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 Telegram
Telegram is a brilliant messaging app — but event photos deserve a gallery, not a group chat. PartyLab gives every guest one link to upload from their phone, no account needed.
Feature by feature
| Feature | PartyLab | Telegram |
|---|---|---|
| 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 displayed as a gallery (not chat) | Yes | No |
| Live shared gallery during the event | Yes | No |
| Built-in party slideshow for TVs | Yes | No |
| Digital guestbook captions | Yes | No |
| Photos collected centrally for the host | Yes | No |
| Original photo quality preserved | Yes | Yes |
| ZIP download of all photos | Yes | No |
| Guest photo reactions & likes | Yes | No |
| No phone number required | Yes | No |
Why Telegram falls short at events
💬
Photos buried in chat history
In a Telegram group, every photo is just another message. As the chat fills up with reactions, memes, and replies, photos scroll out of view and become impossible to browse. There's no gallery mode — just an endless thread.
📱
Every guest needs the app and a phone number
To join a Telegram group, guests need to download the Telegram app, create an account, and share their phone number. Older guests, corporate attendees, or anyone without Telegram on their phone is locked out entirely.
🔗
No central album the host can export
Telegram has no bulk photo export for group chats. To save everyone's photos, you'd need to manually save each file one by one. PartyLab lets you download the entire event gallery as a single ZIP with one click.
Hosts who made the switch
★★★★★
“We tried a Telegram group for our family reunion but half the cousins from abroad didn't have it. PartyLab's QR code at the tables got 180 photos uploaded by end of the night — no group chats, no phone numbers.”
Ciarán M.
Family reunion organizer
★★★★★
“The Telegram group for our office party was chaos — photos mixed with GIFs and memes. PartyLab's gallery was clean, browsable, and I downloaded the ZIP in one click for our company newsletter.”
Priya S.
HR events manager
★★★★★
“Not a single guest at my wedding needed to download an app. The QR code just worked. The slideshow running on the big screen all night was the best part — photos appeared live as people uploaded them.”
Tom & Alice R.
Wedding couple
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
Can guests really upload without downloading any app?+
No app download is required. Guests scan your event QR code or open the link and upload photos and videos in their phone browser. Guests do not need to create an account.
Does Telegram preserve photo quality?+
Telegram does preserve quality when files are sent as documents, but most users send photos as images which get compressed. More importantly, there's still no gallery view, no slideshow, and no bulk export — which are the features that matter most at an event.
Can I show photos on a big screen at the venue?+
Yes — PartyLab has a built-in fullscreen slideshow that auto-advances through new photos as guests upload. Open it on a laptop connected to a TV or projector, and guests see their photos appear in real time. Telegram has no equivalent feature.
Is PartyLab free?+
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.
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