PicaJet
Search Build shortlist

Piwigo, ImageKit, Frontify, CELUM

Side by side on what we have verified on each vendor’s own pages. Where a fact was not checked, the table says so rather than leaving a blank that reads as “no”.

What decides it · Runs on your own servers

If the files genuinely cannot leave your infrastructure, this is not a close race — the platforms marked No below should not be on the call at all.

Piwigo

Yes

ImageKit

No

Frontify

No

CELUM

No

Everything else

Piwigo
ImageKit
Frontify
CELUM
Verdict
A self-hosted, permission-based photo/video catalog with album hierarchies, tagging and a large plugin ecosystem, for archives and small orgs willing to maintain their own server as the library grows.
An image and video CDN with an API-first asset library, built for fast developer integration, billed on flat monthly tiers with per-GB overage once bandwidth or storage limits are exceeded.
A brand-management platform built around a single, always-current source of truth for guidelines, logos and templates, aimed at brand teams working with internal staff and external agencies.
An enterprise DAM bundled with workflow and creative-review tools, aimed at mid-to-large manufacturing and consumer brands needing deep Adobe/PIM/CMS/e-shop integration and partner-led setup.
Price published
Yes
Yes
No
No
Billed on
Flat price per account by storage; users are unlimited
Bandwidth, storage and user seats, with published per-unit rates above the limits
Monthly active users
Quoted per customer
Deployment
On-premise, Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Cloud
Free plan
Yes
Yes
No
No
Free trial
Yes
Yes
No
No
Transparency index
100%
70%
30%
0%
Most common complaint
A ten per cent price rise is announced for 1 September 2026
Several units are metered at once: bandwidth, storage, video units and seats
The MAU model favours occasional users, but there is no figure to verify that with
The pricing page contains neither tiers nor figures

“Not checked” means exactly that: we have not verified it, not that the platform lacks it. Every other value was read off the vendor’s own pages on the date shown on each platform page.

What to ask on the demo

One question per platform, drawn from what actually goes wrong with it — not a generic checklist. Vendors run the demo; this hands the agenda back to you.

Piwigo A ten per cent price rise is announced for 1 September 2026 — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.
ImageKit Several units are metered at once: bandwidth, storage, video units and seats — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.
Frontify The MAU model favours occasional users, but there is no figure to verify that with — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.
CELUM The pricing page contains neither tiers nor figures — ask them to answer this in writing before the trial.

No email required — the page prints as it stands.