Google Photos no longer free – These are 3 perfect alternatives
Google Photos will now add all your saved photos to your total storage space, so today we’re giving you three solid alternatives.
Today is the last day that Google Photos is free, so it’s time to dig into some alternatives. From June 1, 2021 you can no longer store unlimited free photos via the service. Instead, all snapshots stored in the cloud from then on count towards the 15GB of free storage that users get with a Gmail account. This way you avoid having your free storage full or costing money in no time.
Google Photos no longer free
From June 1, 2021, all your newly saved photos via Google Photos will count towards the general Gmail limit of 15GB, but before we start with the alternatives, a little housekeeping first. You can purchase additional storage space through Google. For example, 100GB of cloud storage costs $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year. 2TB costs a tenner per month (or €99.99 per year). So that’s always an option, if you don’t feel like arranging something else for all your photos.
In addition, the new regulation does not apply to owners of a Google Pixel smartphone. So if you have a smartphone from the brand, you don’t have to worry. Finally, to be honest, there isn’t much going on if you go over the limit. Google will then ensure that you can no longer upload anything new, but you will not lose any files or photos.
Top 3 alternatives
Own backup
Starting with the simplest alternative, users can manage their own photos relatively easily. By means of a large external hard drive you have relatively cheap large amounts of extra storage space.
Of course you will miss the benefits of the cloud; you cannot access it everywhere and there is no automatic synchronization. As an alternative to this alternative, you can choose to set up your own cloud server, for example with a Synology NAS server. However, that is a bit complicated.
flickr
Flickr is one of the better alternatives to Google Photos. The photo platform is mainly known for offering royalty-free photos. On the other hand, you also have a free cloud service with automatic synchronization. And yes, you can put your photos on private.
The only caveat is the fact that you can upload a maximum of 1000 photos. So you will have to be critical (perhaps through Google’s latest tool) about which photos you upload.
Amazon Photos
Finally, there’s Amazon Photos, which does exactly the same as Google Photos for the same money. The handy thing, on the other hand, is that you get unlimited photo storage with Amazon Prime for free. So if you have an account, that’s a good option.
If not, Amazon Prime costs a dollar more per month than paying for storage via Google Photos. But for that extra dollar you get free delivery from Amazon, Amazon Prime, Video, Music, Gaming and so on. In short, if you are willing to pay for photo storage, Amazon offers a lot of extras for a little more money.
