With Google Photos having changed its storage conditions (opens in new tab) from June 1, 2021 (from free unlimited storage to 15GB that is shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos), alternative services are becoming more competitive. Of course, you can pay for extra storage with Google Photos, but you may prefer the features and pricing of other providers. The best Google Photos alternatives provide easy-to-use storage spaces enabling you to back up images from any device. Many allow users to tag and collate images, creating organized photo databases where pics can be searched through by date, type, subject, location, and more.
The best Google Photos alternatives available
Dropbox (opens in new tab) has been an industry favourite since its inception in 2008. Like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox does not cater directly to photo storage users but offers a limited selection of features with some appealing advantages in terms of shareability and storage space. More serious photo cloud storage alternatives include Adobe Portfolio, Piwigo, and 500px, which will appeal to professional photographers. These services have advanced photo editing features and greater community integration through forums, tutorials, and competitions. They also provide many more options to showcase your work and even explore commercial opportunities within their public galleries. Free accounts (Basic) only include 2GB and are more suited to documents than albums of photos. However, they do have sharing and collaboration features as well as secure settings and apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. The greatest difference between the Basic account and Individual Plus subscription tier ($120 a year) is in the account storage size. There are additional features in security (Vault, passwords, remote device wipe), sharing (Basic includes up to 100MB/transfer, Plus is 2GB/transfer), and access (Plus includes smart sync and mobile offline folders). With the standard 2TB capacity on Individual Plus accounts, Dropbox compares favourably with other best Google Photos alternatives such as OneDrive (2TB at $180 a year). Dropbox can auto-sync photos from your devices to the cloud and integrates with third-party apps such as photo editor Pixlr. There is also integration with Facebook to download images from the site and with Adobe Creative Cloud for easy transfer. Unlike most photo-specific cloud storage, Dropbox does not feature smart tagging or AI categorization, making the collation of photo albums harder. If you already have a Dropbox subscription and want to store many photos as a secure backup, then Dropbox is probably for you. It is unrivalled in the size and versatility of its file storage. Read our Dropbox cloud storage review (opens in new tab). Flickr (opens in new tab) has operated for over 16 years, and remains one of the most trusted cloud-based photo storage services. With the addition of social media exposure and insights through the Flickr public platform, this company has cemented its place as a go-to solution for serious photographers. The simple and well-designed interface makes Flickr an attractive alternative to Google Photos. Users can tag and share images, as well as download them in multiple sizes and resolutions. The 1,000-photo limit for free accounts will only be enough for casual users, with the image limit equating to roughly 2 to 3GB. Pro accounts (opens in new tab) (from $6 a month) provide unlimited storage, ad-free browsing, and access to analytics for images displayed across the Flickr platform. This is an appealing feature for photographers looking to have their work noticed by a wider community across the world. These accounts also come with discounts on Adobe (two months free on the Creative Cloud Photography plan), Blurb (photo book coupons), and Priime (20% off Priime Lightroom preset bundle). Another benefit is a Pixsy plan that helps combat image theft by searching for improper use of your images and advocating on your behalf. Read our Flickr review (opens in new tab). Microsoft’s OneDrive (opens in new tab)is a powerful, general cloud-based storage solution. The limited features for photo storage (photo editing, smart tagging) are made up for by the account size and ability to upload almost any file type. High usability for Windows-based customers, options for file organization, strong layers of file protection, and auto categorization features are useful as well. Pricing for OneDrive is comparable to Google Photos, with 5GB of storage for free accounts and $24 a year for a 100GB tier. Where OneDrive shines is in its 1TB tier, which is $60 a year as compared to Google Photos at $120 a year. The 1TB OneDrive Tier also includes the Windows 10 suite, productivity tools (multi-page scans and offline folders), and free bonuses through Skype. For Microsoft users who already subscribe to Microsoft 365, OneDrive is an easy decision for photo storage, as it costs nothing extra. For non-Microsoft users, it is less compelling, but there are advantages over other services in terms of the price of large storage tiers and the inbuilt security, which means you can store photos in a secure space (Personal Vault). Read our full Microsoft OneDrive review (opens in new tab). However, those who are Prime members get unlimited storage, photo editing, smart collation through metadata, and secure family sharing through the Family Vault—an absolute steal if you’re also taking advantage of other Prime benefits. If you’re an iOS user, you’re probably already familiar with iCloud (opens in new tab), Apple’s native cloud backup storage. For iPhone or iPad users looking to back up the photos on their devices, iCloud’s seamless integration makes it the simplest solution. With iCloud backup, a picture taken on your iPhone is available nearly instantly for you to edit on your iPad. Apple offers all iPhone, iPad, and Mac owners up to 5GB of free iCloud storage space. If you need to upgrade, you can choose 50GB, 200GB, or 2TB for $0.99, $2.99, or $9.99 a month, respectively (the 2TB plan can be shared with family). Users also have the option to bundle iCloud storage with Apple One, which includes Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade. Apple One plans start at $14.95 a month for 50GB of storage. The family plan, which can be shared with up to five people, increases the storage to 200GB for $19.95 a month. One downside to iCloud is the 5GB of free storage fills up quickly, especially if you plan to use iCloud to back up your device’s