Primer - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Primer is cloud-hosted art management software built specifically for art galleries, artist studios, and private collections that value best business practices, proactive sales offers, and excellent client support. Primer is an independently owned company that provides art professionals a single, secure place to store, access, and share their inventory, contacts, transactions, exhibitions, documents, and online viewing rooms.

At its core, Primer records the full life of every artwork, including exhibitions, offers, sales, consignments, loans, donations, and client interactions. Because it captures who engaged with a work even when they didn't purchase, the platform builds valuable context for future offers and placements, becoming both a daily working tool and a long-term business archive. Multiple images can be attached to each artwork, and unlimited records keep an entire program searchable in one place.

The Contacts section functions as a living record of collector interests, relationships, and buying patterns. Using Primer's layouts, searches, tags, and client analytics, our gallery users can anticipate what to show clients next and build more thoughtful, better-informed relationships over time.

Document creation is a standout strength. Users can generate and edit professional PDFs in seconds, including invoices, offers, consignments, loan forms, artist and consignor payment statements, previews, price lists, labels, and reports, without needing Microsoft Word or Adobe Pro. Every document remains fully editable inside Primer and can carry custom branding, fonts, headers and footers, wording, colors, signature lines, and payment terms.

Unlimited online viewing rooms let dealers and artists present work to clients in a dynamic format. A built-in sales pipeline helps users keep track of offers, follow-ups and ultimately convert those offers to sales, while integrations extend Primer into everyday workflows.

Our Gmail integration lets users compose messages directly from Primer—attaching images, documents, and viewing rooms—and use saved templates and mail merge to reach multiple contacts quickly. Stripe integration enables fast credit card and Apple Pay payment links (Primer adds no fee of its own, though standard Stripe processing fees apply).

Primer runs in the cloud on Amazon Web Services (AWS), with automatic updates and daily backups. It supports unlimited simultaneous access across Macs, PCs, iPhones, and iPads, so teams can work from anywhere. Free, complimentary data import brings existing records in from other databases, spreadsheets, CSV files, Google Drive, and more, so users can be productive from day one. Support is a defining part of the offering. Primer provides free, unlimited, one-on-one client support and personalized training for current and future staff at no extra charge.

Pricing is deliberately straightforward and includes every feature. There are no start-up fees, no contracts, and no termination costs, and no limits on records, viewing rooms, or the sales pipeline. Primer is independently owned and operated, so pricing isn't driven by outside investors, and the company doesn't charge more simply because a client's business grows.

Primer's clients range from emerging start-ups to established dealers with decades of experience, including members of leading industry associations such as the ADAA, NADA, and AIPAD. For galleries, studios, and collectors seeking an intuitive, all-inclusive alternative to legacy art database tools, Primer offers a modern, service-focused way to manage art and grow sales.