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Google Photos: the best alternatives for storing photos in the Cloud
Google Photos no longer suits you or you don’t appreciate the disappearance of free unlimited storage? So it’s time to think of an alternative to store your photos and videos in the Cloud in a secure and practical way. Discover our proposals to replace Google Photos.
Google Photos no longer offers free unlimited storage of photos and videos since June 1, 2021. The Mountain View company is thus promoting the switch to a paid formula. Your data storage is now limited to 15 GB. Beyond that, you have to subscribe to the Google One offer. Many users could therefore seek to supplement the free part of Google Photos, failing to replace it. We offer a selection of alternative platforms that allow you to store your photos in the Cloud and therefore access your photos from anywhere.
But beware, these solutions are not really free since they have an economic model similar to that of Google Photos, namely a free part. To benefit from truly unlimited storage, you must subscribe to a paid offer.
Why an alternative to Google Photos?
Before going any further, a little contextualization is in order. Google announced on November 11, 2020 an important policy change regarding storage on Google Photos, the automatic cloud photo backup application for devices in the Android ecosystem. Before, each Google account was entitled to 15 GB of free storage divided between all services: Gmail, Drive, Photos. But the shots that were not taken in too high quality were not deducted from this quota. The user also had the option of allowing Google Photos to compress photos that were too large so that they became less bulky and were also not included in the famous 15 GB quota.
In other words, it was possible under certain conditions (for the majority of users) to keep an unlimited number of photos on Google Photos. But now stored photos, even in lower or compressed quality, will be taken into account in the 15 GB quota. Suffice to say that users who are used to taking photos and videos regularly will very quickly reach the 15 GB limit. free storage.
It is since June 1, 2021 that content stored on Google Photos is deducted from the storage space of your Google account. Photos taken before will be kept with no impact on available storage space. But if you are considering which solution is right for you to overcome this problem, there are two options: continue with Google Photos and pay for a Google One subscription to benefit from additional storage or turn to another service to store your photos in the Cloud. .
Amazon Pics
And why not switch from one GAFAM to another? In its way of working, Amazon Photos is undoubtedly one of the platforms that comes closest to Google Photos. It is not strictly speaking free since you have to pay a subscription to Amazon Prime (5.99 euros per month or 49 euros per year). But if you are already a subscriber, then you benefit from storage of your photos in the Cloud unlimited. Amazon Prime also including Free Express Shipping, Amazon Prime Video, Prime Gaming (Twitch) and many other benefits, this offer becomes clearly profitable.
One of the advantages of Amazon Photos is being able to store your photos in original quality. Synchronization is automatic and it is possible to search for photos using keywords, even if this functionality is not as developed as on Google Photos, unbeatable in this area. Up to six family members can use the same account, convenient for not having to pay a subscription for each person.
Among the minuses of Amazon Photos is the lack of support for videos. These should be stored in Amazon Drive, like all other file types. And here no unlimited, the storage is only 5GB, you have to pay to get more space. Finally, terminating his Amazon Prime subscription results in the loss of access to his photos.
OneDrive
We move on to another Cloud giant in the person of Microsoft and its service OneDrive. As with Amazon Photos, it is above all a question of its economic model of a good solution for users who already use the ecosystem of the Redmond firm. Indeed, if the first 5 GB are freeyou must then go to the cash register (2 euros per month for 100 GB).
But switching to OneDrive to replace Google Photos is especially relevant if you are already a Microsoft 365 Family or Personal customer since you then benefit from the premium features of OneDrive at no additional cost, with 1 TB of storage for Microsoft 365 Personal and 1TB of storage per person (up to 6 members) for Microsoft 365 Family.
Otherwise, OneDrive offers automatic synchronization of photos via the cloud and the photos are automatically labeled by the system to categorize them and find them more easily.
iCloud
iCloud is Apple’s online storage solution. The platform is really well thought out and user-friendly, but it must be admitted that iCloud Photos is not at the level of Google Photos in terms of possibilities left to the user for the search for photos, an increasingly important function. as we take an ever-increasing volume of shots.
