for creatives to build personalized, professional portfolios with a wide range of features tailored to showcase their work effectively. The website builder supports responsive designs optimized for all devices, allows unlimited uploads of images and videos, including 4K content, and provides various premade blocks and layouts for customization without the need for external templates or platforms.

Wix Themes

🏆 Winner: Carbonmade

. Scoring an impressive 8.3, Carbonmade excels in user-friendliness with its straightforward drag-and-drop interface and customizable layouts, making it ideal for creatives without coding skills. Zenfolio, with a score of 6.3, offers a specialized platform for photographers but has a steeper learning curve and less design flexibility. For those prioritizing ease of use, Carbonmade is the superior choice.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Carbonmade

. Both platforms provide learning resources, but Carbonmade’s comprehensive video tutorials and detailed help center articles make it easier for users to navigate and utilize the platform effectively.

Zenfolio is designed with photographers in mind, offering a comprehensive suite of ecommerce tools to sell prints, digital downloads, and other products directly from their websites. Carbonmade, on the other hand, does not provide any ecommerce capabilities, focusing solely on portfolio creation.

Zenfolio ecommerce features:

• Multiple Currency Support
• Discount Coupons
• Order management
• Gift Certificates
• Tax management

Carbonmade ecommerce features:

Carbonmade does not offer any ecommerce features, making it unsuitable for users looking to sell products directly from their website.

Ecommerce themes & templates

Zenfolio provides customizable website templates with integrated ecommerce features for photographers, designed to showcase and sell their work across various genres. These templates include essential online selling tools such as secure payment options, product management, and marketing integrations, making it an all-in-one platform for photographers aiming to display and market their creations effectively.

Product page customization

Zenfolio allows users to detail their product pages with descriptions, images, and options such as size or color. This customization helps in clearly displaying each product’s unique attributes. Products can be organized into specific galleries or categories, improving site navigation. The platform also supports customization in pricing and shipping settings, catering to various needs effectively.

Carbonmade does not have ecommerce capabilities, thus it’s not possible to have product pages.

Payment processing

Zenfolio supports Stripe and PayPal for payment processing, integrating them seamlessly into its platform designed for photographers to sell their work online. The platform charges a commerce fee of 7% per order (excluding tax and shipping) and a payment processing fee for transactions through Stripe or PayPal. While Zenfolio offers robust ecommerce functionalities for online sales, it does not explicitly mention POS capabilities for in-person sales, suggesting its services are tailored primarily towards online transactions.

Carbonmade does not have payment processing capabilities, further emphasizing its focus on portfolio creation rather than ecommerce.

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Winner: Tie

. Both Zenfolio and Carbonmade score 7.6 in the website editors category, each offering unique strengths tailored to their target audiences.

Zenfolio’s editor is designed for photographers, featuring drag-and-drop customization, a wide array of templates, and a powerful Custom Layout block for personalized designs. It includes integrated eCommerce capabilities for selling digital and physical photography products, supported by comprehensive security features. Zenfolio also provides tools for SEO, marketing, photo and video hosting, client booking, and management, making it a versatile platform for photographers.

Carbonmade’s editor is aimed at creatives looking to build personalized, professional online portfolios without coding knowledge. It offers responsive design across devices, 4K video support, unlimited image and video uploads, and premade blocks for customization. Unique features include private portfolios, a before/after block, gallery slideshows, and a talent pool to connect with other creatives and potential clients. Carbonmade emphasizes simplicity and flexibility in portfolio creation, making it accessible to users of all skill levels.

Mobile editor/app

🏆

Winner: Zenfolio

. Zenfolio offers a comprehensive mobile editor app that allows users to manage their websites and galleries directly from their mobile devices. The app includes features for receiving notifications, managing galleries, handling sales-related tasks, and showcasing photos through a client presentation mode. Users can also upload and edit photos, access various tools for reports, CRM, bookings, and blog management, although some features may still necessitate desktop use for full functionality.

On the other hand, Carbonmade does not have a dedicated mobile editor app, which limits its functionality for users who need to manage their portfolios on the go.

In summary, Zenfolio’s mobile editor app provides a robust set of features for photographers and visual artists, making it the superior choice for mobile website management.

Overall Result

:

Zenfolio wins

. Zenfolio scores 8.4, offering a 14-day free trial with access to all premium features and a 30-day money-back guarantee, providing ample time and assurance for users to evaluate the platform. Carbonmade scores 7.2, offering a trial period with access to all features but lacks a money-back guarantee, making it less flexible for users who may want a refund.

Zenfolio offers a range of plans with significant discounts for annual billing, while Carbonmade provides more affordable options with a smaller annual discount.

🏆

Winner: Carbonmade

Carbonmade edges out Zenfolio with its managed hosting and unlimited storage, making it a more reliable choice for creatives needing ample space. Both platforms lack transparency in uptime and data center locations, but Carbonmade’s hosting type and storage capacity give it a slight advantage.

