Best photo hosting website
The best photo storage and sharing sites in 2023
(Image credit: Google)Using one of the best photo storage and sharing sites is vital if you have lots of photos. Whether you’re a pro photographer, an avid enthusiast or just like taking lots of casual pictures, storing them is becoming even more important than taking them.
With ever expanding sensor sizes and resolutions in the best cameras and best camera phones, RAW image files can now touch almost 100MB. These add up pretty quickly when taking lots of high quality photos, demanding more storage than your computer or phone may have. In such cases, cloud storage sites can provide plenty of space for your expanding catalogue.
The best photo storage sites also provide security and peace of mind, keeping your images safely backed up in the cloud, where you can access them whenever you have an internet connection. Photographers will also want to consider the organizational aspects of photo storage sites, as the tagging systems often featured make keeping track of images a breeze.
Finding the right site all depends on what your needs are. Some sites offer free storage tiers, others offer built-in editing features or are more geared towards professionals. Whatever you need though, it’ll be easy to find one that’s right for you, and we’ve rounded up our favorites to help.
The best photo storage and sharing sites today
Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Flickr (Image credit: Flickr)1. Flickr
The best photo storage service overall
Specifications
Free subscription: Up to 1,000 photos
Starting subscription price: $72/year
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Great selection of tools
+
Extensive tagging features
+
Clean interface
Reasons to avoid
-
Free accounts limited to 1,000 photos
Flickr is our pick of the best photo storage and sharing sites, thanks to its massive amount of storage and a simple, clean interface that makes it a joy to use.
It remains the best option for serious shooters. Flickr also offers a great selection of tools, extensive tagging features and support for both viewing and downloading photos at a variety of resolutions (including, unusually, the option to offer the original size). There's even a stats engine that lets you track who is looking at your photos, while a very easy drag-and-drop system allows you to organize albums of your photos and collections of photos from you and other photographers.
Since being sold to SmugMug, the company announced a cap of 1,000 photos on free accounts. If you upgrade to a Pro account ($72 per year), you get unlimited storage, the ability to view your images at resolutions up to 6K, no ads and the option to stream videos up to 10 minutes in length. Pro subscribers also get $35 off a $70 order at photo-book service Blurb. (In our opinion, Blurb isn't that great, so check out our picks for the best photo books). You also get 50% off the first year of a SmugMug subscription, among other bonuses.
Read our full Flickr review.
500px (Image credit: 500px)2. 500px
Photo storage for pro photographers
Specifications
Free subscription: Up to 2,000 photos
Starting subscription price: $41.92/year
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Can sell your photos as royalty-free artwork through the site
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Affordable subscriptions
Reasons to avoid
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Doesn't offer photo-printing services
Aimed at serious photographers, 500px offers an image-focused design that puts your photos front and center, providing a clean and elegant way to display your best shots. You can organize your pictures into Sets (photos on a particular theme) and Stories (photos of an event) that present the images in a strikingly dramatic fashion.
The free version of the service allows you to upload up to seven photos per week, but you can upgrade to one of two paid levels for a reasonable fee: Awesome usually costs $4.
99 a month, and Pro $9.99 a month, though the site is currently offering a discount on the first year (to $3.99 and $7.99/month). Both offer unlimited uploads, plus more customization options and listings in the sites' pro directory. Whichever option you choose, 500px remains one of the best photo storage sites.
3. Google Photos
The best photo storage option for backing up photos from your smartphone
Specifications
Free subscription: Unlimited storage for photos up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p
Starting subscription price: $2/month (100MB)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Unlimited storage for Pixel owners
+
Lots of tagging and sharing features
+
Basic editing tools
Reasons to avoid
-
Photos limited to 16MP in size unless you pay for a Google Drive subscription.
-
Photos from non-Pixel devices will count towards your existing cloud storage limit.
Google's photo-sharing service was designed primarily as a way to back up photos and video taken on smartphones, but it has evolved into one of the smartest pieces of software in the entire Google ecosystem.
Google Photos uses AI to categorize your photos, making it super-easy to find the one you're looking for. Type in "cat" for instance and it'll search through them all and find every relevant photo (that could be a lot for some people). It will also identify people and group them together; once you give the group a name, you can then search for all photos featuring a particular family member or friend.
It's also now a decent photo editing and sharing service. Once you've uploaded a photo, you can edit it by cropping and tweaking colors. Once the editing is done, you can create albums of photos and video that can be shared publicly or with specific Google users.
In our roundup of the best photo editing software, we named Google Photos best for sharing. And, it's available for both Android and iPhone users.
Google keeps adding new features too. For example, if Google Photos sees that a particular friend is in your photo, it will offer to share it with them. It can also automatically colorize black-and-white images, too. For more information, here's our complete guide to Google Photos. If you have a Google Assistant-enabled smart display, such as the Google Nest Hub or the Google Nest Hub Max, you can also sync your Google Photos with the display, so they'll show up on the screen.
