The 7 Best Alternatives to Google Photos

Looking for a new app to store pictures? Here's where to start.

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For some time, Google Photos has been a reliable option for anyone needing a place to store all their images. Unfortunately, unlimited storage on Google Photos is about to end in June 2021. Any photos uploaded after that date will count toward the default free 15GB of Google Drive storage, so you'll have to start paying or risk losing access to the photos you've uploaded over the years. With that in mind, you may decide you want to swap over to another service that offers more flexible plans.

There are several options you can choose from if you're looking to move away from Google Photos. While none of them offer the exact same set of features, they're still very much worth jumping ship for. We've outlined some of the best options that you can move all of your precious photos to without too much hassle. But no matter which one you choose, be sure to back up all of the photos you had previously, just in case. You're always going to want to have a second repository for them all.

The Rundown

As it stands, Amazon offers the best overall alternative to Google Photos for a myriad of reasons.

Flickr has long been a go-to option for people who need a place to store and sift through their images.

Cluster is a photo storage site that was made specifically for storing and sharing images with family.

Dropbox is an exceedingly useful service that can store a lot more than just photos.

If you typically keep all of your images on your phone, you likely upload images to iCloud or Google Photos.

Piktures may have a funny name, but there isn't anything hilarious about how useful it can be.

Microsoft's proprietary cloud storage solution OneDrive is great for any files you need to store.

What We Like

  • Free with your Amazon Prime subscription.

  • Unlimited cloud storage for photos.

  • Share photos with family members, up to six accounts.

What We Don't Like

  • Only 5GB for sharing videos.

  • Not as feature-rich as Google Photos.

Amazon Photos is likely a no-brainer for anyone who always uses Amazon for its Prime shopping membership. As it stands, Amazon offers the best overall alternative to Google Photos for a myriad of reasons. One is the fact that you already have access to storage if you've been paying for Amazon Prime. You get unlimited cloud storage for your photos with the service, as well as a set of features that match what Google Photos offers sans editing and some organizational features.

You only get 5GB to keep your videos, but you can save all of your photos in their original quality without compression. Your photos will also sync and you can share with the same Amazon Prime members on your account, up to six additional accounts. While it's missing some of the options that Google Photos had, Amazon Photos is by far the best of the crop, and you're likely already able to make use of it.

Flickr

What We Like

  • Clean, easy-to-use menus and options.

  • Free plan offers storage for up to 1000 photos.

  • Paid plan is affordable for unlimited storage.

What We Don't Like

  • Less features than Google Photos.

Flickr has long been a go-to option for people who need a place to store and sift through their images. While it's meant more for photographers to keep a repository of their work to showcase and offer for licensing. Even if you don't take photos for a hobby or even for business, you can benefit from Flickr's organizational options.

Free plans offer up to 1,000 photos, but paid plans like Flickr Pro will net you unlimited storage for just $7 a month. You can set your photos to sync automatically, set all of your images to private, and assign photos to albums as you see fit. Flickr also offers a clean interface with easy-to-use menus. You'll have to pony up some cash to use it the way you want to, but it's still a great alternative.

Cluster

What We Like

  • Private, with access only for family and users you deem necessary.

  • Abundance of storage.

  • Free to use.

What We Don't Like

  • No paid option to improve feature options.

  • Can't change the order of photos uploaded.

Cluster is a photo storage site that was made specifically for storing and sharing images with family, with privacy at the forefront of the service. You can drag and drop your photos, which are saved as high quality, and they'll be uploaded to the cloud. You can redownload them later if you need to in an archive to make things simple.

Unfortunately, you can't change the order of the photos you upload or edit the ones you upload to Cluster. It's also free, and there aren't paid options that improve the experience at all. For anyone who likes to keep photo sharing within the family, however, Cluster is a great option that ensures everyone who wants to access their files can, and any bad actors are kept out. You're just missing out on some of the niceties you get with other paid services.

Dropbox

What We Like

  • Easy to use and sync across devices.

  • Great security options to keep files safe.

  • Syncs to cloud automatically.

What We Don't Like

  • Less free storage space than Google Photos.

Dropbox is an exceedingly useful service that can store a lot more than just photos. You can set all of your files to sync automatically to the cloud, your phone, or other locations, so you can access your phones from anywhere. You can also set up whatever folders you'd like, then drag and drop your photos via the special Dropbox app or the web version to get everything you need safe and secure in your cloud storage space.

The free version offers 2GB of storage in comparison to Google Photos' 15GB, though, and if you opt to pay for plans, you'll be out a pretty penny for unlimited uploads. While Dropbox does offer an abundance of secure features that will ensure your photos are safe, if you aren't storing anything but images, Dropbox may not be your cup of tea. If you need to add files or other items you use on your desktop so you can have them on the go, however, Dropbox is certainly a viable option that anyone could benefit from.

PhotoSync

What We Like

  • Free to download.

  • Easy to use with a variety of setups.

What We Don't Like

  • No cloud storage.

If you typically keep all of your images on your phone, you likely upload images to iCloud or Google Photos. Since Google Photos may not be an option for you anymore and iCloud isn't available for everyone, PhotoSync may be a viable contender. The app allows you to transfer images from your phone to your tablet or even your PC and Mac. You can use it on your desktop to send images to whatever device you like, meaning you practically have unlimited options for storage.

This way you can simply buy a hard drive and move all your images over via PhotoSync, then be finished with your photo storage issue. Then you can use the app to search around on your hard drive and sync your images back to the device you want to view them on. It shouldn't be very difficult to set up the type of file system that works best for you to keep your photos right where you can find them. Best of all, the app is free.

Piktures

What We Like

  • Free to download.

  • Plenty of editing and organizational features.

What We Don't Like

  • No cloud storage.

Piktures may have a funny name, but there isn't anything hilarious about how useful it can be. This gallery app has a fantastic interface that works well with just about anyone in need of a way to organize and store their photos. It includes different views for you to take in all of your photos and lets you tag images and organize them to your liking.

You can even sort by the days you've taken images to stay on top of important days in your life. There are also some light editing options, should you need some optimization. However, there is limited storage space as you must rely on what you're using on your Android phone or offload your pictures. It's best for viewing, organizing, and editing images instead.

OneDrive

What We Like

  • Affordable with or without a Microsoft 365 account.

  • Syncs automatically across devices.

  • Plenty of space with a free account.

What We Don't Like

  • No unlimited storage option.

  • Relegated to PC users.

Microsoft's proprietary cloud storage solution OneDrive is great for any files you need to store, not just photos. It's an invaluable app for many business users, but it's also similar to Google Photos in many ways. You can use it on your desktop or download it to your smartphone and sync photos across each device. It will automatically organize and tag photos due to parameters you set, and you can make sure you never miss a photo upload.

The free version offers 5GB of space, but for just $2 a month, you can bag 100GB. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can get 1TB of storage for just $7 monthly. If you're already using Microsoft apps, OneDrive is a natural evolution from Google Photos that should fit all of your needs.

Final Verdict

When examining all of the Google Photos alternatives, there's one clear winner: Amazon Photos. Not only does it come included with Amazon Prime accounts, but it offers unlimited storage. It's fairly similar to Google Photos' lineup of options, and it comes with the reliable Amazon brand backing it. If you need something to switch over to, Amazon Photos takes the cake.

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