🏆 Winner: Zenfolio

Both Zenfolio and Carbonmade have room for improvement in terms of website speed optimization, but Zenfolio edges out slightly due to its mobile responsive design strategy.

Zenfolio is a comprehensive website builder tailored for professional photographers and visual artists. It offers customizable, mobile-friendly templates and integrated e-commerce capabilities. Zenfolio’s primary strategy for speed optimization is its mobile responsive design, which ensures that websites perform well on various devices. However, Zenfolio does not provide specific information on load times, PageSpeed scores, or Core Web Vitals improvements.

Carbonmade, on the other hand, is a website builder designed for creatives to showcase their work online. It emphasizes simplicity and ease of use, offering customizable layouts and pre-designed templates. However, Carbonmade does not specify any strategies or tools for speed optimization. Like Zenfolio, Carbonmade’s load times and PageSpeed scores vary depending on optimization, and there is no information on Core Web Vitals improvements.

In conclusion, while both platforms need to enhance their speed optimization features, Zenfolio’s focus on mobile responsive design gives it a slight advantage over Carbonmade.

🏆 Winner: Zenfolio.

Zenfolio scores 6.5, offering a focused set of plugins and integrations that cater specifically to photographers. These include WordPress plugins, Lightroom Classic integration, and form embedding options, which enhance the platform’s functionality in e-commerce, marketing, and customer experience. Carbonmade, on the other hand, does not support any plugins or integrations, resulting in a score of 0.

Zenfolio’s ability to extend its base capabilities makes it a more versatile and powerful tool for photographers looking to expand their online presence and business operations.

🏆

Overall Winner: Zenfolio

. Zenfolio excels with its broader range of marketing tools, making it a more versatile choice for professional photographers and visual artists. Carbonmade, while user-friendly, lacks many essential marketing features.

🏆 Winner: Zenfolio

. In the comparison of Zenfolio vs Carbonmade, Zenfolio takes the lead with a more comprehensive support system. Zenfolio offers email support 365 days a year, LiveChat from Monday to Thursday, and phone support for Advanced plan subscribers. Additionally, Zenfolio provides a rich Support Center with articles and video tutorials, ensuring users have multiple avenues to seek help.

Carbonmade, on the other hand, primarily relies on a ticket-based system for customer support. While it does not offer live support, users generally receive responses within a few hours. Despite the lack of immediate assistance, Carbonmade’s support is praised for its quick response times and helpfulness, making it a reliable option for creatives needing assistance with their portfolios.

🏆

Winner: Zenfolio

. Zenfolio stands out with its comprehensive security measures, including SSL encryption, password-protected galleries, and cloud backup. These features are crucial for photographers and visual artists who need to protect their work and client data. Zenfolio’s commitment to data protection and privacy is evident in its robust security protocols.

On the other hand, Carbonmade, while excellent for creating and managing online portfolios with ease, does not emphasize security to the same extent. Its primary focus is on providing a simple and user-friendly experience, which may not be sufficient for users who require advanced security features.

🏆 Winner: Zenfolio

. Zenfolio, with a score of 2.4, offers some AI-driven eCommerce features, specifically PhotoRefine.ai, which helps photographers manage their photo collections more efficiently. This tool can streamline the process of sorting, grouping, and selecting photos, making it easier to prepare and sell work online.

Carbonmade, with a score of 0, does not have any AI capabilities. It focuses on providing a simple and fast way to create and manage online portfolios without the need for AI-driven tools.

🏆 Winner: Tie

. Both Zenfolio and Carbonmade offer limited user management capabilities, allowing only a single user to manage and edit the website.

• Zenfolio allows only one user to edit and manage a website, which may be restrictive for teams or collaborative projects.
• Carbonmade also permits only one user to manage and edit a website, similarly limiting its use for collaborative efforts.

This limitation makes both platforms less suitable for businesses or projects that require multiple users to have editing access.

Additional Features

User Feedback

Users appreciate Zenfolio for its elegant and affordable site/portfolio designs, highlighting the platform’s suitability for photographers looking to showcase and sell their work online. The Starter plan is praised for its value, though some users express a desire to upgrade to the Pro plan for its enhanced client interaction features and customizable marketing tools. Criticisms include dissatisfaction with the platform’s handling of photo albums and a desire for more privacy and faster loading times. Overall, Zenfolio is valued for its ability to organize and share professional photographs and files, despite some navigational and performance issues.

Carbonmade is praised for its ease of use, modern design templates, and no-code platform, which simplifies creating professional portfolios. However, some users express a desire for a freemium plan and note limitations in customization and mobile site loading times. The platform is highly recommended for creatives, particularly illustrators and graphic designers, for its variety of design options and efficient customer service. Despite concerns over pricing, the overall sentiment is positive, with users finding value in Carbonmade’s ability to showcase their work effectively and streamline portfolio management.

FAQ