Questions, answered honestly.
The friction points worth being clear about — what’s free, what you pay for, what happens if you stop, and how to leave. For numbers, see pricing; for self-hosting versus a subscription, free or paid; for the fine print, the terms.
Do I need an account to build a gallery?
No. The builder runs entirely in your browser — drop in folders of artwork, walk through the result, and export a ZIP, all without signing up. You only need an account when you want to publish to a permanent URL we host.
What does it cost to just build and preview?
Nothing. Building in your browser is free forever, with no account and nothing to install. A paid subscription only buys hosting: a permanent public URL, always online, with no server setup on your side.
What do I actually pay for?
Hosting, not software. Your subscription keeps your galleries live at a permanent URL, served globally over a CDN, with TLS and storage handled for you. The engine itself is open source and free.
Is there a limit on how many galleries I can publish?
No. Both plans include unlimited galleries. Storage is the only thing we meter: 2 GB on Artist, 10 GB on Studio.
Can I use my own subdomain?
Yes, on the Studio plan. It publishes your galleries under yourname.openvgal.com instead of openvgal.com/view/your-slug.
What happens if my payment fails?
Your galleries stay fully live for a 7-day grace period while our payment provider retries the charge and we email you a link to update billing. If it still isn't resolved after 7 days, your galleries are unpublished and stop being public.
If I cancel, do I lose my galleries immediately?
No. When you cancel you keep the service until the end of the current billing period. After that, your galleries are unpublished and your files are kept for 30 days. On day 23 we email a final warning; on day 30 the files are permanently deleted.
Can I get my galleries back after they're unpublished?
Yes, any time within the first 30 days — update your billing in the payment portal, then publish your galleries again from the dashboard. Your files are still there, so nothing needs re-uploading. After day 30 the files are gone for good, but your account isn't: your address stays reserved for you until day 120, so subscribing again puts you straight back on the same URL with an empty space to rebuild in. After day 120 the account and the address are released.
Can I get a refund?
We don't offer refunds — but you never have to buy blind. The full gallery builder runs free in your browser, with no account, so you can create, preview, and export a complete gallery before you ever subscribe. A subscription only adds hosting: a permanent public URL, always online, with zero setup. Billing and invoices are handled by our payment provider, and prices exclude VAT and sales tax.
Who makes OpenVGal?
OpenVGal is made by LB Artworks, an artist based in Spain. The engine is open source under the MIT licence at github.com/lbartworks/openvgal.
Can I self-host instead of paying?
Yes. The viewer and builder engine is MIT-licensed at github.com/lbartworks/openvgal and is identical to what we serve. You can run it on your own infrastructure forever. Paying us is a convenience choice, not a lock-in — the exit door is always open.
Is the hosted version different from the open-source one?
No. We serve the same engine you can self-host. We charge for hosting and tooling around it, not for a different or 'pro' build of the software.
Who owns the work I publish?
You do. You publish your own original photography or artwork, and you keep it. We host your files; we don't claim rights to them.
Where are my files stored, and how does deletion work?
Published galleries are stored on secure cloud storage with encrypted nightly backups. When your files are permanently deleted at day 30 of a lapse — or on a data-deletion request — your backup copies are purged within 24 hours, so your data doesn't outlive the published retention policy. Your account record itself is kept until day 120 so you can come back to the same address, then erased.