Last checked October 15, 2026
Best Free Alternatives to Google Photos (2026)
Google Photos backs up a phone, then offers albums, search, and sharing. The free tier is the storage that comes with a Google Account. Past that, the bill is Google One, shared with Drive and Gmail. A replacement has to do the phone backup, not only open a folder of JPEGs on a desktop.
What Google Photos costs
Every Google Account includes up to 15 GB, shared by Photos, Drive, and Gmail. Google One Basic is $1.99 per month for 100 GB total storage on Google's plans page.
The same page lists a free 15 GB plan and higher Google One tiers above Basic. Storage is a pool, not a Photos-only quota. Prices on that page are for plans purchased from Google.
Ranked by Drop-in score
How we rank#1 is the highest-scoring alternative that is not sponsored. A featured listing, when one is sold, is labeled and sits after #1.
- #1 · Best drop-inOpen source
Ente
End-to-end encrypted photo backup you can also host.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0
MacWindowsLinuxiOSAndroidWebSelf-host - #2Open source
Immich
A self-hosted photo and video backup.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0
iOSAndroidWebSelf-host - #3Open source
PhotoPrism
A self-hosted photo library.
Last checked October 15, 2026 · AGPL-3.0
WebSelf-host
Feature by feature
Full is the whole job. Partial is a real version with a gap. Missing means it does not do this. Not checked counts as zero in the score.
Scroll sideways to compare every alternative.
| Feature | Ente#1 · 96 | Immich#2 · 88 | PhotoPrism#3 · 62 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic phone backupWeight 10 | FullThe site describes end-to-end encrypted backups. | FullPhone backup is the product. | PartialIt indexes a folder you already have. It is not a first-party phone backup app. |
| AlbumsWeight 6 | FullSmart albums are listed on the product page. | Full | Full |
| SearchWeight 6 | FullOn-device face grouping and natural-language search are listed on the product page. | PartialSearch ships with the app. This check did not grade it against Google's scene search. | FullSearch is the reason this listing exists. |
| Sharing and linksWeight 5 | FullPublic links and shared albums are listed on the product page. | PartialSharing exists. Link and partner-library behavior was not re-tested against Google Photos. | MissingA sharing product comparable to Google Photos links was not confirmed here. |
| Mobile appsWeight 8 | FullThe site calls the product cross-platform and links to downloads. | Full | PartialBrowser. No first-party phone app in this listing. |
| Video as well as photosWeight 4 | PartialThe features checked on the homepage are described as photos. Video was not a separate claim there. | Full | MissingNot described as a video backup. |
| Library on hardware you controlWeight 8 | FullThe site says the project is self-hostable. Hosted Ente stores data on their side, encrypted. | Full | Full |
Real cost
Ente
- Free tier
- Ente's site says the hosted service includes 10 GB free. The AGPL server can be self-hosted without that cap.
- The 10 GB figure is the hosted plan, not a limit of the software.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Hard. The GitHub repository is the server and clients. Plan on object storage and a database, not a single-click photo app.
Immich
- Free tier
- The community edition can be self-hosted without a per-user fee. Hosted prices are not copied here. Unverified.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Moderate. Plan on Docker or a small VM. A hosted plan, when one exists, is separate from the free self-host.
PhotoPrism
- Free tier
- The community edition can be self-hosted without a per-user fee. Hosted prices are not copied here. Unverified.
- Hosted plan
- No hosted price recorded.
- Self-hosting
- Moderate. Plan on Docker or a small VM. A hosted plan, when one exists, is separate from the free self-host.
Did you switch?
If you left Google Photos, tell us whether it worked and how long it took. Notes stay private until we approve them, and nothing is shown until at least five are approved.
Top pair
Migrate from Google Photos to Ente
Google Takeout gives you the files. Ente imports files. Albums, partner sharing, and search labels do not arrive intact.
Read the migration guide