HOW WE COMPARE
Calisto Pro vs HoneyBook & Studio Ninja
HoneyBook and Studio Ninja run the paperwork around a shoot. Calisto runs the studio: inquiry to contract to shoot day to gallery delivery to print sales to review, on one client record across 71 products. Core carries no additional cost. Commerce is a 1% revenue share. Every other suite is priced per app in the Marketplace.
- Videografia e Fotografi
Feature by feature
Calisto Pro beside Studio Ninja
- 15 Only in Calisto Pro
- 7 In both
| 22 features | Calisto Pro | Studio Ninja |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiry Forms & Lead Capture | Sì | Sì |
| Project Pipeline by Shoot Type | Sì | Sì |
| Contracts with E-Signature | Sì | Sì |
| Invoices, Deposits & Payment Plans | Sì | Sì |
| Bring Your Own Payment Processor | Sì | No |
| Client Gallery Delivery (No Pixieset Required) | Sì | No |
| Client-Side Favourites & Album Proofing | Sì | No |
| Print & Album Storefront with Checkout | Sì | No |
| Second-Shooter Scheduling & Pay | Sì | No |
| Wedding-Day Timeline Builder | Sì | Sì |
| Shot Lists & Location Scouting Notes | Sì | Sì |
| Questionnaires Tied to the Client Record | Sì | Sì |
| Portfolio Website on Your Own Domain | Sì | No |
| Review Requests & Reputation Monitoring | Sì | No |
| Vendor Coordination Hub | Sì | No |
| File Archive with Version History | Sì | No |
| Multi-Currency Invoicing | Sì | No |
| Email & SMS Marketing to Past Clients | Sì | No |
| Workshop & Mini-Session Ticketing | Sì | No |
| Online Course Hosting | Sì | No |
| VoIP Calling from the Client Record | Sì | No |
| Accounting Sync (QuickBooks, Xero) | Sì | No |
What replaces it
What runs videography & photographers on Calisto
The apps that take over from Studio Ninja, each in the words videography & photographers businesses use.
- Calendario delle ripreseCalisto Bookings
- Record dei clientiCalisto Registry
- Pacchetti e serviziCalisto Listings
- Scorte di attrezzatura e albumCalisto Inventory
- AutomazioniCalisto Automations
- Configurazione dello studioCalisto Purview
- Standard dello StudioCalisto Blueprint
- Team e secondi operatoriCalisto Workforce
- Pipeline di richiesteCalisto Deals
- Contratti e rilasciCalisto Sign
- Pacchetti, stampe e albumCalisto Catalog
- PreventiviCalisto Proposals
Client-management tools vs. a complete studio platform
| The Old Way | The Calisto Way | |
|---|---|---|
| Inquiry forms | Basic intake | Forms, routed to a pipeline |
| Contracts & e-signature | Included | Sign, with audit trail |
| Invoices & deposits | Their processor only | 75 gateways, you choose |
| Shoot scheduling | Calendar sync only | Agenda, with travel buffers |
| Gallery delivery | Pixieset / Pic-Time extra | Depot + Navigator, native |
| Print & album sales | Third-party lab tools | Catalog + Pulse checkout |
| Second shooters | Not modelled | Workforce, assigned per date |
| Portfolio site | Template microsite | Sites, your domain |
| Review collection | Not available | Reputation, included |
| Payment processor | Locked to theirs | Your merchant account |
What moves
Bringing your data from Studio Ninja
Your data is read in your own browser and sent to your Calisto account. Calisto never sees your login for the old system.
From an export file
Export your data from Studio Ninja and drop the file in. It is read in your browser and mapped onto Calisto.
Any spreadsheet you export from Studio Ninja can be mapped onto Calisto, column by column.
PRICING TRANSPARENCY
1% of revenue on Commerce. Core is included.
HoneyBook charges a monthly subscription and takes its cut of every payment you process through it. Studio Ninja charges per photographer. Calisto charges nothing to set up and never charges per shoot or per photographer. Core carries no additional cost. Commerce is a 1% revenue share. Every other suite is priced per app in the Marketplace.
Calisto Pro
Revenue share on Commerce
HoneyBook
Subscription + processing
Monthly per-user subscription · Payments processed by HoneyBook at their rate · No gallery delivery
Studio Ninja
Per-photographer plans
Per-photographer monthly plan · Stripe or PayPal only · No gallery, no print sales
WHAT THEY CANNOT DO
The gaps a client-management tool leaves
HoneyBook and Studio Ninja handle the contract and the invoice. A photography business also has to deliver galleries, sell prints, schedule second shooters, and collect the reviews that bring the next booking. None of that lives in either tool.
