Pulahpilih vs Photo Mechanic for photo culling
Pulahpilih and Photo Mechanic are both used to cull photos, but they solve different problems. Photo Mechanic is a paid app built for a full professional pipeline: ingesting from memory cards, rating, and writing IPTC metadata at scale. Pulahpilih is a free, open source Windows app that does one thing: it narrows a folder down to an exact target count, and lets other people vote from their browser if you want.
Comparison at a glance
| Pulahpilih | Photo Mechanic | |
|---|---|---|
| Price model | Free | Paid license |
| Platform | Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) | Windows and macOS |
| Main focus | Culling to an exact target count | Ingest, browsing, rating and metadata |
| RAW support | CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2, PEF, SRW | Supports major camera RAW formats |
| Rounds until the count is exact | Yes, automatic | No |
| Guests vote from a browser | Yes, via link and PIN | Not built in |
| IPTC metadata and captions | No | Yes, extensive |
| Open source | Yes, GPL-3.0 | No |
When Photo Mechanic is the better choice
Choose Photo Mechanic if your work depends on metadata. Photojournalists, sports photographers and news agencies need captions, keywords and copyright fields filled in fast before images go to an editor. Photo Mechanic is well known for this, including ingesting straight from memory cards.
Photo Mechanic also runs on macOS. Pulahpilih is Windows only for now.
When Pulahpilih is the better choice
Pulahpilih fits when the goal is a specific number of photos: 50 graduation shots, a 120-photo wedding album, or 9 product images for a store listing.
- An exact count without counting. Round one collects candidates. If there are too many, narrowing rounds show only your picks. If there are too few, last round's rejects come back until the count is exact.
- Three photos side by side. The left or top photo is the one you judge; the other two give context.
- Clients can vote. Click Share to create a temporary link and a 4-digit PIN. Clients cull in their browser and send their picks; you see results by vote count and approve the final set. Guests only see copies of 800 KB at most.
- Free and open. No license to buy, and anyone can read the source code.
How selection works
In Photo Mechanic you typically give star ratings or colour classes, then filter by them. The final count depends on how strictly you rated.
In Pulahpilih each decision moves the file. Press → or ↑ to pick and ← or ↓ to reject. Picks move into a selected subfolder, and Backspace undoes the last decision and moves the file back. Nothing is ever deleted. If you close the app, reopening the same folder continues from the selected folder.
Which one to choose
- Choose Photo Mechanic if you file images to an editor or agency every day, ingest from several cards at once, and need captions and keywords on hundreds of photos.
- Choose Pulahpilih if you shoot graduations, weddings, events or products, and the deliverable is a set number of photos that a client often wants to approve.
- Use both if your workflow needs full metadata and an exact final count.
For photographers just starting to take clients, Pulahpilih is a no-cost place to begin. Its PIN-protected sharing also replaces the habit of collecting file numbers from clients over chat.
Using both
They don't have to replace each other. Use Photo Mechanic for ingest and metadata, then run Pulahpilih on the same folder to trim the set to the number the client asked for. Pulahpilih moves RAW and JPG files with the same name together.
Read how to sort RAW photos on Windows or browse other comparisons. Ready to try it? Download Pulahpilih.
FAQ
Can Pulahpilih replace Photo Mechanic?
For culling to a set count, yes. For card ingest and IPTC metadata, Photo Mechanic remains far more complete.
Does Pulahpilih write ratings or metadata?
No. Pulahpilih marks picks by moving files into the selected subfolder, not with ratings or metadata.
Is Pulahpilih available for Mac?
Not yet. Pulahpilih currently runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and 11 only.
How does Pulahpilih show RAW files?
It uses the JPEG preview embedded in each RAW file, so photos appear quickly without a full conversion.