Google Photos used to offer unlimited space and uploads, up to a maximum resolution of 16MP and video at 1080p. But these days, any photos you upload from a non-Pixel device will count against your free 15GB Google Drive limit. Anyone using a Pixel 2-5 will be unaffected , so long as they stick to High or Express quality uploads. If you want to store bigger images or video files, you'll need to pay for space on Google Drive, which starts at $1.
99 / £1.99 a month for 100GB.
4. Amazon Prime Photos
Unlimited photo storage for Amazon Prime members
Specifications
Free subscription: n/a
Starting subscription price: $139/year (unlimited)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Unlimited storage
+
Auto-tagging of photos and videos
+
Decent sharing options
Reasons to avoid
-
No free tier
-
Amazon Prints not very good
Amazon Prime Photos is Amazon's photo storage site for Prime members. (Prime membership costs $139/ £95 year after a recent price hike.) The service lets you store and share unlimited photos on your desktop, smartphone or tablet, and automatically tags images and videos, such as by animal type, person, and location.
You can also order photo prints, cards, calendars and more — all with free shipping. It's too bad that Amazon Prints sits at the bottom of our best photo books list.
Users can invite up to five friends or family members to receive unlimited photo storage and collect photos in a Family Vault, and you can show photos on the Echo Show or Fire TV. That might be a good way to share the latest family snaps with the grandparents. Amazon has added a feature called Groups that allows you to share photos with a larger group, which is useful if you are involved in a club or society.
Read our full Amazon Photos review.
iCloud (Image credit: Apple)5. Apple iCloud
A no-brainer photo storage backup option for iPhone owners
Specifications
Free subscription: 5GB
Starting subscription price: $12/year (50GB)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Easy to add photos from multiple users
+
Simple sharing tools
+
Tagging of people/places/things
Reasons to avoid
-
No Android version
Apple's iCloud service integrates with its own Apple Photos software on Macs and iOS devices, although you can use the basic features on a Windows PC.
You can upload photos to the free 5GB of space and share them in an online photo stream that can be viewed in Apple Photos or as a web page. Photos can be tagged with names and locations, and other iCloud users can also add their photos. That's a neat trick for creating a photo record from multiple photographers — say, of a party or concert everyone attended. Apple Photos will also identify and group images with similar faces, which you can tag with a person's name and contact info.
If you run out of space, Apple offers three additional tiers: 50GB for 99 cents/month, 200GB for $2.99/month, and 2TB for $9.99/month. The latter two plans can be shared with other family members. Note also that Apple has now rolled out a feature to let iCloud users easily transfer photos and video to Google Photos — which might be worth checking out if you're running short of space and haven't already maxed out your Google storage.
Adobe Portfolio (Image credit: Adobe)6. Adobe Portfolio
A good photo storage option for Adobe CC subscribers
Specifications
Free subscription: none
Starting subscription price: $120/year (20GB)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Multiple storage options
+
Comes with subscription to Adobe programs
Reasons to avoid
-
Pricey for casual users
Adobe offers its Portfolio website creator and photo storage service to users of its Creative Cloud software subscription service, which provides access to programs like Photoshop and Lightroom.
The starting plan is $9.99/month and includes 20GB of storage, as well as Adobe Fonts, Photoshop and Lightroom. A Photoshop-only plan comes with 100GB of storage for $20.99/month, while a Lightroom-only plan with 1TB of storage is $9.99/month.
If you really want to splash out then the top-tier plan is $52.99/month, and includes 100GB of cloud storage, plus all of Adobe's apps, including Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects, and more.
It's well worth a try, particularly if you are already paying for a Creative Cloud subscription. Individual photos and events can be tagged and labeled with captions and the presentation is clean and easy to use — no surprise, given that it's aimed at professional photographers marketing their services on Adobe's Behance website. Still, it would also work well for amateurs looking for a clean, simple way to show off their work.
ImageShack (Image credit: ImageShack)7. ImageShack
Unlimited photo storage for a good price
Specifications
Free subscription: none
Starting subscription price: $3.
99/month, $37.99/year (unlimited)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
No free tier
Reasons to avoid
-
Available on Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS
Although it lacks a free tier, ImageShack's starting subscription — $3.99/month, or $37.99/year for unlimited photos — is pretty generous. With that, you also get the ability to watermark photos, embed photos, and share them. The Pro ($29.99/month) and Premium ($99.99/month) tiers add additional bandwidth for users to view and download your photos, plus dedicated support, a dynamic image resizer, and API access. Regardless of the plan, photos are limited to 25MB in size, which could be a hindrance to professional photographers.
ImageShack also lets you tag photos, and follow other photographers on its site. And another nice extra is that there are apps for Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows that let you automatically upload and back up photos to your ImageShack account.