Gallery Delivery: No Pixieset Subscription
Neither HoneyBook nor Studio Ninja delivers images. Photographers pay separately for Pixieset, Pic-Time or ShootProof, then reconcile two client lists by hand and hope the gallery link in the contract still works. Calisto delivers galleries from Depot through the client portal that already holds the contract, the questionnaire and the invoice. Client-side favourites, album proofing, comments, per-gallery download permissions and expiry all sit on the same client record. No second client list, no second subscription.
Print Sales: A Storefront, Not a Link
Print revenue is where a portrait studio makes its margin, and neither tool sells anything. Calisto turns the same gallery into a storefront: prints, albums and digital packages priced per gallery in Catalog, checked out through Pulse, and paid through your own merchant account. The order lands against the client record rather than an export, so the reorder campaign next Christmas already knows who they are.
The Studio Around the Shoot: Team, Site and Reviews
A studio with second shooters, a portfolio site and a review pipeline is running three more systems. Calisto handles second-shooter availability, assignment and pay in Workforce, publishes the portfolio in Sites on your own domain rather than a subdomain, and requests reviews automatically after delivery in Reputation. Every one of them reads the same shoot record, from inquiry to review.
Collect deposits. Your way.
HoneyBook processes your payments and keeps the processing margin. Studio Ninja routes you to Stripe or PayPal and nothing else. Calisto connects to 75 payment gateways across 11 global regions. Your merchant account, your rates, and deposits that land in your bank rather than a platform balance.
See every payment gatewayHonest answers
Switching questions
Can I move my existing clients and bookings across?
Yes. Export your clients and projects from HoneyBook or Studio Ninja as a CSV and upload it in the Switch portal. The importer maps the columns to Calisto fields and shows you the mapping before anything is written. Contracts and galleries stay where they are until you are ready to move them.
Do my clients need an account to see their gallery?
No. The client portal opens from the link you send. They see the contract status, the questionnaire, the gallery, the invoice history and their print orders in one place, from a phone browser, with no download and no app store.
Can I keep my own payment processor?
Yes, and this is the largest single difference. HoneyBook processes your payments and keeps the margin. Calisto connects to 75 gateways across 11 global regions. You keep your existing merchant relationship and your rates, and the fees pass through at cost.
Does Calisto handle second shooters?
Yes. Second shooters are scheduled against the shoot record with availability, assignment and pay tracked per date. Their access is scoped to the shoots they are on, so a contractor does not see the rest of your book.
What does it cost to start?
Setup costs nothing and there is no credit card required. Core carries no additional cost. Commerce is a 1% revenue share. Every other suite is priced per app in the Marketplace.
Scopri di più
Everything Calisto does here
The pages behind this comparison: the sector, the apps and the guides.
- SettoreCalisto for Videografia e Fotografi
Richiesta, proposta, contratto, acconto, lista delle riprese, galleria e saldo in un unico record cliente. Il cliente che ha firmato alle 23:00, ha ricevuto un'anteprima prima dei biglietti di ringraziamento e non ha mai dovuto sollecitare una fattura è il cliente che ti riferisce senza essere richiesto.
Open - Videografia e FotografiRicezione, Contratti e Catalogo
Le domande che fai sono la prima cosa con cui un cliente ti giudica, e le risposte atterrano nella prenotazione piuttosto che in una casella di posta. Un unico link contiene quindi il pacchetto, le condizioni e il deposito, quotato in base al catalogo dal quale il tuo sito web attinge.
Open - Videografia e FotografiFatturazione, Prenotazioni e Liste di Riprese
Il saldo si richiede da solo quando la galleria pubblica, la data viene presa nel momento in cui accettano, e l'elenco delle riprese torna con la nonna che è già in volo.
Open - Videografia e FotografiPortfolio, Galleria e Vendita di Stampe
Un portfolio che risponde alla domanda con cui sono arrivati, una galleria che si apre sotto il tuo nome invece che sotto quello di un estraneo, e stampe vendute dalla galleria che stanno già guardando.
Open - Videografia e FotografiPortale Clienti & App
Tutto ciò che un cliente potrebbe chiedervi è già nelle sue mani, in un'app che reca il vostro nome.
Open - PrezziPricing for Videografia e FotografiOpen