Compare wedding guest photo sharing alternatives.

Most wedding photo sharing apps promise the same thing: guests scan a QR code, photos land in one place, and you don't spend the honeymoon chasing camera rolls. The differences show up in the details, and the details are what decide whether the app suits your wedding.

Before you compare, it helps to know what you actually need. Do you want guest videos, or just photos? Should guest uploads appear on a screen during the reception? Where do you want the files to end up: a private gallery, your Google Drive, a Google Photos album? And how long do you need the gallery to stay online after the wedding?

Here's how the apps we compare tend to differ, based on what each one says on its own website:

• Where the photos live. WedUploader sends uploads to your own Google Drive. GuestPix, GuestCam, GuestSnap and Kululu host a private online gallery. Snap the Knot hosts a private gallery, offers full-resolution downloads, and can transfer every guest photo into one Google Photos album.
• How long it stays online. GuestPix hosts galleries for 12 months from the event date, with an optional renewal. GuestCam lists up to 14 months of storage, and GuestSnap lists 18 months. WedUploader says its albums don't expire. Snap the Knot keeps your gallery online until a year after your wedding date, and you can extend it.
• What's on screen at the party. Kululu is built around its Live Photo Wall. GuestPix, WedUploader, GuestCam and GuestSnap offer live slideshows. Snap the Knot's Live Photo Wall comes with the $29 plan and up.
• Messages, not just photos. GuestPix has written and video guestbooks. WedUploader and GuestCam take guest voicemails. Snap the Knot adds guest voice and text messages on its $39 plan.
• How you pay. Most of these apps charge a one-time price per event rather than a subscription, but what's included at each price varies a lot. Snap the Knot has four one-time plans: $19 for photos, $29 with videos, $39 with voice and text messages, and $59 with printed QR signs and 5×7 prints.

Every app here lets guests upload from a phone browser without installing anything. The real question is which extras you'll use.

The pages below compare Snap the Knot with each app one at a time: what guests see, what you control, and what to check on their site before you buy. Prices and features change, so always confirm on the other company's site on the day you order. If you'd rather see everything side by side, read our roundup of the best wedding photo sharing apps or GuestPix vs WedUploader vs Snap the Knot.