8. Photobucket
A plethora of editing and ecommerce tools for pros
Specifications
Free subscription: 250 photos
Starting subscription price: $72/year
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Lots of editing tools
+
Easy to sell prints
Reasons to avoid
-
Intrusive ads on free version
The free version of Photobucket offers photo storage for 250 photos, though it comes with very intrusive ads, including pop-ups that obscure your images. There are three levels of paid, ad-free service: Beginner (25GB of storage for $6/month), Intermediate (250GB for $8 a month) and Expert (unlimited storage for $13/month). If you pay for an annual subscription, the cost drops to $5.39/month for Beginner, $7.19 for Intermediate, and $11.69 for Expert.
All of these plans allow you to show the photos on a third-party site, which is useful if you want to put the photos on a social network site that doesn't have its own image-uploading feature.
Photobucket has a generous collection of editing tools through a simple, easy-to-use interface. This list includes unusual tools like the smart color brush, which selectively adds color back into a black-and-white image.
Once you have edited your photos, you can add basic tags and organize them into albums or stories, the latter of which is a neat scrolling presentation of photos and accompanying text. Photobucket also provides extensive support for selling prints: you can buy individual photos, photo books (starting at $1.99) or even things like fleece blankets and tablet cases with your photos on them.
Smugmug (Image credit: SmugMug)9. SmugMug
Lots of ecommerce tools for pro photographers
Specifications
Free subscription: none
Starting subscription price: : $75/year
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Lots of templates
+
Ecommerce tools
+
Unlimited storage
Reasons to avoid
-
No free subscription
SmugMug is another design-focused photo storage site that offers a stylish home for your photos, with a custom homepage (such as richardb.
smugmug.com) and many well-made design templates. Against that, SmugMug costs more than most of the services in our list. There is no free version (though there is a 14-day free trial) and the cheapest level costs $9 per month (or $75/year). That rises to $360/year for the Pro plan, which offers professional features such as ecommerce tools.
Regardless of the plan, you get a lot for your money, with unlimited storage of photos (each up to 500MB in size) and 1080p videos, and a good range of editing tools that are simple to use but powerful. These won't replace Photoshop in a professional photographer's toolbox, but they are good enough to fix most common photography issues and tweak a photo.
Dropbox (Image credit: Dropbox)10. Dropbox
Generous photo storage, but no tagging or editing features
Specifications
Free subscription: 2GB
Starting subscription price: : $120/year (2TB)
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Good sharing options
+
Lots of storage space
Reasons to avoid
-
No tagging of photos
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No editing features
Dropbox offers support for photo storage, with its Android and iOS apps automatically uploading photos from mobile devices.
You can also upload images from your computer to Dropbox as you would with any other files. Once photos are in the cloud, you can create and share basic slideshows that anybody can access, or share the files directly with other Dropbox users.
Unfortunately, there is no tagging, no printing and no way to edit photos online. Dropbox does offer a free collaborative editing tool, called Dropbox Paper , that is rather like Google Docs, but this doesn't offer photo-editing features. As such, Dropbox is a good option for photographers who want to back up photos, but not for those who want to catalog and permanently store their images.
Dropbox offers a free 2GB plan; a 2TB plan costs $9.99/month, and includes 30 days of version history and file recovery. The Pro Plan ($16.58/month) gets you 3TB of storage, but 180 days of file recovery, as well as a host of other features. Here is a list of all of Dropbox's storage plans.
Facebook (Image credit: Facebook)11. Facebook
Free photo storage, but images get compressed
Specifications
Free subscription: unlimited
Starting subscription price: : n/a
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Free to use
+
Facial recognition auto-tags people
+
Easy to share with others on Facebook
Reasons to avoid
-
It's Facebook
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Images get compressed
The big kahuna of social sites also offers a surprisingly good set of photo storage, sharing and editing tools, with some caveats.
After uploading photos from a cellphone, web browser or desktop client, you can create albums, add captions and tag photos by date, location or the people in the pictures. Face recognition has also been added; it will try to recognize the faces in your shots and tag those people if they are on Facebook. However, Facebook does shrink the images to fit onto the page; Facebook recommends sizing pictures to 720 or 960 pixels wide. You can use 2048-pixel-wide images if you select the high-quality upload option, but if the image is larger than 100 kb, it will get compressed for viewing.
Another downside is that there is no way to share the original-size photo. But if a lot of your family members and friends are already on Facebook, it's a great way to share casual shots or family photos.
The 3 best general cloud storage services for photos right now
If you're not so interested in the sharing, editing and organizing aspects of photo storage, and simply want a safe home for your digital images, you might be better looking at general cloud storage.
We also have an article comparing cloud storage vs external hard disk drive so you can see what the advantages are.
