Comparison
ArtGalleria vs Art.industries: choose by operational fit
ArtGalleria and Art.industries both target commercial galleries with the integrated platform pitch. The two differ in pricing model, web-stack age, public-site approach, and how directly the [Stripe-backed payment](/guides/stripe-payment-links-for-art-sales) flow is wired into the catalogue. This page covers the differences honestly.
At a glance
| Dimension | Art.industries | ArtGalleria |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Core $15/mo, Advanced $40/mo, Max $200/mo. Modular capacity add-ons. Per-workspace, not per-seat. | Tiered packaged pricing by feature set; verify cost against your team size and module selection. |
| Catalogue ↔ CRM | One workspace graph: contacts, works, sales, exhibitions linked in one record per entity. | Inventory and CRM in the same product; verify segments reference live availability without exports. |
| Private viewing rooms | Live-linked rooms with per-room price visibility, watermarking, instant revocation. | Portfolios and proposals; pilot with fair-week edits and secondary-market scenarios. |
| Payments | Stripe-backed invoicing tied to artwork records, deposits, instalments, refunds, splits, multi-currency. | Verify rails, refunds, accountant-friendly exports for your jurisdiction. |
| Public website | Website Studio (Advanced) on your own domain, fed from the same catalogue. | Public-site capability varies by tier; benchmark sync between inventory edits and public pages. |
| Exports and customs | Configurable PDF and CSV templates, ATA Carnet support, lender packet generation. | Standard export library; map against your institution's specific artifact requirements. |
| Collaboration model | Roles for partners, associates, registrars; per-workspace cost rather than per-seat tax. | Per-seat or per-user pricing varies by tier; confirm collaboration cost at your team size. |
| How to test fit | Real exhibition + Stripe deposit + lender PDF + consignment closeout, end to end in trial. | Run the same loop. Marketing parity rarely predicts registrar reality. |
Where ArtGalleria and Art.industries actually differ
Both products are integrated gallery platforms with similar surface promises (one product for inventory, CRM, viewing rooms, payments, public site). The substantive differences are in how the architecture handles a single artwork edit propagating across all surfaces, in pricing model (per-workspace vs per-seat), and in the maturity of the Stripe-backed invoicing flow.
Real comparison happens in the workflow. Catalogue a real exhibition on both, send a real viewing room and take a Stripe deposit, count the clicks. The platform that does the loop in fewer steps wins.
The catalogue + CRM coupling test
A working gallery makes a price or availability change to a work multiple times a week. The test: how many places does that change need to be made, and how many seconds until every public surface reflects it.
Art.industries holds the work in one canonical record; viewing rooms, invoices, the public site, and the storefront all read from it. Edit once; everything updates. ArtGalleria has a similar story; the proof is in the trial workflow.
The pricing comparison done honestly
For a 4-person gallery, both products are competitively priced. For a 10-person gallery, the per-workspace pricing model on Art.industries (Advanced or Max) usually saves materially over per-seat models. Capacity add-ons handle catalogue depth and storage; collaborator slots are not the primary pricing lever.
Get real quotes from both. The total cost of ownership comparison includes capacity for inventory growth, collaborator scaling, and any add-on modules (custom domain, additional storage). Headline pricing rarely tells the full story.
The Stripe and invoicing question
Art.industries connects directly to the gallery's own Stripe account; we never insert ourselves into the money flow or take a percentage. Invoicing handles deposits, instalments, refunds, multi-currency, multi-party consignment splits as native features.
For galleries running real bilateral private sales with deposits, balances, and occasional refunds, this is a daily-impact difference. Verify ArtGalleria's payment-handling specifics against your jurisdiction and your accountant's requirements.
A real pilot design
Two weeks. Catalogue 30 works including editions and a consigned work. Build a private viewing room for one real collector. Take a real Stripe deposit. Generate a lender PDF packet. Publish the works to the public site. Close out a consignment statement.
Time the actual workflow on both platforms. Count the clicks and the context switches. The platform that runs the loop with fewer steps and less copy-pasting wins.
When to stay on ArtGalleria
If the team is happy, the public site is performing, the workflow is settled, and the cost is acceptable, switching costs (training time, migration risk, transition friction) usually exceed platform improvement. Re-evaluate at the next renewal cycle with an Art.industries trial as one of the data points.
For galleries hitting friction (per-seat pricing scaling badly, slower public-site rebuilds, payment-handling rough edges, weaker fair-week support), the switch is often worth running the pilot.
Migration mechanics
ArtGalleria CSV exports for works and contacts import into Art.industries with field mapping. Most galleries finish inventory in 2-3 weeks, contacts and consignments in another 2-3 weeks. The public website migration (when applicable) is a separate phase with proper 301 redirects to preserve SEO.
The change-management cost is real: staff need to learn the new platform. Plan the migration during a calmer window in the gallery's programming cycle, not during a major fair week.
FAQ
- Are these products too similar to bother comparing?
- They overlap on the surface story. The architectural differences (per-workspace vs per-seat pricing, single-record propagation, Stripe-backed payment directness) typically determine the day-to-day cost and friction. Run the pilot.
- How long should a serious pilot last?
- Two weeks of real workflow on both platforms in parallel: at least one exhibition cycle, one viewing room sent, one Stripe deposit taken, one consignment statement closed. Demo afternoons rarely predict real-week throughput.
- Does Art.industries take a percentage of sales?
- No. The gallery connects its own Stripe account; we never sit in the money flow. Stripe takes its standard processing fee.
- How does the public website compare?
- Website Studio is built on a modern web stack with server-side rendering, image optimisation, and structured data. Pages load fast and Google indexes them well. ArtGalleria's public-site capability varies by tier; benchmark on your specific design and content requirements.
- How do collaboration and permissions compare for larger teams?
- Art.industries supports role-based permissions (partner, director, associate, registrar) with per-workspace pricing rather than per-seat. For 8+ person teams, the cost difference is usually material; for 2-4 person teams, both pricing models work out comparably.
- Can we migrate from ArtGalleria cleanly?
- Yes. CSV exports for works and contacts map directly with field-by-field validation. Most galleries finish the operational migration in 4-6 weeks; the public website migration follows separately with proper redirect mapping.
- How do email campaigns and the public storefront compare?
- Art.industries campaigns and storefront are part of Advanced and Max. Verify ArtGalleria's equivalents against the workflow your gallery actually runs (segment by activity, send from your domain, sell editions through checkout).
Run the comparison pilot in two weeks
Bring 30 works, one collector, and one consignment into the trial workspace. Run the full sales loop. Compare the time and clicks against your current ArtGalleria setup before deciding.