Honest comparison- no sponsored ranking
SammaPix vs VSCO
VSCO is a beautiful mobile photo editor. SammaPix is a free, browser-based workflow tool. For travel photographers who need to export, compress, rename, and publish photos fast- they solve very different problems.
Choose SammaPix if you…
- Need to process dozens of photos after a trip
- Want WebP export for fast-loading travel blogs
- Need AI-generated SEO filenames and alt text
- Want to strip GPS/EXIF data before publishing
- Work on a laptop and prefer a browser tool
Choose VSCO if you…
- Edit photos on your phone and share to Instagram
- Love VSCO's curated film presets for aesthetic editing
- Want a community feed and social discovery
Feature comparison
| Feature | SammaPix | VSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free + $59/yr Pro | $19.99/year |
| Browser-based (no install) | ||
| Mobile app | ||
| Batch processing | ||
| EXIF / metadata strip | ||
| AI image renaming | ||
| WebP export | ||
| Film presets / filters | ||
| No file upload to server | ||
| Free plan available | Limited trial | |
| Bulk ZIP download | ||
| SEO alt text generation | ||
| Desktop-friendly UX | ||
| Image compression | ||
| No account required (core) |
The key differences
VSCO is a mobile app - SammaPix is a browser tool
VSCO lives on your phone. It's great for on-the-go editing and sharing directly to Instagram or the VSCO community feed. SammaPix runs in any desktop or mobile browser- no download, no install. When you get home from a trip with 80 RAW exports and need to optimize them for your travel blog, a browser-based batch tool is the right choice. These two tools genuinely serve different moments in a photographer's workflow.
Batch processing - VSCO doesn't have it
VSCO is designed for one photo at a time. You can copy and paste settings between photos, but there's no true batch processing or bulk export. SammaPix lets you drop up to 20 images at once (free plan) or 100 on Pro, compress them all, convert to WebP, rename with AI, and download a ZIP- in one session. For travel photographers publishing to WordPress or a static site, this difference alone saves hours per week.
EXIF removal- strip GPS before you publish
Every photo from your camera or phone embeds GPS coordinates, device model, and timestamp in the EXIF metadata. When you publish those photos to your travel blog, that data is public. VSCO does not offer EXIF stripping. SammaPix removes all metadata client-side- your files never leave your browser, and you get clean, private images ready to publish. This is especially valuable for travel photographers who photograph sensitive locations or want to protect their home coordinates.
AI rename- from IMG_4829.jpg to lisbon-sunset-alfama-rooftop.webp
Search engines cannot see images- they read filenames and alt text. A file named IMG_4829.jpg contributes nothing to your SEO. SammaPix uses Google Gemini to analyze each image and generate a descriptive, keyword-rich filename and alt text automatically. Upload your Lisbon trip photos, get back lisbon-sunset-alfama-rooftop-golden-hour.webp with a full alt description. VSCO has no SEO features whatsoever- it's not built for web publishing.
Price - SammaPix free plan vs VSCO subscription
VSCO requires a paid subscription ($19.99/year) to access its full preset library and features. There is a very limited free tier, but most of what makes VSCO appealing- the X-Series and A-Series film presets- requires payment. SammaPix's core tools (compress, convert to WebP, EXIF remover, resize) are completely free with no account required. AI rename and batch above 20 files require either a free account or Pro ($59/year). For travel bloggers on a budget, SammaPix is the obvious choice for the optimization workflow.
Where VSCO genuinely wins- mobile editing and film aesthetics
VSCO's film presets are exceptional. The A4, A6, HB1, and HB2 presets replicate analog film grain, color shifts, and fading in ways that are difficult to match elsewhere. If you want to give your travel photos a warm, film-inspired look and share them on Instagram, VSCO is one of the best tools available. The two tools actually complement each other: edit and style in VSCO on mobile, then bring your exports into SammaPix on desktop to optimize, rename, and publish.
The travel photographer's workflow
Most travel photographers who use VSCO also need a separate tool for web publishing. Here's a workflow that combines the best of both:
- 1Shoot on your camera or phone. Import to VSCO for color grading and film preset styling.
- 2Export full-resolution JPGs from VSCO to your desktop.
- 3Drop all photos into SammaPix. Enable EXIF strip, convert to WebP, run AI rename.
- 4Download ZIP and upload directly to WordPress, Webflow, or your static site generator.
This workflow takes about 3 minutes for a full batch. No manual renaming, no Photoshop export settings, no server uploads.
Explore SammaPix tools
Optimize your travel photos in minutes
Batch compress, convert to WebP, strip EXIF, and rename with AI- all in the browser, all free.