You can view a full list on our best cloud storage for photos page, but we've included the top three here in case you want to jump straight to them.
1. IDrive - the best photo cloud storage right now
IDrive reviews consistently high due to its great features and fair pricing structure. It’s available on Windows, macOS, as well as smartphones and tablets running Android or iOS (and iPadOS), and offers a cost-effective, efficient way to store your photos, with an annual plan starting at $79.50. Better still, IDrive currently has an offer that gives you the first year for just $3.98 for 10TB of storage. That's an incredible 95% off!
3. Google Photos - top free service, and top paid features
Google Photos is an easy-to-use, beginner-friendly service, with an excellent 15GB of free storage (images up to 16 megapixels and videos up to 1080p).
Paying for a Google One membership expands storage, and removes file size limits, while photo-oriented features include date and time categorization and facial recognition. Google Photos also features in our list of the best photo storage and sharing sites below.
3. Dropbox - excellent features across free and paid plans
Dropbox is one of the largest file storage platforms around, offering simple uploading, mobile apps, automatic transfer of files, and folder assist features. More advanced features include a 30-day file version history viewer, restore functionality, with a 2GB free account and paid plans offering terabytes of space.
How to pick the best photo storage site for you
To be considered one of the best photo storage sites, a service should offer six things:
- Value: It should have enough storage to keep all of your photos in one place over the years at a low cost.
- Quality: Your photos should be preserved in all their original high-res glory, not compressed beyond recognition.
- Ease of use: You need to be able to upload photos easily and edit them.
- Ease of access: Finding photos by date, tags or other means should be achieved without hassle.
- Shareability: A good photo site makes sharing photos as easy as taking them, allowing you to post pictures to sites like Facebook, Twitter and others.
- Printability: You or someone else who likes your photo should be able to buy a print or put together a photo book easily.
How much photo storage do you need?
In one sense, this question is impossible to answer: it obviously depends on how many photos you have, as well as on other factors such as which devices you use and which quality settings you shoot at.
However, we can give you some simple calculations, based on various average sizes of photos.
If you do most of your photography on a smartphone, your images are probably 4-10MB in size. Modern mirrorless cameras will usually run to more like 15-20MB and RAW files can be as big as 30-50MB. So, as a (very) rough estimate, that gives you:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
| Device | 5GB | 10GB | 100GB | 250GB |
| Smartphone (10MB) | 500 | 1,000 | 10,000 | 25,000 |
| Mirrorless (20MB) | 250 | 500 | 5,000 | 12,500 |
| RAW (40MB) | 125 | 250 | 2,500 | 6,250 |
Even a (very rough) estimate like the above gives you an idea of the huge difference between the 5GB of free storage you get on Apple's iCloud vs something like the 250GB you get with Photobucket's Intermediate subscription.
But do also bear in mind that some services are based on number of photos rather than size — and if you mainly shoot with more space-hungry devices such as big-sensored mirrorless cameras and DSLRs, you might therefore be better choosing one of those (or something that offers unlimited storage)
Of course video is a different matter still, and is even harder to calculate due to length being yet another factor. Our suggestion here is to divide the file size by length of video for a given device to get an estimate for MB/minute, then work out roughly how many minutes' footage you will want to store, then go from there. You might need a calculator for that one.
How we test photo storage sites
To find out which photo sites offer the best bang for your buck, we tested a number of them by uploading an assortment of photos from our camera reviews, tagging and organizing them as the site recommended. We also evaluated how well a site's auto-tagging feature worked, if available, and looked at if a site stored our images at their full resolution.
We then looked at the various ways we could share and print photos, to determine which site offers the best and easiest-to-use range of features.
Also part of our evaluation was the cost of storage, for both free and paid tiers. While this wasn't the determining factor — organizational and sharing features were given a higher priority — it did count in our overall rating. With all those factors considered, we were able to compile our list of the best photo storage sites.
If you'd like to do a little more reading before making your decision today, read about the 5 things to consider when selecting your next online storage provider and how to choose a cloud storage provider.
We have a wide range of buying guides to help you make the right decisions. If you're also looking to edit photos, make sure you check out our photography guides, including the best photo editing software, best free photo editing software and best photo editing apps. If you're a videographer, check out our guides on the best video editing software and best video editing apps.
If you're not keen on paying for your software just yet, why not read our guide to the best free video editing software. Only need to store images? You might also be interested in our guide to the best cloud storage for photos. And if you want to upgrade your gear, make sure you read our round up of the best cameras you can buy today.
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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsFormerly Editor in Chief (U.K.) on Tom’s Guide, Marc oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and cameras coverage, and was also responsible for the site’s U.K.-focused output. He is now U.K. Editor in Chief on TechRadar. Marc previously edited the tech website Stuff and has tested and written about phones, tablets, wearables, streaming boxes, smart home devices, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, games, TVs, cameras and much more.
