No subscription required
Album design software
without a subscription.
Most album tools for photographers now rent themselves to you by the month or the year. LAYON is the other kind: you pay 199 € + VAT once, and LAYON 2 is yours for life, on 2 computers, Windows or Mac. Or you pay per album, and only for the albums you export or send to a client. A monthly plan exists for those who prefer one; nothing requires it.
With a subscription
- —You pay every month or year, whether you design albums that month or not.
- —Stop paying and the software, and sometimes your projects, stop with it.
- —Proofing and extras are often another plan or add-on.
- —The cost of albums never stops counting.
With LAYON
- ✓One payment of 199 € + VAT, or 3 album credits for 15 € + VAT that never expire.
- ✓A license for life: all of LAYON 2, every 2.x update included.
- ✓Client approval, print-ready export and layer editing are all in the price.
- ✓Design in June, skip the winter, come back in spring. Nothing to renew.
What "no subscription required" means here, precisely
The license for life is one payment of 199 € + VAT for all of LAYON 2. Every 2.x update is included at no cost, and LAYON tells you when one is out. If you bought LAYON 1.x, your license works in LAYON 2 at no cost, for life, and 1.x keeps working and receiving its updates. Every plan is for 2 computers at the same time, Windows and Mac mixed, for commercial work, and you can move it between machines from the customer portal.
Designing and saving albums needs no plan at all. A plan or an album credit is needed only to let an album out: to export it or send it to the client for review. One credit covers one album, every export and every client proof of it, and credits never expire. The monthly plan (9.99 € + VAT / month) is there if you prefer it, and you can cancel it at any time.
What LAYON does for that price
- Imports a folder of your selected photos and generates the album spreads automatically.
- Lets you refine every page in a layer-based editor: layers, text, backgrounds, masks, borders, per-photo adjustments.
- Knows about bleed, safe zones and lab templates, and exports JPEG, PNG, TIFF or print-ready PDF.
- Sends your client a private review link; they approve or comment on each spread, and you get the feedback by email.
When a subscription is the honest answer
If you want one suite for albums, wall art, cards and slideshows, a larger subscription product may suit you better. If you simply prefer paying by the month, LAYON has a monthly plan too. LAYON is deliberately narrow: wedding and event albums, done well, paid once or per album. Try it on your own photos first; your first 3 albums are free, with every export, no watermark and no card.
Questions about paying without a subscription
Is there album design software without a subscription?+
Yes. LAYON needs no subscription: 199 € + VAT once buys a license for life for all of LAYON 2, with every 2.x update, on 2 computers at the same time. Or pay per album: 3 album credits for 15 € + VAT, and credits never expire. A monthly plan (9.99 € + VAT / month) exists for those who prefer one. It runs on Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) and macOS 12 Monterey or later (Apple silicon and Intel).
Do I lose access if I stop paying?+
With the license for life or album credits there is nothing to stop paying: LAYON keeps working, the license for life keeps receiving every 2.x update, and credits never expire. Without any plan you can still design and save as many albums as you like; a plan or an album credit is needed only to export an album or send it to a client for review.
I bought LAYON 1.x. Will I have to pay for version 2?+
No. A LAYON 1.x license works in LAYON 2 at no cost, for life, on Windows and Mac. LAYON 1.x keeps working and keeps receiving its updates.
Is client proofing extra?+
No. Sending a client a private review link, with per-spread approval and comments, is included in every plan.
Can I use one license on two computers?+
Yes. Every plan works on 2 computers at the same time, Windows and Mac mixed, for example a studio desktop and a laptop. You can deactivate one and activate another from the app or the customer portal.