Pricing
Free to use today.
ShotSelect is built by a working photographer for working photographers. The core cull workflow — keyboard-first culling, on-device AI search, XMP export — is free and stays free. Some advanced workflow features are in active beta and may move to a paid tier later. The cull pass you start with won't get paywalled.
Core app
Free for personal and commercial use. No trial timer, no upgrade nags.
- Full keyboard-first cull workflow
- 40+ RAW formats (CR3, ARW, NEF, RAF, DNG…)
- Stars, color labels, picks, keywords
- Lightroom-compatible XMP sidecars
- On-device AI photo search (CLIP)
- Burst grouping, compare mode
- Resume-able sessions (last 20)
- Fully offline, no telemetry on photos
Workflow features · Beta
Pricing TBD when these graduate. Today: free with the core app.
- Client review links (mobile-friendly)
- Multi-device session sync (opt-in)
- Advanced AI face grouping
- Pricing not set yet — we'll tell you in advance
Why free?
Three reasons.
One. Photo Mechanic, Lightroom, Aftershoot, and Narrative Select all charge $120–720/yr. The category is overdue for a free, on-device option. We'd rather earn the photographer's trust now and monetise later than gate the workflow they need today.
Two. ShotSelect runs entirely on your Mac. There's no server bill, no per-user CPU cost, no cloud GPU. Free is a sustainable price for software that doesn't run anywhere except on your machine.
Three. The market we want to build (review links, team workflows, studio multi-seat) is downstream of the cull pass. The fastest way to get there is to make the cull pass free, fast, and great — then add the workflow tier.
How does that compare?
| Tool | Price | Cloud upload |
|---|---|---|
| ShotSelect | $0 | No · 100% on-device |
| Photo Mechanic 6 | $150/yr | No |
| Photo Mechanic Plus | $230/yr | No |
| Adobe Lightroom Classic | $120/yr (Photography plan) | Optional |
| Aftershoot AI | $240–720/yr | Yes — required |
| Narrative Select | $240/yr | Yes — required |
| FastRawViewer | $30 perpetual | No |
For a 5-year career, switching to ShotSelect saves between $150 (vs FastRawViewer) and $3,600 (vs Aftershoot Pro) — and on the free tier, your photos stay on your Mac.
Common questions
Will it ever go paid?
The core cull workflow stays free. We may charge for advanced workflow features (client review links, team sync, studio multi-seat) once they graduate from beta. We won't paywall what was already free.
How do you make money?
Today: we don't. ShotSelect is bootstrapped and modest — we don't have a server bill because the app runs on your Mac. Later: paid workflow features and studio licensing for teams that want them. Single photographers will keep the free tier they have today.
Can I use it commercially?
Yes. Wedding photographers, sports stringers, photojournalists, hobbyists — all are welcome. The license permits commercial use without a fee.
Where do I get support?
Email [email protected] for product issues, or [email protected] for everything else. We answer.
Try it on your next shoot.
No email. No account. Open the folder and start culling.
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