He also spent years on a music magazine, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun, and on a car magazine. An avid photographer, he likes nothing better than taking pictures of very small things (bugs, his daughters) or very big things (distant galaxies). When he gets time, he also enjoys gaming (console and mobile), cycling and attempting to watch as much sport as any human can. He's also fallen in love with Wordle over the past six months and is the author of our today's Wordle answer column, in which he supplies hints and strategy tips for the mega-popular word game. Given he's completed every single Wordle so far and only lost once, and analyzed every Wordle answer in search of patterns, he's well qualified to help you safeguard your streak.
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Best image hosting websites of 2023: Handpicked free and paid providers
(Image credit: Piwigo)Ubiquitous cloud computing and the advent of smartphones with superb connectivity and compact-beating cameras have turned us into trigger-happy snappers and eager picture uploaders.
However, the market for image hosting services also caters for professionals – ranging from photographers, to artists and media creators – whose livelihoods depend on how good the image hosting providers are, and what features they bring to the table.
In this article, we identify how these services are different from traditional web hosting and show you our favorite image hosting websites, so you'll find something to suit, whether you're a budding amateur looking for a safe haven for your summer snaps, or a seasoned pro wanting to showcase a growing portfolio.
You can also check out our list of best photo cloud storage providers if all you want to do is keep your precious pictures and image archive safe.
These are the best photo cloud storage services in 2023
Why you can trust TechRadar Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
1.
IDrive is the best cloud storage provider
IDrive, the cloud backup veteran, delivers tons of storage online for an incredibly small outlay. 10TB for $3.98 for the first year is unmatched till now and so is the support for unlimited devices and the extensive file versioning system available.
2. Get free unlimited cloud backup is now included with ExpressVPN
Backblaze has partnered with ExpressVPN and now when you sign up for an annual VPN subscription, you get unlimited cloud backup as well. Secure, business-grade cloud storage for everyone, no strings attached.
3. pCloud provides a lifetime cloud storage subscription
The Swiss-based company is more expensive than the competition but the one-off payment means that you won't have to worry about renewal fees that can be very horrendously expensive.
$350 for 10 years is less than $3 per month.
These are the best image hosting websites of 2023
(Image credit: Piwigo)
1. InMotion Hosting + Piwigo
Best image hosting for those who want to have their own site
Today's Best Deals
Inmotion Power
$4.99
/mth
Inmotion Core
$2.79
/mth
Inmotion Launch
$4.99
/mth
Visit Site at InMotion Hosting
Reasons to buy
+
Scalable
+
Gives you more control
+
Offers far more flexibility and features
Reasons to avoid
-
Not free
-
Requires time and know-how
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No apps
Most web hosting companies bundle a nifty app store with their hosting packages.
Called Softaculous, it comes with a number of free applications and one of them is Piwigo, a popular self-hosted photo gallery solution that allows you to implement your own image hosting website. It offers a comprehensive feature set: albums, tags, privacy, themes and plugins, statistics and management tools, and much more.
That fits very nicely with InMotion Hosting's Power package which allows you to build up to six websites, with unlimited disk space and bandwidth to cater for future growth. InMotion also offers a unique $249 'QuickStarter' package that allows you to get a WordPress-based website up and running in less than 48 hours, with the company designing the site for you based on your responses to a questionnaire.
If you are technically knowledgeable, you can also have a look at other self-hosting photo gallery options such as Chevereto (as used by ImgBB), Koken, Lychee or Media Goblin. In the meantime, for more information, read: A Google Photos alternative: Store your photos online with Piwigo .
- You can sign up for InMotion Hosting here , and download Piwigo here
2. SmugMug
Best image hosting for professional photographers
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Hosts unlimited photos
+
Professional web store option
+
Above average support
Reasons to avoid
-
Minimal integration with other services
If you take photography (and images) seriously and want to make a living out of it, then SmugMug – which acquired Flickr – is one of the better options out there.
Unlimited photo uploads come as standard with every SmugMug plan – which starts from $55 per year when billed annually or $7 per month when billed monthly – along with the tools needed to create a beautiful photo site.
SmugMug also makes it easy to share pics and sell personalized prints and gifts.
You get free storage, free bandwidth, but e-commerce options are only available on the more expensive Portfolio/Pro packages, with the latter offering several key features in terms of e-commerce, marketing, and branding. Additionally, all plans have some cool features like personalized paintings, which as the name suggests transforms your photos into paintings.
Our review of SmugMug pointed out that it is "quirky in places, but still capable of building top quality photo gallery websites". The service, which has a community of more than 75 million users, prides itself on offering 'heroic' support 24/7, with just one day off every year.
