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Photography · head to head

Pic-Time vs Topaz Photo AI

Pic-Time logo

Pic-Time

Photography

Client galleries with an automated print store and marketing campaigns built in

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Topaz Photo AI logo

Topaz Photo AI

Photography

Model based noise reduction, sharpening and upscaling sold as a perpetual licence

From
$199/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pic-Time has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Pic-Time the commission on store sales means the true cost rises with your success, so a photographer with strong print revenue may pay far more than the subscription implies and should price the top tier against the percentage before choosing.; Topaz Photo AI upscaling and detail recovery generate texture that was never captured, so output cannot be used for photojournalism, legal evidence, insurance assessment or scientific imaging without disclosure.
  • They diverge on capability: Pic-Time covers Designed galleries, Topaz Photo AI covers Automatic subject detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pic-Time and Topaz Photo AI actually diverge.

Attributes where Pic-Time and Topaz Photo AI differ
AttributePic-TimeTopaz Photo AI
Starting priceFree$199/one-time
Pricing modelPer month by photo countOne-time purchase
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWindows, macOS

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Photography).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Pic-Time

  • Designed galleries
  • Automated store campaigns
  • Wall art visualiser
  • Album proofing
  • Regional lab fulfilment
  • Digital delivery

Only in Topaz Photo AI

  • Automatic subject detection
  • Raw denoise
  • Upscaling
  • Lens blur and motion correction
  • Host plugins
  • Batch processing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Pic-Time

  • A wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personallynot Topaz Photo AI
  • Studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the worknot Topaz Photo AI
  • Album based workflows that need clients to comment on spreads rather than exchange PDFs by emailnot Topaz Photo AI
  • Photographers with clients in several countries who need orders fulfilled by a lab local to the clientnot Topaz Photo AI

Topaz Photo AI

  • Recovering usable frames from a dark reception where the alternative is telling the client those photographs do not existnot Pic-Time
  • Enlarging a twelve megapixel archive file to a size that survives a large printnot Pic-Time
  • Wildlife and sports frames shot at high ISO with a long lens where noise, not composition, is the limiting factornot Pic-Time
  • Estate agency and interior work where handheld frames need enough sharpening to pass a portal quality checknot Pic-Time

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Pic-Time

  • The commission on store sales means the true cost rises with your success, so a photographer with strong print revenue may pay far more than the subscription implies and should price the top tier against the percentage before choosing.
  • Storage is counted by photo, so high volume delivery pushes you up the tiers even when the files themselves are small.
  • There is no contracts, invoicing, booking or CRM module, so a working studio still pays for a separate management tool and reconciles two systems.
  • Lab coverage is uneven by country and some regions have a single partner, which removes any ability to shop for print quality or price.
  • The automated campaigns go out under your studio name on Pic-Time schedules, and photographers with a small or recently marketed client list can look pushy unless every sequence is edited by hand.

Topaz Photo AI

  • Upscaling and detail recovery generate texture that was never captured, so output cannot be used for photojournalism, legal evidence, insurance assessment or scientific imaging without disclosure.
  • Performance is bound to graphics card memory, and on a laptop with integrated graphics a single large raw file can take minutes, which makes batch work impractical.
  • The licence includes only twelve months of updates, and because the models are the product a lapsed licence falls behind current results at the same price point.
  • It does nothing except fix pixels, with no cataloguing, culling, colour management or output sharpening, so it is an extra round trip in a workflow rather than a replacement for anything.
  • The automatic settings are confident rather than correct, and on skin, feathers and small text the default strength routinely produces plastic or invented detail that has to be dialled back by hand on every file.

Pricing, plan by plan

Pic-Time

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Small photo allowance for evaluating the platform
    • Store available with the commission that applies to this tier
  • Paid tiers$undefined/month
    • Priced by the number of photos stored
    • The sales commission differs by tier and falls on the higher plans
    • Automated marketing campaigns included from the paid tiers upward

Topaz Photo AI

$199/one-time
  • Topaz Photo AI$199/one-time
    • Perpetual licence for the version supplied
    • Twelve months of model and application updates
    • Activation on two machines
  • Update renewal$99/year
    • A further twelve months of model updates
    • The application keeps working without it, frozen at the last version received

Which should you pick?

Choose Pic-Time if

  • You need designed galleries.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated store campaigns.
Pic-Time review

Choose Topaz Photo AI if

  • You need automatic subject detection.
  • You work on Windows, macOS.
  • You also want raw denoise.
Topaz Photo AI review

Questions people ask

Is Pic-Time or Topaz Photo AI better?
Neither clearly leads. Pic-Time starts at Free and Topaz Photo AI at $199/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pic-Time or Topaz Photo AI?
Pic-Time has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pic-Time and $199/one-time for Topaz Photo AI.
Does Pic-Time or Topaz Photo AI run on more platforms?
Pic-Time runs on Web, iOS, Android. Topaz Photo AI runs on Windows, macOS.
Can I use Pic-Time for free?
Yes. Pic-Time has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Topaz Photo AI starts at $199/one-time.
What is Pic-Time best used for?
Pic-Time is most often used for a wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personally, studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the work, album based workflows that need clients to comment on spreads rather than exchange pdfs by email, photographers with clients in several countries who need orders fulfilled by a lab local to the client. Of those, a wedding photographer who wants print revenue from past clients without writing and sending the promotions personally and studios where the gallery itself is part of the perceived product and a plain grid of thumbnails undersells the work are not what Topaz Photo AI is typically brought in for.
What can Pic-Time do that Topaz Photo AI cannot?
Pic-Time covers Designed galleries, Automated store campaigns, Wall art visualiser, Album proofing. Topaz Photo AI covers Automatic subject detection, Raw denoise, Upscaling, Lens blur and motion correction.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pic-Time: Does Pic-Time take a percentage of print sales?

Yes, and the rate depends on the plan you are on, with the higher tiers reducing it. Check the current rate for your tier, because it usually outweighs the monthly price difference.

Topaz Photo AI: Does the software stop working when the update period ends?

No. The version you own keeps running indefinitely. You simply stop receiving new models and new camera support.

Pic-Time: Can it replace my studio management software?

No. There is no contract signing, invoicing or booking. Pic-Time covers delivery and sales only.

Topaz Photo AI: Is it better than the denoise built into Lightroom?

On heavily noisy raw files the results are close, and Lightroom Denoise costs nothing extra if you already subscribe. Topaz wins mainly on upscaling and on non raw files.

Pic-Time: Do clients need an account to view a gallery?

No. Galleries open from a link with an optional password, and an email is only requested when a client downloads or orders.

Topaz Photo AI: Can it run on Linux?

No. Windows and macOS only, and the macOS build needs a reasonably recent Apple silicon or Intel machine with a discrete GPU to be usable at speed.

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