Back in 2019, photo storage service Flickr changed its previous policy of offering 1TB of free storage to its users, limiting free storage to 1,000 photos instead. There was, as you could imagine, a great outcry from Flickr members. As a result, we published a roundup of photo services that our readers might want to check out instead.

Well, times change, and now Google — which up until now has offered unlimited storage for “high quality” (read: compressed) photos — has announced that “unlimited” is being changed to “up to 15GB on your Google account.” In other words, while photo and video storage currently does not count against your total 15 free gigs on a Google account, soon, it will — along with your Gmail, Google Drive files, and other stored data. Once you hit that 15GB wall, you will have to buy into the Google One service to increase your storage capacity.

If you’re a Google Photos user who finds all of this a bit irritating, you may be thinking of leaving. But first, it’s a good idea to check out your alternatives. Below are some of the main photo storage services available to you, along with their basic fees, so you can figure out whether you want to switch.

Google Photos

Google provides each of its accounts with 15GB of free storage. However, for the last few years, photos have been treated differently: under its “high quality” plan, Google stored an unlimited number of photos for free as long as you allow them to be compressed to 16 megapixels. (According to Google, photos that size can be printed without issue up to 24 x 16 inches.) Videos were kept to a maximum of 1080p. (Data such as closed captions could be eliminated to save space.) “Original quality” photos — those that were not compressed — were not part of this unlimited plan but were counted as regular files.

However, all of that is changing. As mentioned before, starting on June 1st, 2021, Google will be including original-quality photos in its storage calculations. Once you hit that 15GB ceiling, you will have to buy into the Google One service for additional storage space.

Google One currently starts at 100GB of storage for $1.99 a month ($19.99 a year) and proceeds to 200GB for $2.99 a month ($29.99 a year), and 2TB for $9.99 a month ($99.99 a year). The 2TB plan also comes with a VPN for Android phones.

Before you run to invest in Google One, be aware that there are several mitigating factors Google is offering its users. When the new plan goes into effect, that is when the clock starts; photos you upload before then won’t count toward your 15GB limit. Also, if you’re a Pixel owner, then you can continue to upload high-quality photos without affecting your 15GB limit. (Of course, Pixel owners used to get unlimited original quality for free, rather than having to upload their photos in “high quality.” But hey, it’s something.)

Flickr

Flickr has a free plan as well, but it’s limited to 1,000 photos — within certain guidelines: photo files are limited to 200MB and video files to 1GB. For unlimited storage without ads, you pay either $6.99 a month or $59.99 annually (plus tax). Other advantages to a paid annual membership include stats about which of your photos are trending and a variety of discounts from several companies, including Adobe and SmugMug (which is now part of Flickr).

500px

Canadian company 500px is actually more for professional photographers than your average snap-and-save picture taker. It offers pros a place to store, exhibit, and license their work. So if you have ambitions to start peddling your photos, 500px may be a place to check out.

The site offers two paid plans. The first, modestly named Awesome, offers unlimited uploads, priority support, no ads, a history of “liked” photos, gallery slideshows, and a profile badge for $35.93 a year or $6.49 monthly. The Pro plan adds a way to display your services and organization tools for $59.94 a year or $12.99 monthly. And if you want to make a bit of money, you can submit your photos to be licensed for stock usage through 500px. There are no free plans, but you can try out the Pro plan for two weeks before committing yourself.

Photobucket

Photobucket offers a limited free plan, allowing you to upload up to 250 photos for free — more a trial plan than anything else. If you like what you see, you can start with the Beginner plan at $5.99 per month or $64.68 annually, which gives you 25GB of storage, along with no ads, password-protected album sharing, and an image editor. For $7.99 per month or $86.28 annually, the Intermediate plan provides 250GB of storage and unlimited image hosting. Finally, for $12.99 per month or $140.28 annually, the Expert plan offers unlimited storage and no image compression, among other extras.

DeviantArt

DeviantArt calls itself “the world’s largest art community” with a social network for visual artists of all kinds. It offers visitors a wide range of artist galleries to view, divided into categories such as traditional, animation, and illustrations. DeviantArt (or DA for short) even has its own publishing platform called Sta.sh — emphasizing the fact that this site, like 500px, is less for simple storage and more for showing (and selling) your art.

With a free membership in DeviantArt, there are no restrictions on how much you upload for public access, and you get admission to DA’s community of artists and art lovers. Core Members enjoy additional perks. For $3.95 a month or $39.95 a year, you get to sell your art with a 20 percent service fee and a $100 max price per item, along with 20GB of private storage space in Sta.sh. For $7.95 a month or $79.95 a year, you can charge up to $1,000 per item and pay a 12 percent service fee, along with 30GB of private storage. Finally, $14.95 a month or $149.95 a year lets you charge up to $10,000 per item, charges you a 10 percent fee per sale, and gets you 50GB of storage.

Amazon Photos

Amazon provides its Prime members with a grab bag of extras along with the free shipping. Along with the video offerings, music streaming, and other goodies, you get unlimited photo storage for $119 a year.

A nice perk is that you can share that unlimited storage with five friends or family members in what is called the Family Vault. Everything there is accessible to everyone who shares the Vault. “Unlimited,” by the way, does not include videos or other files; for those, Prime members get 5GB of storage, and after that, there is a long list of storage plans available starting from $1.99 a month for 100GB.

That’s something to keep in mind if you drop your Prime membership. In that case, according to the Amazon instructions, “the unlimited photo storage benefits associated with the membership end. All uploaded photos count toward your Amazon Drive storage limit.” What happens to your photos if you don’t subscribe to Amazon Drive is not specified.