MarathonFoto has shot US races for 45 years and served over 10 million runners. It's the incumbent. It's also why "race photos are a rip-off" is a running-forum cliché: the organizer pays nothing, and runners pay $25–90 for their own photos. MomentPik flips that. You pay one flat fee and every finisher gets their gallery free. If your race is locked into an exclusivity contract, MarathonFoto is your reality. If it isn't, your runners are footing a bill you could erase.
The 60-second verdict
Both columns are real. Pick the one that sounds like your event.
Choose MarathonFoto if…
- You're a large US race already under a MarathonFoto exclusivity contract
- You want a decades-old full-service agency and don't mind runners paying
- You value an established finish-line operation over cost to participants
Choose MomentPik if…
- You want to stop your runners paying $25–90 each for photos they're already in
- You'd rather give every finisher their gallery free, for about $25 a race
- You run a mid-size or small race an agency won't prioritize
- You want face and bib search, not just bib lookup
At a glance
A tick marks the stronger side for that row. No tick means it's genuinely even.
| What matters | MarathonFoto | MomentPik |
|---|---|---|
| What runners pay | $25–90 per person (NYC digital ≈ $90) | Nothing in free mode, or a price you set |
| What the organizer pays | Nothing | One flat fee (~$25 for 5,000 photos) |
| Reputation with runners | Frequent 'too expensive' complaints | Runners get photos free, nothing to resent |
| Track record | 45 years, 10M+ runners | Newer, proven on real races |
| How runners find photos | Bib number | Bib, name, selfie, or face |
Who actually pays
"Free for organizers" always means someone else is paying. Here's who.
The organizer pays nothing; MarathonFoto makes its money from runners. Reported prices run $25 for a single digital photo up to about $90 for NYC Marathon files. It's a recurring 'rip-off' complaint in runner communities.
You pay one flat fee, about $25 for a 5,000-photo race, and every runner downloads free. Or sell photos yourself at a fair price and keep 85%, instead of handing the margin to an agency.
What support actually looks like
Support with MarathonFoto
A large, established agency operation. Professional at scale, but the runner is the customer, not you.
Support with MomentPik
A named team you reach directly, hands-on through your first races, with delivery fast enough that runners don't chase you.
“Everything was good, from setup to delivery. The team handled a huge crowd effortlessly. 10/10.”
Where MarathonFoto genuinely wins
- 45 years and 10M+ runners is real institutional trust at the largest US marathons
- For races bound by an existing exclusivity contract, they're already the operation
- A full-service finish-line agency crew is something MomentPik doesn't send
MarathonFoto is the incumbent, and there’s no arguing with 45 years at the finish line. But the model is built on selling runners their own images, and runners have noticed. Search any big race alongside “photos” and the complaints about price are right there.
MomentPik’s pitch to an organizer is simple. For roughly the cost of a couple of race t-shirts, hand every finisher their photos instead of pointing them at a checkout. The only reason not to is a contract you haven’t exited yet.
MomentPik also covers wedding photo sharing and corporate event photos . Same platform, same flat pricing, delivered to every attendee.