Narrative Select is one of the best known AI culling apps, and its pricing page is simple to read but easy to misjudge, because the plan most people think of as "Narrative Select" is not the cheapest one. This page lays out every plan, what each actually unlocks, what a year really costs on monthly and yearly billing, and the questions worth asking before you subscribe. Every figure comes from Narrative's own pricing page, checked on 25 October 2026, in USD before any sales tax or VAT.
The four plans at a glance
Narrative sells one app across four tiers. Every tier includes unlimited images and unlimited projects, so there is no per-photo or per-shoot meter to watch. What changes from tier to tier is which AI features you get and how many people can use the account.
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $10 | $15 | 1 |
| Standard | $20 | $29 | 1 |
| Premium | $40 | $59 | Up to 2 |
| Ultra | $60 | $79 | Up to 4 |
Narrative says yearly billing saves up to 40 percent, and the table bears that out at the bottom of the range: Lite is $10 a month on a yearly plan against $15 month to month.
What each plan actually unlocks
Lite is fast culling: the app, unlimited images, and shipping your selects to Lightroom, Photoshop and Capture One. It is the plan for someone who mainly wants Narrative's fast image display and workflow.
Standard is where the AI culling people associate with Narrative starts. Per Narrative's FAQ, Standard adds the advanced AI culling, the Scenes view (frames grouped and ranked by sharpness, best first) and the Close-ups panel (zoomed faces, or a key element when there is no face). It also adds unlimited editing with Narrative's Core and Marketplace AI presets. On Narrative's Select page, Key Element Detection for objects and animal faces is also listed as Standard and above.
Premium adds one colour and one black-and-white AI preset trained on your own edits, AI image straightening, and a second user.
Ultra raises that to up to five colour and five black-and-white personal presets, up to four users, dedicated personal onboarding and early access to new features.
The practical point: if you are buying Narrative for AI culling, budget for Standard, not Lite. Lite at $10 a month is a real plan, but it is not the one that does the scene ranking and close-up checks most reviews describe.
What a year really costs
| Plan | One year, yearly billing | One year, monthly billing | Three years, yearly billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $120 | $180 | $360 |
| Standard | $240 | $348 | $720 |
| Premium | $480 | $708 | $1,440 |
| Ultra | $720 | $948 | $2,160 |
These are the list prices multiplied out, assuming prices stay where they are, which no subscription guarantees. For a seasonal shooter, monthly billing can still come out ahead: three busy months of Standard at $29 is $87, against $240 for a yearly plan you barely use in winter. For anyone culling every week, yearly billing is the obvious choice.
The free trial
New accounts start on a free trial of Ultra, the top plan, with no card required. The pricing page does not say how long the trial lasts. Because the trial is Ultra, it shows you features (personal presets, extra seats) that Lite and Standard do not include, so while you test, note which features you actually used. If it was only the Scenes view and Close-ups, Standard is your plan.
Questions to ask before you subscribe
- Do you need the editing? From Standard up, part of what you pay for is AI-preset editing. If you already edit in Lightroom or Capture One and only want culling, you are paying for a feature you may not use.
- How many seats? A second shooter or editor needs Premium (two users) or Ultra (four). Lite and Standard are single user.
- What happens to your images? Narrative's help centre says culling and AI assessments run on your computer, and images are uploaded only for features that need it, such as training Personal AI Presets, or the opt-in "Help improve Narrative" setting.
- Does a subscription fit how you work? Your culling depends on the plan staying active. For some photographers that is fine; others prefer software they pay for once.
Alternatives priced differently
If the monthly model is the sticking point, the alternatives fall into a few shapes. Photo Mechanic, the manual-speed classic, sells a $299 licence with a year of updates, or $149 a year. Aftershoot sells culling as its own subscription module; our Aftershoot vs Narrative Select comparison lays out both price lists side by side.
And imagic is a one-time purchase: EUR 19, 49 or 99, with no subscription. It scores sharpness, closed eyes and composition, groups bursts and duplicates, and then develops and exports the RAW files itself, all locally, so there is no second editor to pay for unless you want one. There is a free 500-export trial with no card; culling and editing during the trial do not count toward it. It does not have Narrative's personal presets trained on your past edits or its multi-seat plans, and the imagic and Narrative Select comparison and our imagic vs Narrative Select write-up go through where each is stronger.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Narrative Select cost per month?
As of October 2026, from $10 a month on yearly billing (Lite) to $60 (Ultra), or $15 to $79 billed month to month. The AI culling features most people want, Scenes view and the Close-ups panel, start with Standard at $20 a month yearly or $29 monthly.
Is there a free version of Narrative Select?
There is no permanent free plan listed on Narrative's pricing page. New accounts get a free trial of the Ultra plan with no card required, after which paid plans start at $10 a month on yearly billing.
Is Narrative Select a one-time purchase?
No. Every Narrative plan is a monthly or yearly subscription. If you want AI culling with a one-time price, imagic sells licences from EUR 19 to 99 with no subscription.