Best Photo Storage and Sharing Sites: Save Moments in Time

July 15, 2024 By Christine Margret No Comments 10 minutes

Have a thousand different precious pictures that you don’t want to lose? Want to store your photos in a cloud but don’t know which one to try? We’ll help you by giving you a list of the best online photo storage sites. With these online photo storage options, you won’t have to worry about running out of space on your device ever again.

We’ll also tell you how you can use these online storage spaces to their full potential. For example, you can make a custom album and share it with your friends. You’ll also learn about the limits of different online photo storage sites and their security flaws.

Note: Online photo storage sites are often prone to attacks. Pair them with FastestVPN to improve online security and get the most out of your storage service. You can get FastestVPN today at the best prices. 

Quick List of Best Online Photo Storage and Sharing Site

Best Photo Storage and Sharing Services

We have compiled a list of authentic photo storage sites to best meet your general photo storage needs. Check out below: 

1. Dropbox

Dropbox has plenty of useful features and what makes it even trusted is that it was one of the first cloud storage service providers. Its basic account comes with 2GB of storage that you can upgrade by getting a Dropbox Plus to account for $11.99/mo for 2TB.

You can also get extra storage levels from 500MB to 1GB per referral. With Dropbox, users get a 30-days history and options to restore folders in case of accidental crashing or deletion.

In addition to its features list, Dropbox supports Raw files storage and is integrated with Facebook to let its users share files on the social network.

Pros: 

• Support: All File Types 
• Interface: Easy to use 
• Integrations: Facebook/ Adobe Creative Cloud 
• Free Storage: 2GB 

Cons:

• Editing options not available 
• Photo Tagging not available 
• Prices are high 

2. Flickr

Flickr is another great photo storage platform where you can enjoy saving up to 1000 photos for free. You can also upgrade to a Flickr pro account for $9.49/mo to get unlimited media storage. Besides offering a massive storage capacity, Flickr also has other scores that include a clean Photostream interface.

You can also make your images available for public viewing and commenting. There’s also a stat engine to keep you informed on who’s viewing your images.

Flickr has a drag-and-drop option that allows you to manage your albums easily, and you can also add a collection of photos from other photographers.

Flickr pro account serves you with amazing features, including the facility to view your media at resolutions up to 6K without ads. Not only that, you may stream videos that are 10 minutes in length.

Pros:

• Support: JPEG, GIF, and PNG Files 
• Interface: Photostream 
• Free storage: 1000 photos 
• Tagging features: Available 
• Extensive tools: Available 

Cons: 

• Free version limits file sizes 
• RAW Files not supported 

3. Google Photos

Google photo-sharing service has some limitations, but it’s still a good option to go with. With Google Photos, you can get a backup of all your smartphone’s videos and photos.

The photo organization is exemplary since Google Photos uses AI techniques to categorize your media. You can type any relatable word, and Google will fetch the most relevant results from your media library. Finding a specific group, person or thing is hassle-free with Google Photos.

Editing options for tweaking colors or cropping are also available. Moreover, you can also share your albums publicly or with a specific group of friends.

Google account holders can get 15GB for their entire account that too include apps like Gmail. To get more space, upgrade to Google One with 100GB for $11.99/year. Users can also opt for 200 GB for $29.99/year and 2TB for $99.99/year.

Pros: 

• Support: Photos and Video Files 
• Interface: Easy to use 
• Free Storage: 15GB for the entire account 
• Tagging feature: Available 
• Editing Tools: Available 

Cons: 

• Compressed and resized files 
• Unpaid photos are limited to 16MP in size

4. Microsoft One Drive

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud storage provider with seamless Windows integration along with other remarkable features. The cloud storage solution comes with a basic account of 5GB storage and it’s totally free to use. Yet, if you have more files to save, you can buy its other tiers that include $2/mo for 100GB, $7/mo for 1TB plus, these advance plans will also enable your access to Office apps.

Moreover, Microsoft One Drive is compatible with all file types. It’s just not limited to the photos so you might not find other exclusive features that other photo storage sites are providing.

However, users who want advanced features might try OneDrive business plans for file auditing and management. OneDrive business plan 1 costs $5/mo and OneDrive business plan 2 is for $10/mo.

Pros: 

• Support: All File Types 
• Interface: Similar to Windows 10
• Free storage: 5GB 
• Integration: Windows, Microsoft 363
• Tools: Decent file-sharing and document collaborative editing

Cons: 

• Syncing for specific folders only 
• In-app photo editing not available 
• Very limited photography features 

5. iCloud

iCloud is a dedicated file storage service powered by Apple. Besides supporting photo storage for Mac, Apple and iPhone it has seamless support for Windows.

You can upload your media online and display it in a Photostream interface. Moreover, photo tagging is also available, and you can tag images with names and locations. The best part is that other iCloud users can also share or add their photos to the stream.

iCloud gets you 5GB of free storage that you can upgrade by paying for the advanced photo storage plans starting from $0.99/mo for 50GB, but this plan is exclusively available for users in the USA only.

