Subscription or one payment
Peakto Standard costs €240 every two years and stops working when you stop paying. PhotoCore Full costs $59.99 once and keeps working, with Family Sharing included.
Comparison
PhotoCore vs Peakto
Peakto by CYME gathers photos and videos from Apple Photos, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, Luminar, Finder folders and video projects into one Mac interface, with AI search that runs privately on the Mac. It is sold as a subscription: the Standard plan costs €10 a month billed every two years (€240), the Professional plan €25 a month (€600 every two years), with monthly and annual options and a 7-day trial (cyme.io pricing page, September 15, 2026). PhotoCore Full is a one-time purchase of $59.99 / €59.99. It indexes folders, external drives and NAS shares in place, archives your iPhone and your Apple Photos library with verified copies, finds photos by description, and turns any selection into a Story you can share without uploading anything.
Subscription vs one paymentBoth on deviceMany catalogs vs your foldersMac only, both
Direct Comparison
Feature comparison
Both apps are native Mac apps that run their AI on your machine. The business model and the scope are different.
| Feature | Peakto | PhotoCore |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Standard €10/month billed every two years (€240); Professional €25/month (€600 every two years); monthly and annual plans; 7-day trial; a lifetime license is listed for the Standard plan | Free (Light, up to 200 photos) / $59.99 one-time, Family Sharing included |
| Platform | macOS, plus a web app for remote access to your own library | macOS 26.4 or later on Apple silicon (M1 or later) |
| What it gathers | Apple Photos, Lightroom Classic, Capture One, Luminar, Photoshop, Finder folders, Premiere Pro and Final Cut projects, in one interface | Folders, external drives and NAS shares, indexed in place; Apple Photos and phones archived to a drive you own |
| Search by description | Yes, on device (vendor: works privately, offline) | Yes, on device with SigLIP 2 via Core ML, 100+ languages, under 50 ms on 10,000 photos |
| Video | Video projects and long clips, with Premiere Pro plugin on the Professional plan | Short clips up to 30 seconds, searched by description with playback at the matching second |
| Unplugged drives and NAS | External drives and NAS volumes can be connected, per the vendor | Yes: the index stays searchable while the drive or NAS is disconnected |
| Face recognition | Yes, on device | Yes, on device, off by default, face data deletable per person |
| Apple Photos and iPhone | Reads the Apple Photos library in place | Copies the Apple Photos library to a drive you own, verified with SHA-256; Phone Archive over USB, verified byte for byte |
| Sharing | Personal remote access through the web app; guest sharing and team features on the Professional plan | Web Story, PDF photo book, vertical Short, Constellation and Poster as files, no server, no expiring link |
| Teams | Collaborative features and roles on Professional and Enterprise | No team features |
| Distribution and privacy label | Mac App Store, free download with in-app purchases, about 786 MB | Mac App Store, App Sandbox, privacy label “Data Not Collected” |
Sources and dates. Peakto prices and plan contents come from cyme.io/en/pricing on September 15, 2026: Standard €10 a month billed every two years (€240), Professional €25 a month (€600 every two years), Enterprise on quote, 7-day trial, annual plan 20% off, two-year plan 40% off, lifetime option on the Standard plan. App Store details come from the Peakto listing on the same date. PhotoCore figures come from this site and the Mac App Store. Prices and features change; check the vendor's page before you buy.
Where each one fits
What each app is built for
Peakto is a control center for people who already work in several catalogs. PhotoCore is a private archive for the photos of a life.
Many catalogs or your own folders
Peakto shines when your media is split between Lightroom, Capture One, Apple Photos and video projects. PhotoCore starts from the folders, drives and NAS you already own and adds the phone and Apple Photos archive.
Video
Peakto handles video projects and long clips, and adds a Premiere Pro plugin on the Professional plan. PhotoCore indexes clips up to 30 seconds. For video work, Peakto is the better fit.
Sharing
Peakto shares through its web app and, on the Professional plan, with guests and teams. PhotoCore exports a web Story, a PDF photo book, a Short or a Poster as files you can send to anyone, with no server behind them.
How to choose
Which one is right for you
Choose Peakto if
Peakto is the better choice when:
- your media is spread across Lightroom Classic, Capture One, Apple Photos and video projects, and you want one window over all of them
- you work with long videos and Premiere Pro or Final Cut
- you need remote access through a browser, or team features
- a subscription fits your business
Choose PhotoCore if
PhotoCore is the better choice when:
- you want to pay once and own the app, with Family Sharing included
- your photos live in folders, on external drives and on a NAS, and you want them searchable even when unplugged
- you want a verified copy of your iPhone and your Apple Photos library on a drive you own
- you want to share a Story or a photo book as a file, with nothing uploaded
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How much does Peakto cost compared with PhotoCore?
On September 15, 2026 the CYME pricing page listed Peakto Standard at €10 a month billed every two years (€240) and Professional at €25 a month (€600 every two years), with monthly and annual options and a lifetime license on the Standard plan. PhotoCore Full is a one-time purchase of $59.99 / €59.99 with Family Sharing.
Do both apps keep my photos on my Mac?
Yes. CYME states that Peakto works privately and offline, and both apps are on the Mac App Store. PhotoCore carries the App Store privacy label “Data Not Collected” and runs in the App Sandbox.
Can PhotoCore read my Lightroom or Capture One catalog?
No. PhotoCore indexes folders, external drives and NAS shares, and it can archive your Apple Photos library and your phone. Peakto connects to Lightroom Classic, Capture One and other catalogs directly.
Which one handles video better?
Peakto. It works with video projects and long clips and offers a Premiere Pro plugin on the Professional plan. PhotoCore indexes short clips up to 30 seconds and opens playback at the second that matches your search.
Get started free
Try PhotoCore: free up to 200 photos
Download PhotoCore for free. The Light edition indexes up to 200 photos with no time limit. PhotoCore Full is a one-time purchase of $59.99, with Family Sharing included.