Built in collaboration with 500px, Pulsepx is a new contest platform that promises to usher in a new era of competition for photographers.

As seen by The Phoblographer, Pulsepx builds upon 500px’s Quests feature, providing users with opportunities to compete against each other, improve their photo skills, and win prizes.

In a joint Instagram post, 500px and Pulsepx explain that everyone has a chance to win and promises daily rewards for photographers on the platform.

Pulsepx has a web version and an app available on iOS and Android devices. The app and setting up an account are both free.

However, unsurprisingly, there is a monetary element involved. After all, there are prizes on offer.

There are two in-app currencies, “pixels” and coins. Users can spend real money to purchase bundles of pixels, starting at $2.99 for 30 pixels and up to $99.99 for 1,600 pixels.

To put pixels into perspective, the ongoing weekly contests, which each focus on a different color, require 30 pixels to enter. The first prize winner will get 5,000 coins, or as the app calls them, “pulse dollars,” while the runner-up receives 2,500 coins.

However, prizes go way beyond first and second place. The spectrum color contests offer 50,000-coin (worth $500) prize pools. Although the top photographer gets 5,000 coins (equivalent to a $50 gift card), prizes are handed out for the top 150 results, down to 40 coins for 131st to 150th place finishers. Some of these contests don’t even have that many entrants, so perhaps everyone will win something.

However, while the coin currency sports a dollar sign, it is not one coin to one dollar. Users can redeem their coins, which they get for winning contests and completing specific in-app tasks, for gift cards, which have actual real-world value. As mentioned, the top prize for the ongoing weekly photo contest is 5,000 coins. The winner of that contest will be able to convert that into a $50 gift card if they so choose.

Beyond gift cards, which range from a $20 card for 2,000 coins to a $1,000 gift card for 100,000 coins, there is also an iPhone 15 Pro prize on offer for 100,000 coins.

As part of a “Beginner Rewards” program, users can get 10 coins each for joining a quest, voting, and uploading an image. It’s also worth noting that some quests (contests) are free to enter. The free “Shot of the Day” contest doles out 1,000 “pulse dollars” for the winner, and the top photo is also featured on the app’s homepage. By the way, users can convert their “pulse dollars” into pixels to enter more contests.

Pulsepx says there are over 100 photo contests “with real prizes” every month. The Pulsepx platform is still relatively new, having launched earlier this month, so seeing how many people use the platform and how the prize pools evolve will be interesting. Undoubtedly, part of the appeal is offering photographers a place to connect, compete, and learn from others, which has value above and beyond any monetary prizes.

Complete details are available on the Pulsepx website.

Image credits: Pulsepx