contacts, messages, and documents in addition to your photos. There’s also the downside that iCloud is not supported on non-iOS devices, so if you’re looking for an easy way to share photos between an iPad and an Android phone, for example, look elsewhere. Check out our full Apple iCloud review (opens in new tab). If you are serious about photography or photo storage, then Adobe (opens in new tab) is one of the best alternatives to Google Photos. Here, users will find packaged photo storage solutions that include access to Lightroom and Photoshop, with program selections and storage capacities dependent on pricing tiers. Each plan comes with Lightroom (Adobe’s editing, organizing, and storage program), Spark (online and mobile design app), and Portfolio (website building). The Lightroom Plan and Photography Plan both cost $120 a year. The former comes with 1TB of storage and is the most comparable to Google Photos in terms of usability, while the latter provides only 20GB of storage but includes access to Lightroom and Photoshop (Adobe’s graphics/photo editor). Upgrading the Photography Plan to 1TB storage will double its price to $240 a year. Although pricey, Adobe works hard to provide a system that is easy to use, with programs that are industry standard. There is integration with Gmail and apps for Windows, iOS, macOS, and Android. Adobe supports a wide range of formats, including RAW files, and users can take advantage of the Adobe Behance social media platform to showcase their creative works (similar to Flickr’s platform). What makes Adobe Creative Cloud stand out as one of the top Google Photos alternatives is that it offers the best features of every service outlined in this article, and delivers it in one professional package. This comes at a price, but is well worth considering if you’re serious about photography. Read our Adobe Creative Cloud review (opens in new tab) covering its cloud storage. Piwigo (opens in new tab) is an open-source software package that will appeal more to professional photographers and organizations, and is a great option if you need a photo management program for your website. Piwigo also offers its own cloud-based photo storage (opens in new tab). This is an easy-to-use and cost-effective Google Photos alternative providing unlimited photo storage for €38 a year ($48 approx), which is an incredible deal. The only other Google Photos alternative with unlimited storage is Flickr, at $60 a year. The appeal of unlimited storage is far greater for professional photographers. However, if you are a family whose members have many photos, unlimited storage can also be very useful. Organization by metadata makes searching and collating images easy, and you have the ability to geolocate and batch manage images. Similar to other services, users can manage the privacy of photos and viewing permissions for individuals, groups, and organizations. Piwigo has also created an easy-to-import system for files from editing and organizational applications such as Shotwell, digiKam, and Lightroom. This is not a perfect replacement for Google Photos but is one of the best alternatives due to the cost, storage amount, and organizational possibilities. For photographers looking to showcase their work and potentially licence images online, 500px (opens in new tab) is an appealing platform. This service is all about commerce and community, of furthering your work and gaining a valuable audience. Here, users will find resources on photography education (free and paid), as well as community interaction (photo quest competitions). Free accounts are allowed up to 2,000 images (minimum 3GB file size recommended at 3000px resolution) , with up to seven new photo uploads/week. Each image is recommended to be over 3MB with a resolution of 3000px. People with free accounts can also contribute to 500px groups, create and share galleries, and licence work online. There are two paid subscription tiers (opens in new tab): Awesome and Pro. Awesome subscriptions are $60 a year and include add-on access to Luminar 4 (photo editing), as well as a dedicated online profile, ad-free browsing, statistics on uploaded images, and unlimited storage space. The Pro account is $120 a year and includes everything in the Awesome tier as well as profile customization, priority directory listing, professional resume displays, and the ability to add resources to the Resource Hub as an additional income. This is a unique feature for Pro users who can create photography tutorials through both videos and documents. These are available on 500px for free or at a cost (the uploader decides), offering income through community education. The power of 500px comes through the presentation and industry exposure of users’ work, with a showcase directed towards licensing, recognition, and career-building. If as a pro or semi pro photographer you were using Google Photos due to its unlimited capacity, 500px will be a useful consideration to not only store important photographs but also take advantage of commercial opportunities. For the commercial possibilities and flattering gallery themes, there are very few competitors to 500px. Casual and amateur users will find some great features, especially if they follow photography, but some of the key features will be less relevant to them.
How to choose the best Google Photos alternative for you
Google Photos (opens in new tab) is a great all-round cloud storage solution, but users should base their hunt for alternatives on their own unique preferences and needs. These might include price, storage capacity, image collation, or sharing capabilities. If you’re after a large storage space for the best price and the largest variety of file types, then Dropbox wins. But if you’re becoming more serious about photography, Adobe’s Creative Cloud offering will be worth the higher price because of its powerful photo editing apps.
Further reading on cloud storage
Follow our cloud storage (opens in new tab) checklist when selecting online storage (opens in new tab), and our top tips for data backup and recovery (opens in new tab). Learn the differences between cloud storage, cloud backup, and cloud sync (opens in new tab), and make sure you’re well informed. If buying cloud storage for a small company, research the best cloud storage for small business (opens in new tab); learn top reasons to use small business cloud solutions (opens in new tab); discover why small businesses should use cloud services (opens in new tab); and why a multi-cloud strategy (opens in new tab) benefits businesses.
