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SmartWire.UK: Simple, Transparent Pricing for Freelancers & Solo Photographers

  • Writer: Alfie Cosgrove
    Alfie Cosgrove
  • 12 hours ago
  • 2 min read

In the fast-moving world of editorial news, sports, and entertainment photography, every second counts—and so does every pound. At SmartWire.UK, we built our pricing to be straightforward, fair, and focused on real value: ultra-fast global distribution (<5 seconds), automated workflows, and serious time/money savings without hidden fees or complexity.

We know freelancers and solo shooters often work on tight budgets, so we've tailored a dedicated plan that gives you full access to our core tools without overcommitting. Here's the breakdown for our Freelancer / Single-Person Plan:



One-Time Setup Fee


  • £100 – Covers initial account setup, custom configuration, and guided onboarding (including help importing your existing team codes, setting up FTP lists, and testing your first uploads).


Monthly Subscription


  • £50 per month (billed monthly) OR

  • £500 upfront (equivalent to 10 months — save £100 instantly by paying in full at the start of operations).

This includes:

  • Full XMP/IPTC generator & auto-embedding

  • Self-managed FTP distribution lists (create unlimited custom lists for sports/news clients — newspapers, magazines, agencies, websites, archives, etc.)

  • Up to 1,000 images per month (based on average 3MB file size — plenty for most freelancers covering events, matches, or daily news)

  • All the speed & reliability: sub-5-second delivery to multiple FTP/SFTP endpoints worldwide

  • Photographer booking system (if you work with occasional assistants)

  • Team code packs (instant downloads for football leagues/clubs to slash captioning time)

  • Priority support via email/phone




Overage (Simple & Predictable)


  • Just £5 per additional 500 images (based on 3mb file sizes 1.5gb) beyond your 1,000 or 1.5gb monthly allowance. (Billed at the end of the month — no surprises.)


12-Month Rolling Contract Option


  • £100 setup fee.

  • Commit to 12 months rolling (cancel with 30 days' notice after the initial term)

  • Payment only starts once you're fully operational and sending images — but due immediately upon first successful upload/activation.

  • Ideal if you're scaling up or want to lock in the lowest effective rate from day one.


Why This Pricing Makes Sense for Freelancers


Solo photographers often juggle shooting, editing, captioning, and distribution themselves. SmartWire replaces hours of manual FTP uploads, metadata fixes, and repetitive typing with automation that pays for itself quickly:


  • Save 20+ minutes per match/event on team code captioning alone

  • Cut distribution time from 10–15 minutes per gallery to seconds (multi-FTP blasting)

  • Avoid expensive photo desk help or agency middlemen

  • Get images to clients faster → higher syndication rates and better relationships



Many freelancers recoup the entire subscription (and more) through time saved and extra jobs enabled by faster turnaround.


Ready to ditch slow, error-prone workflows? Request a Demo or Sign Up — we'll get you set up in minutes and you can start testing with your next shoot.


Questions? Drop us a line at operations@smartwire.uk  We're here to help you get images out faster, cleaner, and cheaper.


Stay ahead of the game, The SmartWire.UK Team Revolutionising image distribution for news, sports & entertainment photographers.


 
 
 

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