- You can sign up for SmugMug here
3. Google Photos
Best image hosting for casual photo sharers
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Free
+
Some great features
+
Superb mobile apps
Reasons to avoid
-
No tagging option
-
Limited ability to manage photos
-
Poor integration with popular CMS systems
Google transformed Picasa Web Albums into Photos, turning it into the most popular image hosting solution in the world as it is bundled with more than one billion Android devices.
Unlike other solutions here, Google Photos is a private image hosting service (as opposed to a public service), although sharing with others (but not openly) is deceptively simple. Just bear in mind that your pictures will be stored on Google's servers and will be used to improve its machine learning capabilities.
Google Photos is smart enough to pull off all manner of clever tricks like recognizing faces, or searching for text in an image, plus its search capabilities even extend to locations. There are some additional features available here, like Memories for instance, which shows photos and videos from previous years at the top of your gallery. Additionally, Canon users can backup photos from their device to Google Photos by just using Wi-Fi.
You can also backup and sync photos from your Mac or PC as well as mobile devices. In addition, you can use Google's Gallery Go, which is a photo gallery, designed to work offline, that employs machine learning to automatically organize and make your photos look their best.
Google allows for unlimited storage if you upload pictures in the high quality mode, which is up to 16 megapixels. Professionals will probably prefer to pay extra to have photos stored at their original resolution.
- You can sign up for Google Photos here
4. Flickr Pro
Best image hosting for those who want to be in a big community
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
Unlimited storage
+
Neat editing tools
+
Smart photo management
Reasons to avoid
-
Free plan only valid for 1,000 photos
It’s difficult to mention free image hosting and not bring Flickr into the conversation. This service targets a prosumer audience rather than casual happy GIFer users.
Flickr experienced a meteoric rise under the ownership of Yahoo and Oath/Verizon since 2017, and has been part of SmugMug since 2018, although in recent times, it has struggled on the monetization front.
Despite that, Flickr's base offering remains free, and although it has a limit of 1,000 photos/videos, it sill offers powerful photo editing tools and smart photo management facilities. The paid-for Pro plan boasts advanced stats, ad-free browsing and a desktop auto-uploader. Furthermore, you can print your favorite photos directly from your Flickr account.
Flickr has managed to build one of the biggest photo communities on the web and that's its unique selling point. Also note that if you are in the market for an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (or Blurb, SmugMug, or Priime), you can get a discount on a Flickr Pro account, which will doubtless make the service more tempting.
- You can sign up for Flickr Pro here
5. Imgur
Best image hosting for quick and convenient uploading
Today's Best Deals
Reasons to buy
+
No registration needed
+
Refreshing lack of limitations
Reasons to avoid
-
Lossy compression applied to some pics
Imgur is by far the biggest independent image hosting website in the world (and one of the top 50 online properties globally).
You don’t have to register to use it and everything is pretty much unlimited with three exceptions: you can only upload up to 50 pictures per IP address per hour, the maximum file size for non-animated images is 20MB, and it is 200MB for GIFs. You can also upload 1-minute videos.
Files are kept online forever but just be aware that the service does apply lossy compression to non-animated images over 1MB (for anonymous uploads) and 5MB (for account holders). So don't use this as an online backup service for your pictures.
There are also a plethora of tools available here, either produced by Imgur itself or members of the very active user community.
- You can sign up for Imgur here
Other free image hosting websites include:
Imagebam
This little-known image hosting website has a unique feature which makes it massively useful for those looking to create thumbnail galleries very quickly. You can upload compressed ZIP files (up to 250MB in size), ideal for archives without index.
There is a 10MB download limit for pictures with no restrictions on the number of uploads/downloads or how long a file is hosted; only JPG, GIF and PNG are supported though.
Unlike others, Imagebam’s focus is entirely on hosting pictures rather than fostering a community and encouraging discoverability. While registration is optional, doing so provides you with photo management tools, and the ability to organize your images and galleries.
Imgbb
It’s near impossible to get more minimalist than Imgbb and that’s probably why it is one of the more popular image hosting websites around. Simply drag and drop your files onto the homepage and you’re ready to go.
There’s a 32MB size limit (all major image file formats are supported), but no restriction on the number of files you can upload or how long they can remain online. Imgbb doesn’t require the user to register – just be aware that all the pictures you upload will be reviewed by human editors.
Imagetitan
Like Imagebam, Imagetitan doesn’t have a community and instead provides a straightforward browser-based interface. There are no mobile apps here – you can only upload files smaller than 1.5MB and only the three major image file types are accepted (JPG, PNG and GIF).
There’s no limit to the number of files you can upload, no bandwidth restrictions, and the pictures can remain online for as long as you want. You are provided with a deletion code to remove pictures at a later date. You don’t need to register, and while hotlinking is not prohibited, Imagetitan doesn’t provide direct links.
