Starter
$44.99USD / event
- Up to 100 guests
- 2,000 photo and video uploads
- 25 GB storage
- Up to 250 MB per file
- 3 months upload and download access
Comparison
PartyLab vs Signal
Signal is a private messaging app. PartyLab is a purpose-built event gallery where every guest can upload with a single QR scan — no Signal account or phone number required.
Feature by feature
| Feature | PartyLab | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Guests need to create an account | No | Yes |
| Guests need to download an app | No | Yes |
| One link / QR for all guests | Yes | No |
| Photos collected centrally for the host | Yes | No |
| Private event gallery | Yes | No |
| Live shared gallery during the event | Yes | No |
| Built-in party slideshow for TVs | Yes | No |
| Digital guestbook captions | Yes | No |
| Photo reactions & likes | Yes | No |
| Original photo quality preserved | Yes | Yes |
| ZIP download of all photos | Yes | No |
| One-time pricing — no subscription | Yes | Yes |
The Signal problem at events
📱
Guests need the Signal app and a phone number
Signal requires every guest to install the app and register with a verified phone number before they can join a group or share photos. For events with older guests, international attendees with different carriers, or guests who simply don’t use Signal, this is a hard barrier. PartyLab works on any device with a browser — scan the QR, upload, done. No app. No phone number.
💬
Photos get buried in the chat stream
Signal group chats mix photos with messages, reactions, and voice notes in a single chronological feed. There is no gallery view, no way to see all photos at once, and no filter to find only images. The host ends up scrolling through an entire party’s worth of chat to save each photo individually. PartyLab’s gallery shows every photo in a clean grid, with a live slideshow and a one-click ZIP download.
📥
No bulk download — photos must be saved one at a time
Signal has no way to export all photos from a group chat as a single download. To collect all the photos from an event, a host must open each message, tap the image, and save it individually. On a 60-person group chat that’s 200+ manual saves. PartyLab’s export button downloads every photo and video as a single ZIP file in seconds.
Hosts who made the switch
★★★★★
“We used a Signal group for our team retreat and the photos were completely lost in the conversation. PartyLab’s QR code solved everything — every photo in one gallery, downloaded in a single click.”
James P.
Corporate event organizer
★★★★★
“Signal is great for private messaging but it’s the wrong tool for collecting event photos. PartyLab is purpose-built for exactly this and the difference is night and day.”
Olivia M.
Birthday party host
★★★★★
“Not all my wedding guests use Signal and I didn’t want to share everyone’s phone numbers. PartyLab’s no-account QR approach was perfect — guests just scanned and uploaded.”
Daniel K.
Wedding host
One-time packages for your event
Create an event draft, then choose Starter, Plus, or Max before sharing with guests. Guest uploads require a paid package.
Plus
$89.99USD / event
- Up to 500 guests
- 10,000 photo and video uploads
- 100 GB storage
- Up to 500 MB per file
- 1 year upload and download access
Max
$179.99USD / event
- No guest cap
- 50,000 photo and video uploads
- 1 TB storage
- Up to 1 GB per file
- 1 year upload and download access
Every paid event package includes photo and video uploads, a QR code and event link, a live gallery, a live slideshow, photo captions, reactions, original-quality ZIP export, and guest email CSV export.
Common questions
Doesn’t Signal preserve photo quality, just like PartyLab?+
Signal does preserve photo quality when images are sent as files rather than compressed messages, which is genuinely better than WhatsApp. However, preserving quality doesn’t solve the fundamental problem: photos are still buried in the chat stream with no gallery view, no slideshow, and no bulk export. PartyLab preserves quality AND gives you a proper gallery and one-click download.
Can’t I save photos from Signal to my camera roll?+
You can save Signal photos individually to your camera roll, but there is no batch export. For a 50-person event with 200 photos, that’s 200 individual taps to save each image. PartyLab lets you download everything as a single ZIP file from the host dashboard.
How much does PartyLab cost per event?+
PartyLab offers Starter at $44.99 USD, Plus at $89.99 USD, Max at $179.99 USD per event. Each package is a one-time payment. There is no free upload tier or recurring event subscription. Starter: up to 100 guests, 2,000 uploads, and 25 GB storage. Plus: up to 500 guests, 10,000 uploads, and 100 GB storage. Max: no guest cap, 50,000 uploads, and 1 TB storage. Starter includes 3 months of upload and download access. Plus includes 1 year of upload and download access. Max includes 1 year of upload and download access. Download your files before access ends; downloaded copies are yours to keep.
What if I want privacy and don’t trust a third-party service?+
PartyLab stores photos securely on cloud infrastructure and the gallery is private by default — only people with your event link can view or upload. Photos are never shared publicly. If you need end-to-end encryption for the photos themselves, Signal’s approach may suit you, but for the vast majority of event hosts, PartyLab’s privacy model is more than sufficient.
Every guest’s photos. One shared gallery.
Create an event draft, then choose Starter, Plus, or Max before sharing with guests. Guest uploads require a paid package.
Create your eventPackages from $44.99 USD · Purchase before guest uploads · One payment per event