ExifToolGui vs Exif Pilot
Exif Pilot and ExifToolGui are both Windows metadata editors, and on a feature checklist they look like close cousins: both view and edit EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP data. The differences that matter live one layer down — in how batch work is priced, in a file-location constraint, and in the engine underneath. Exif Pilot (by Two Pilots / ColorPilot) offers a free core editor, with batch processing sold as a paid plug-in. ExifToolGui — Bogdan Hrastnik’s GUI, continued as V6 by Frank Bijnen — is GPL-3.0 free software whose batch capability is built in, because it is a front-end for Phil Harvey’s ExifTool. This comparison, in the Comparisons hub with ExifToolGui vs XnView MP and ExifToolGui vs the command line, sticks to sourced facts for both sides. Get ExifToolGui from the download page.
The one-line summary: for single-file editing, both are plausible; for folder-scale work, the pricing model and the batch design decide it, and they point the same way.
The two programs at a glance
| ExifToolGui (V6, Frank Bijnen) | Exif Pilot (Two Pilots) | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows only | Windows |
| Core editing | View and edit metadata through ExifTool; Workspace panels you define | Free core: view, edit, create and delete EXIF, EXIF GPS, IPTC and XMP; keywords |
| Import / export | Workspace definitions export/import; ExifTool-level workflows | Import/export via XML, CSV and Excel in the free core |
| Batch processing | Built in: select multiple files and modify them at once, no extra purchase | A paid plug-in: €79.95 (multiple-photo processing, tag-to-tag copy, command line) |
| File constraint | Selection-based, across the opened folder | Processed files must be in the same directory |
| Basis | Free software, GNU GPL v3.0 | Free core editor with a paid batch plug-in |
Note what the free core of Exif Pilot genuinely includes, because it is respectable: creating and deleting tags (not just editing existing ones), GPS fields, keywords, and structured import/export through XML, CSV and Excel files. A reader whose work is one file at a time, with spreadsheet-driven values, is served by that core. The comparison turns on what happens when the unit of work becomes a folder.
Batch work: built-in design vs paid plug-in
Batch capability is not an add-on in ExifToolGui’s lineage; the original GUI’s stated goals, from its earliest documentation, include selecting multiple files and modifying them at once, and the V6 program carries that through its Workspace saves (values written to all selected files) and Modify operations (DateTime shift, equalize, geotagging, removal). In Exif Pilot, multiple-photo processing — along with tag-to-tag copying and command-line use — is the paid Batch Editing Plug-in, priced at €79.95 on the vendor’s page as sourced for this comparison. Neither model is dishonest; they are simply different answers to who pays for scale. A hobbyist editing a card’s worth of photos after every trip does folder-scale work constantly, and for that reader the plug-in is not an edge feature — it is the product. In ExifToolGui that same work is included, under GPL-3.0, with ExifTool (free software under the same terms as Perl itself) as the engine, separately downloaded and paired.
Constraints and working style
Exif Pilot’s documented constraint — processed files must be in the same directory — is a small sentence with real workflow weight: archives organised in nested folders need gathering or repeated passes, where a selection-based front-end works on the folder you open as it lies. Working style differs too. Exif Pilot centres on its tag list and its import/export formats; ExifToolGui centres on the Workspace, where you define the tag panel for the job (a dates panel, a credits panel, a location panel) and save the definition for reuse, plus a Modify menu for operations rather than value typing. Neither is objectively better as an interface; they reward different habits. What is objective is the depth ceiling: ExifToolGui’s ceiling is ExifTool itself — the full tag universe of EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, JFIF, ICC, maker notes and more that the engine documents — while a self-contained editor’s ceiling is its own implementation.
Verdict
Choose Exif Pilot if you edit metadata file by file, value its XML/CSV/Excel import-export in the free core, and will never need batch work — or are willing to pay €79.95 for the plug-in when you do. Choose ExifToolGui if folders are your unit of work: batch editing is built in and free, the Workspace is yours to shape, and the engine underneath is ExifTool, the reference tool in this field. For Windows users, that combination is why this site is built around it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Exif Pilot completely free?
Its core is free: view, edit, create and delete EXIF, GPS, IPTC and XMP data, keywords, and XML/CSV/Excel import-export. Batch processing is not in the free core — it is a paid plug-in at €79.95, which also adds tag-to-tag copy and command-line use.
What does ‘files must be in the same directory’ mean in practice?
Exif Pilot processes files that live in one directory. A library spread across nested folders needs the files gathered or processed folder by folder. ExifToolGui works on the selection in the folder you open, with batch saves to all selected files.
Which handles more metadata formats and tags?
ExifToolGui’s ceiling is ExifTool’s: Phil Harvey’s engine documents support for EXIF, GPS, IPTC, XMP, JFIF, GeoTIFF, ICC Profile, Photoshop IRB and maker notes from around 30 camera makers. Exif Pilot’s documented scope is EXIF, EXIF GPS, IPTC and XMP.
See the remaining pairings in the Comparisons hub, including ExifToolGui vs GeoSetter, and download ExifToolGui and ExifTool from the download page.