Pixabay
At the other end of the spectrum is Pixabay, a popular upmarket image hosting service that pegs itself as an online community of people who publish high quality copyright-free images and videos.
However, to be part of this very exclusive club requires that you stick to the site’s stringent image quality guidelines which means that all the photos are vetted by humans.
Login is compulsory and the mobile apps do not currently support direct image uploads.
Pictures need to be at least 3,000 pixels on their longer side, up to 40MB in size, and you can upload up to 100 pictures per day. The more high quality images you submit, the higher your daily granted number of uploads.
Best image hosting websites FAQs
How we test and choose the best image hosting websites out there
Similar to the way we test the best web hosts , we sign up to the best image hosting websites and test out each service. We check for features such as unlimited storage, flexibility and extra features.
We believe that these features should be at the top of your check list when choosing the right image hosting website for you.
It's difficult to test whether an image hosting website truly does offer unlimited storage, but during out trail of each provider, we try to upload as many images as possible to get a true depiction of the service.
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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsDésiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
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Top 10 Free Photo Hosting Sites | PC Life
The best way to share a lot of images on the Internet is to upload images to a photo hosting site. These services allow you to upload photos to a remote server and get a link back to them (similar to file hosting).
In this article, we have compiled top 10 free photo hosting sites where you can upload your images. Some of them have long been known, others are gaining popularity.
1. Rataku
With Rataku you can save your photos without creating an account. To upload images up to 20 MB in size, you can use both the site and the program for your computer. There is a function to download images via their URL. The service supports the following file formats: BMP, GIF, PNG and JPG.
Rataku allows you to create your own gallery, it is assigned a unique link, which can later be shared with other users. A direct link is also created for individual files. Uploading photos, it is possible to change their size. For an image to have a limited lifetime, set the expiration time for this file to one day, one week, or one month. If you do not limit the period of availability of photos, they will forever remain on the site. nine0005
Rataku is a popular tool for sharing pictures on forums and classifieds sites.
There is a special image upload function that allows users to quickly share files. The ability to adjust the size of the photo will be useful for use on the forum, because. with it, the user will be able to change the size of the required image in order to use it as his avatar in the future.
Let's start with the biggest free photo hosting – Imgur. It has been running since 2009 and now has over 150 million monthly active users. You can upload pictures, set privacy options to make the pictures public or private. You can upload photos from your phone, computer, and even via email. The service allows you to store an unlimited number of images, but there is a limit: you cannot upload more than 50 images per hour with the same IP. If you want to bypass this ban, use the article “How to change IP“. nine0005
Flickr is an online service that allows you to post photos and videos. If you have a Flickr account, you can share vacation photos, family photos, and other images with your friends.
The free plan has a lot of ads and limited functionality, but it's fine for storing pictures.
500px is another great popular photo hosting that is more suitable for photographers than general users. 500px is a good choice if you want your photos to be viewed and judged by professional photographers. Do not upload ordinary photos or other personal images here. You can also earn money from photos. The site offers a limited part of the functionality for free. nine0005
If you use Google services, this photo hosting will be the best solution for you. It doesn't offer much functionality, but if you're just looking for a place to save your photos, Google Photos will let you do it.
This popular service is not only photo and video hosting, but a whole social network. It is owned by Facebook and targeted at smartphone users. Instagram doesn't offer many photo hosting features, but millions of users use it to store their pictures. nine0005
I'm not a fan of TinyPic, but that doesn't mean the service is bad.
It's actually a popular site and a lot of people like it. You can store pictures and videos for free, but the ads put up by the service are really annoying. This service is owned by PhotoBucket but doesn't offer as many options. If you want more features, try PhotoBucket's free plans.
OneDrive is the seventh popular photo hosting on our list that is worth a try. Most of the plans are paid, but there is one free for storing images. This is a Microsoft service, so you can be sure that your photos will not be lost anywhere. nine0005
While other popular photo hosting sites provide many features, and photo storage is just one of the functions, imgbb is pure photo hosting, no frills. Upload limit - 16 MB, works with JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF formats. Works fast and has a Drag-and-Drop feature.
Supload is somewhat different from previous photo hosting sites. This service was created with an interesting idea - to earn Bitcoin on pictures. The principle of operation is simple: you upload your pictures for free and get a link to them, which you can use in social networks.
networks, forums, etc. Half of the advertising revenue is paid to its users in bitcoin. After earning the first $1, you can withdraw it at any time. Despite the fact that Supload opened recently, it has become one of the best photo hosting sites for uploading images.
It's hard to name the top 10 photo hosting sites when there are hundreds of them. I prefer Imgur, some of my friends are Flickr. If the services from our list did not suit you, there are dozens of others. Before deciding on your favorite photo hosting, you need to test several services and compare their functionality. Now finding a suitable photo hosting for uploading photos is not a problem. Good luck.