If Apple is known to sell its hardware products very expensive, the apple brand is more attractive on services. If only 5 GB of free storage is available, the prices are then very fair: 0.99 euro per month for 50 GB2.99 euros monthly for 200 GB and 9.99 euros for 2 TB. iCloud is financially a good solution if your storage needs are between 15 GB and 50 GB. Below or beyond, you might as well stay on Google Photos .
If you are an Apple Music, Apple TV+ and Apple Arcade user, remember that an Apple One bundle at 14.95 euros per month includes these three services as well as 50 GB of iCloud storage.
Dropbox
After reviewing the solutions of the Tech giants, let’s take a closer look at what we have to offer Dropbox, a platform that has become known for its cloud storage service, which is its specialty. With the mobile application, you can activate the automatic synchronization of photos taken with your smartphone so that they are uploaded to the Cloud, and thus access them from any device.
With only 2 GB of free storage and plans at higher prices than the competition, Dropbox is above all a recommended alternative for professionals with its advanced productivity features and enhanced security. Most individuals will prefer another service, but if you already use Dropbox for your work (freelance or business), know that it can also replace Google Photos for more personal use. Note, however, that the free version of Dropbox is limited to 3 devices.
Dropbox subscriptions include Dropbox Passwords, which securely stores passwords and syncs them across devices. For individuals, the most affordable plan is 9.99 euros per month (annual payment) for 2 TB of storage.
Flickr
Impossible not to think about Flickr when it comes to online photo storage. The platform is not only interesting for sharing photos, but also for managing and storing its library. The storage and labeling options allow you to create a personalized space, but we can regret the absence of the best Google Photos features in terms of automatic creation of albums and tags.
Very interesting for small budgets and heavy users of the camera of their mobile some time ago with its terabyte of cloud storage offered, Flickr is now content to authorize a number of 1000 photos on an account without paying. Then you have to upgrade to Flickr Pro to get unlimited storage. It is therefore a good solution for photo professionals who will have a lot of heavy shots to store while other platforms often stop at 2 TB.
The price of Flickr Pro? 7.49 euros per month or the equivalent of 5.49 euros monthly in case of annual payment.
Media centers: Plex, Kodi, etc.
Another alternative is to use media center software, such as Plex or Kodi. It will of course require a lot more effort on your part to configure everything correctly, but you will have a home-made and independent solution available. Two schools then compete: local storage on a NAS or in the cloud if your media center offers such functionality. Reserved for advanced users.
If you stop using Google Photos to switch services, then you might want to grab your photo and video files from the platform to save them elsewhere. To do this, go to Google Takeout, a tool to retrieve all the data and content that the Mountain View company has on us.
Once you are on Google Takeout, click on “Deselect all” because by default absolutely everything is checked, which is not the goal here. Scroll down until you reach Google Photos, check the box next to it and scroll down to click “Next Step”.
Select the export settings that suit you:
- Send mode : download link sent by email or direct addition to another storage service (Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and Box are available).
- Frequency : export once or every two months for a year.
- The file type: ZIP or TGZ (choose ZIP if you are unfamiliar with TGZ).
- File size: between 1 and 50 GB, depending on your preferences. Rather several small files or one big one?
You can then validate with the “Create an export” button and follow its progress. The delay varies depending on the size of your photo and video library, so don’t be surprised if it takes a long time.
Google Photos with Google One
Convinced by any of the alternatives we offer? So you will probably have to resolve to stay on Google Photos and go to checkout. To unlock additional storage for hosting your photos in the cloud, you need to take out a Google One subscription, the prices of which are as follows:
- 100 GB: 1.99 euro per month or 19.99 euro per year
- 200 GB: 2.99 euros per month or 29.99 euros per year
- 2 TB: 9.99 euros per month or 99.99 euros per year
For each of these formulas, it is possible to add up to five family members so that everyone can take advantage of additional cloud storage space.