Pros: 

• Support: PNG, JPEG, TIFF, and RAW formats
• Integration: Apple devices
• Free Storage: 5GB
• Tools: Extensive photo editing tools in the Photos app 

Cons: 

• Limited to Apple devices only 
• Top out limit is 2TB only 
• Free storage limit is low compared to other providers 

Online Photo Storage Services Reddit Recommendations

We sifted through the threads of r/Photography and Cloud to find the best photo storage and sharing services. Here are some great services that we found:

• Amazon Prime Glacier S3: Most redditors preferred Amazon Glacier, because it is cheap at $5 per month and works great. Amazon Photos also offers high speed downloads and makes your life a whole lot better.
• Adobe Lightroom: Redditors recommended this as the best option for professional photographers and editors because it gives you 1TB of storage with each subscription.
• Backblaze: It’s more of a backup storage for people who don’t have to retrieve files on a daily basis. It’s the perfect option for people who want to store items for long term.

Some people recommend storage services like Koofr and Yandex, but they were rare and few. We’d recommend going for the best recommendations like Amazon Photos to get more value for your money.

One underrated option that no one recommended is Mega. It’s comparable in price to Amazon and Google Photos, but gives you 2 TB of Storage and 24 GB of high-speed transfer. The service also has a free subscription that gives you 20 GB of free storage.

All In One Photo Storage Solution

While there are some great online storage solution, Amazon is in a league of its own. When you get an Amazon Prime subscription, you also get unlimited online photo storage. It makes Prime, one of the best photo storage solutions for individuals who want the added benefits of Prime.

With this, you also get access to countless movies, shows, and exclusive discounts. It’s a combo deal that makes your whole life a lot easier and manageable.

Things to Consider for the Best Photo Storage Sites

Choosing a photo storage and sharing site is much easier when you know what needs to be considered:

• Service Pricing vs Value: Choose a storage site that gives you more value for each subscription. For example, if one service includes 50 GB of Storage and another includes 1 TB of Storage for the same price, choose the one that offers more value.
• Storage Type: There are different types of storage models, for example, Google Drive offers a holistic type of storage. You can store images, videos, games, and more. Flickr only offers storage for photos and videos. Choose a storage option that offers the right type of storage.
• Download and Transfer Speeds: Some storage services offer unlimited photo storage, but they don’t offer the right speeds. Overall, the top 5 offer the greatest speed, while back up services like Koofr and Backblaze offer extensive storage but don’t have great download speeds.
• Image Upload Quality: Some sites shrink your images, which reduces their quality. For example, Amazon Glacier S3 is the best cloud storage for photos in terms of speed and value, but it isn’t great for professional photographers who want to create a photo book of high-quality photos.
• Extra Features: Some services like Google Photos have great organization and extra perks like AI recognition. MEGA gives you a great meeting platform along with storage. iCloud gives you automatic backups for your whole gallery. Always consider the most adequate extra perks before settling for a cloud storage for photos.

How to Store Photos Online in Cloud Storage?

Here’s a quick guide to storing photos online using the best photo storage services:

1. Visit the website for your favorite online photo storage site.
2. Create an account (use Gmail for Androids and Apple ID for iOS).
3. Enter the dashboard of your online storage.
4. Click on Upload Files.
5. Select the images you want to back up.
6. Wait for the images to upload, and you’re done.

Some services might offer automatic sync like Google Photos and iCloud. You will only need to create an account on such websites to start storing your photos.

How to Share Photos with Online Cloud Storage Services?

You can share your photos with online cloud storage services. However, this method only applies to active cloud storage services like using the following method:

1. Open your drive.
2. Create a folder and add the relevant images to it.
3. Click on the three dots beside the folder.
4. Click on Share Folder.
5. Enter the email addresses or copy the link.
6. Share the link with the relevant parties.

That’s all it takes.

Tips to Ensure Security on Online Photo Storage Sites

Here are some great tips that can help you ensure secuity on online cloud photo storage sites:

• Enable MFA: Multi Factor Authentication is a great way of creating extra layers of security on your backups. You can enable MFA on most high-end storage sites through your email and authenticator applications.
• Do Not Share Editing Access: When you’re sharing albums or specific folders from your back up drive, do not share editing access. This might allow third parties to delete or edit valuable images if the link is misplaced.
• Use a VPN: Transferring files over the internet is a risky process, especially when you’re exposed to the risks. Use FastestVPN to encrypt your data when you’re uploading, downloading, or sharing files.
• Encrypt ZIP Files: For extra security, you should try encrypting ZIP files. Even if the back up was compromised in some way, the user wouldn’t know what to do with the data. 

Conclusion: Best Cloud Storage for Photos

With our list, online photo storage will become more affordable and a lot easier. Try out the free versions of these services to get a better hang of them. When you’re done choosing, get a subscription and start storing.

Remember, a drive is secure but you can always improve its security further. The easiest way to do this is to enable MFA, encrypt files, and limit sharing access to only trusted parties. Apart from this, you can use FastestVPN to bolster your security and improve accessibility. 

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