Best Adobe Portfolio alternatives: free and paid software options from Wix and others

Included as part of Adobe's Creative Cloud bundle - with unlimited pages and hosting - Adobe Portfolio is a well-respected and widely used website builder that allows creatives to showcase their photography, illustrations, design work, and more. 

But with its requirement for a Creative Cloud subscription, Adobe Portfolio certainly isn’t for everyone. For those who’d rather not sign up to a CC plan -or those on the hunt for portfolio builders at low or no cost - it’s worth investigating the various Adobe Portfolio alternatives.

In this article, we highlight five Adobe Portfolio rivals, listing their costs, leading features, and any drawbacks. 

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From graphic designers to food photographers, illustrators to make-up artists, the broad scope of templates provided by Wix will appeal to dozens of creative niches.

Even if you still can't find an exact match for what you're looking for, this leading service offers one of the most intuitive website-building experiences online, making it easy to create your own bespoke design. From adding multimedia to displaying images or slideshows, the easy-to-navigate in-browser editor is unlikely to daunt even newbies to the world of website creation. Which explains why over 150 million users have signed up.

What's more, unlike some of its portfolio-building rivals, Wix doesn't charge any transaction fees when you sell your products using its e-commerce features—the service can be completely free to use. Though, if you want to connect a domain rather than use Wix’s allocated URL, you’ll need to sign up to its basic entry plan. 

• Read the full review: Wix

There's no free plan with Squarespace. Instead, there’s a 14-day free trial that will allow you to build your site in its entirety before deciding whether to go through with publication. 

Squarespace's creators are confident that this will give you sufficient time to get to grips with the website builder's capabilities, which include over a hundred slick and clean templates—designed to provide the perfect backdrop for your own imagery. Its portfolio templates include multiple layout options, About me and Resume pages, and also Contact pages. You can also find dozens of free webinars and tutorials online, to help you create the perfect site for your creative brand.

From a technical perspective, users will enjoy unlimited storage and bandwidth, SEO features, and an SSL certificate—short for Secure Sockets Layer, commonly found on e-commerce sites to provide an encrypted connection for secure transactions.

• Read the full review: Squarespace

Unlike some other portfolio builders out there, Weebly comes with a free plan that can actually be used to launch your website. This means users are not required to upgrade when ready to release their portfolio into the world. Though, naturally, there are restrictions to how big and effective a site you can build at no cost.

You'll be given 500MB storage, a Weebly-branded domain name, and SSL security, but for any of its more sophisticated features, you'll need to look at the Connect, Pro, or Business packages. If you're aiming to use your portfolio to sell your work as well as showcase it, then you'll need at least the Pro or Business account to activate Weebly's top e-commerce features.

As for the design, the interface involves user-friendly drag-and-drop functionality, while it also comes with some basic image editing capabilities, including filters, cropping, and brightness adjustment. 

• Read the full review: Weebly

Designed with creatives in mind, Portfoliobox is a Swedish company that has been used by over one million people worldwide since launching in 2012.

While there is a free plan, this essentially only exists up until the moment that you wish to publish your site. At this point, you’ll be required to sign up for one of the three paid plans, with the Light subscription costing less than a dollar a month.

Like others on this list, Portfoliobox has an in-browser builder which means you won’t be required to download any software. Instead, you’ll be asked to choose from hundreds of pre-designed page templates, which you can then customize to your preferences. This means there’s no requirement to build pages from scratch. All of the designs are auto-responsive and optimized to work on desktop or mobile devices.

Portfoliobox boasts a strong community spirit, with a spin-off website (Portfoliobox.art) that even showcases and sells work from the many photographers using its service. There’s also a Find Creatives feature that gives users the option to discover local talents.

• Read the full review: Portfoliobox

Here’s another platform that allows users to start building their site for free, as long as you're content with a Jimdo domain and 500MB of storage. This lesser-known but highly effective website builder is especially useful for creatives who envisage transforming their portfolio into a thriving brand or small business.

In addition to offering portfolio basics like slideshows, SEO options, social media connections, and a media library, Jimdo offers next-level tools and services, including logo creation and store optimization.

What's more, it's very easy for beginners to get going. Simply answer a few questions about your work and Jimdo's portfolio maker will suggest a website design for you.

• Read the full review: Jimdo

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