Source: www.maketecheasier.com
Best free image hosting sites: Hotlinking allowed with no bandwidth limit
when you want to Share photo or photo gallery with friends or family, bulletin board or even the whole internet, photo hosting site is the best way to upload, store and share your visual files .
However, there are many photo hosting sites on the Internet, they all have different functions. Choosing the best website depends on how many images you need to upload, how much time you are willing to spend uploading, and why you are uploading the images. nine0005
So, whether you are looking for a way to store your photos online or you need to send an Internet meme, these free image hosting sites are very handy for someone or even to reduce bandwidth. They are very easy to use.
In addition, today's free image hosting sites are different from the old ones that appeared some time ago, offering multi-platform services with many hosting options. And with so many features, how do you choose the right photo hosting site for your needs? nine0005
You don't have to wonder anymore: here are six of the best free image hosting sites on the web.
1. Imgur
Imgur This is one of the largest free hosting sites in the world.
It was originally designed to host images for Reddit, but Imgur continues to grow and attract many new users. The reason for its growth can be shown in several important features.
First, you don't need an account to post images. All you have to do is drag and drop the image into Imgur (or navigate to the file's directory on your computer), wait for the upload to complete, and start sharing the link. Then your images in very high quality will be placed on the site for free. You can also post GIFs on Imgur, as well as create albums and add individual captions to images. nine0005
The maximum file size is 20 MB for photos and 200 MB for GIF files. You can upload JPG, JPEG, PNG, APNG, TIF, GIF, Animated GIF TIFF, BMP, PDF, and XCF images to Imgur.
There is also an Imgur app for both operating systems. Android و iOS , works just like the desktop website (free download, no account required, etc.).
2. Imgbox
imgbox This is a free image hosting service, very simple but useful.
You can use it to host JPG and PNG images, as well as host GIF files up to 10MB in size. imgbox provides unlimited storage for an unlimited time. nine0005
The imgbox interface is very simple. You can drag and drop the image or navigate to the file directory on your computer. Once the image has been uploaded, you can start sharing your link. You can also add images from imgbox to your site (hotlinking).
imgbox doesn't have a lot of flashy features. But it is a free and premium image hosting service.
3. Google Photos
Wait, are you Google Photos Is this a free image hosting platform? nine0005
Yes, this is a service for photos you upload from your mobile phone or 16MP camera. With this data, yes, you can consider Google Photos as one of the best free photo hosting options for capturing stunning scenes, colorful sunsets, and most importantly, cat photos.
Google Photos This is a comprehensive basic service, as you would expect from Google services.
It automatically categorizes your images, allowing you to search your library for a wide range of terms. For example, you can search by location, photo content, date, people's faces, etc.
Google Photos sees billions of new uploads every day as Google uses a large number of photos to develop artificial intelligence and other big data applications. Moreover, using Google Photos as a free photo host keeps users in the Google ecosystem, which is the best option.
4. Oshi
Different Oshi A few other options in the free photo hosting list. Usually the focus is on preservation and longevity to keep your photos alive on the web for as long as possible. Ochi works differently, allowing you to control how you post your photos and share your personality. nine0005
You do not need to create an account with Oshi. In addition, you can set links to your photo to self-destruct after 7 hours, 30 days, 90 days, XNUMX days, and XNUMX days. But if you change your mind after setting the kill time, you can always change it after sending the link.
To further enhance your privacy, you can randomly select filenames to ensure there is no connection between you and the URLs you share. nine0005
Another feature that privacy and security minded people will love is Tor support. Every image you post on Oshi also gets a Tor download address.
5. Image Store
ImageShack site navigation to the old account model. However, you can still get a free ImageShack account. ImageShack's free account has a maximum upload of 10 GB per month, but that's still a decent amount of free image hosting website, especially with reliable and long-term service. nine0005
When you activate your free ImageShack account, a 30-day premium trial automatically starts. You won't lose any photos at the end of the period as this gives you a decent amount of time to make sure these extra features are worth it.
ImageShack offers many options. You can adjust your photo privacy settings and make sure that only people with the link can see your photos.
It is also possible to create complete albums with tags and other organizational tools. ImageShack also has an app for Android and iOS so you can upload and share your photos on the go. nine0005
6. Free Image Hosting
Free Image Hosting This is one of the oldest free image hosting options that has been online since 2003! This is a basic free image hosting site, but very useful for your photos. You can upload images up to 3MB in size for free using JPG, BMP, PNG or GIF file types.
This is it. The Free Image Hosting website works well and will keep your images online forever or as long as the site is up. Given its current age, it will remain online for the foreseeable future. nine0005
Free HD Photo Hosting
If you are looking for something a little more professional, you can use photo hosting sites like Unsplash or 500px to post free high resolution images. These free HD image hosting sites offer to upload your own images with added source and are often one of the best sites for free image uploads.
