500px vs SmugMug
500px vs SmugMug, compared side by side on 17 data points: what each one does, how big it is, what it has raised, the tech running each site, and what users report. We score both out of 100 on traction, team and visibility: 500px is on 41/100 and SmugMug on 56/100.
Where each one leads
500px
Leads on none of the measures we hold for both companies.
SmugMug
- our overall score: 56/100 against 41/100
- agent readiness: 39/100 against 22/100
At a glance
| Measure | 500px | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A global community and marketplace for high-quality photography and videography. | A subscription-based platform for photographers to showcase, share, store, and sell their photos. |
| Category | Photography, Videography, Creator Economy, Marketplace | Photography, E-commerce, Cloud Storage, SaaS |
| Sells toBusiness model | B2C | B2C |
| Offering | Marketplace | Platform |
| Founded | 2009 | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Canada | Mountain View, United States |
| Status | Active | Active |
Size, funding and growth
| Measure | 500px | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Not published | 116 |
| Total funding | Not published | $63.0M |
| Latest round | Not published | Series D |
| Valuation | Not published | $1.1B |
StartupHub scores
Our own 0-100 ratings. They measure company strength and site quality, not which product suits you.
| Measure | 500px | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| StartupHub scoreOur 0-100 rating | 41/100 | 56/100 |
| Traction | Not published | 59/100 |
| Team | 60/100 | 70/100 |
| Community | 15/100 | 8/100 |
| Search visibility | 2/100 | 17/100 |
| Quality | 58/100 | 65/100 |
| Agent readinessHow well an AI agent can read and act on the site | F (22/100) | F (39/100) |
| Domain ratingLink authority, 0-100 | 90/100 | 91/100 |
Technology
Detected on each public site, so it reflects the marketing stack as well as the product.
| Measure | 500px | SmugMug |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | AWS | AWS |
| CDN | CloudFront | CloudFront |
| CMS | Not detected | Webflow |
| Frameworks | Not detected | Tailwind CSS |
| Analytics | Google Tag Manager, Segment, Hotjar, Facebook Pixel | Google Tag Manager |
500px vs SmugMug: common questions
Which is better, 500px or SmugMug?
On our 0-100 score SmugMug rates higher (56/100 against 41/100). The score weights traction, team, visibility and profile completeness, so it reflects company strength rather than which product suits you. We compare the two on 17 data points above: read the rows that match what you are buying for.
How do 500px and SmugMug compare on the numbers?
SmugMug leads on our overall score (56/100 against 41/100), agent readiness (39/100 against 22/100).
Read the full 500px review and pricing or the SmugMug review and pricing. You can also browse other 500px alternatives we track.