9Pic AI vs Plainly
Comparing Plainly for personalised race videos? Plainly automates After Effects templates for agencies and brands. 9Pic is a self-serve race media product: runners browse and select official photos and receive a Flow finisher reel — no AE pipeline, public event pricing, full gallery control.
Self-serve for small races and large events · 9Pic Flow
Transparent pricing for small and large organisers
9Pic AI publishes prices openly: $0.03 per photo processed on Pay As You Go (includes FaceFind + BibTrack search tools) and Flow from $0.50/participant. Sign up, run your event, and stay in control of your data and dashboard — without waiting for a sales package to “enable” a small race.
Pro is $200/year for power features (custom domain, Certify, and more). You start self-serve; support is there when you want it, not as a gate to turn the product on. Full pricing →
After Effects automation vs event photo → reel product
Plainly is excellent when you already design AE templates and need data-driven versioning (sports graphics, ads, personalisation). Starter pricing is transparent but geared to creative/production teams (minutes, concurrent renders, storage).
9Pic AI is built for endurance events: upload photos, match athletes, generate Flow reels for every participant. Transparent $0.03/photo processed and Flow from $0.50/participant — self-serve so a 500-runner race does not need an AE operator or enterprise video project.
Not just a video clip — official race photos to select
On 9Pic, participants browse and select official race photos from the event gallery (selfie or bib search), then also receive a personalised Flow finisher reel built from those matched stills. Clip-only or camera-video-only products often stop at a short finish moment and never give runners a full library of official stills to choose from.
One self-serve platform: stills to pick and a ready-made video story — with transparent pricing for small and large events. 9Pic Flow · Pricing
Feature-by-feature comparison
No After Effects required
Organisers and photographers run Flow from the 9Pic dashboard. Cutting-edge reels without staffing AE specialists.
Templates in After Effects
Create templates in AE, upload to Plainly, connect data, render variants. Best for teams already fluent in AE.
$0.03/photo processed · Flow from $0.50/participant
Published on the pricing page. Aligns cost with race size. Pro $200/year for platform upgrades.
From ~$48–$69/mo (yearly) upward
Starter ~$48/mo billed yearly ($579/yr) or ~$69 monthly; higher tiers to Unlimited/Enterprise. Priced in render minutes, not race participants.
FaceFind + BibTrack built in
Participant discovery is native to the event media stack feeding each reel.
CSV / API / integrations
You supply structured data and creative layers; matching runners to race photos is not the core product.
Built for club races and majors
Self-serve so small organisers get the same tech stack without a vendor engagement.
Creative teams & product builders
Strong for agencies, in-house creative, and software companies automating video products.
Your events and media in 9Pic
You control branding, access, and retention in your organiser account.
Projects on Plainly
You manage templates and renders; race photo hosting/search is outside scope.
Choose 9Pic AI if
- You want self-serve finisher reels without building AE templates
- You need transparent race-oriented pricing for small or large fields
- You want official photo selection + finisher reels + (optional) sales in one product
- You want organisers — not only agencies — to own the workflow
Choose Plainly if
- You already design After Effects templates and need cloud render automation
- Your use case is ads, news, signage, or brand personalisation at template scale
- You need AE-native creative control more than an event photo platform
Frequently Asked Questions
Pricing, self-serve access, and fit for race organisers comparing Plainly with 9Pic Flow.
Is 9Pic AI a Plainly alternative for races?
For race organisers who need official photo galleries participants can select from, plus automated finisher reels, yes. Plainly is a better fit for After Effects template automation across general video products.
How does pricing compare?
9Pic publishes $0.03 per photo processed and Flow from $0.50/participant. Plainly publishes SaaS plans from roughly $48–$69 per month (yearly vs monthly) with higher tiers by render minutes.
Can a small organiser use 9Pic without support?
Yes. Sign up self-serve, upload media, and operate from your dashboard. Support is available, but not a prerequisite to start.
Do I need After Effects for 9Pic Flow?
No. Flow is an event product, not an AE render farm.
Ready to Get Started?
Join event organizers who've delivered 100M+ photos to 5M+ participants across 5k+ events using 9Pic AI for hosting, AI search, and media delivery.