Effective June 1, Google has decided to end its unlimited storage feature for Google Photos that has long been a godsend for people who like to back up their photos online.
From today, photos and videos saved to the Google Photos app will count towards your allocated 15GB of storage (which also includes Gmail and Google Drive) that you get for free with your Google account.
Obviously, you can upgrade to a premium Google One plan and pay for more storage, but before you go typing in your credit card details, it’s probably worth looking at the alternatives.
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Google Photos:
Google One’s free plan offers 15GB total storage across all Google services. If you’re looking to store more than that (and you probably are, because 15GB isn’t a lot), there are a few options.
- $2.49/month – 100GB storage, access to Google experts, option to add your family to the plan.
- $4.39/month – 200GB, access to Google experts, option to add your family to the plan and 3% back in the Google Store.
- $12.49/month – 2TB, access to Google experts, option to add your family to the plan and 10% back in the Google Store.
Thankfully, if you have uploaded images to Google Photos before today, these won’t count towards your 15GB allowance. But any photos you add after today do count.
Microsoft OneDrive:
Microsoft OneDrive also has a free option, but unfortunately only offers 5GB of storage. However, you’ve got a few choices with paid plans, and if you’re already paying for Microsoft 365, you likely have a tonne of OneDrive storage that you aren’t even using.
- OneDrive Standalone – $3/month for 100GB
- Microsoft 365 (Personal) – $99/year for 1TB plus Microsoft Office apps including Outlook, Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
Apple iCloud:
Much like Microsoft, Apple only offers 5GB of free iCloud storage. However, iCloud gives you a bit more flexibility when it comes to how much storage you actually want.
- $1.49/month – 50GB
- $4.49/month – 200GB
- $14.99/month – 2TB
Amazon Prime:
Amazon Prime members have free unlimited full-resolution photo storage that you’re already paying for! Go on! Get out of here!
At $119/year for an Amazon Prime membership, this isn’t exactly a good deal if you’re only using it for photo storage. But if you’re reaping the other benefits like free 2-day shipping and binge-watching Amazon Prime video, this could be a good option for you.
The only downside is that you only get 5GB of video storage.
Flickr:
If you know you’ve got a lot of photos to store, Flickr could be a good option for you. For $59.99 per year (compared to $124.99 for Google’s 2TB plan) for the Annual Pro plan, you can enjoy unlimited full-resolution storage as well as a slew of other benefits including two months of free Adobe Creative Cloud Photography access.