Where is the best place to store your photos online?

Do you take a lot of photos with your smartphone, a compact camera or a system or SLR camera? Then of course you want to keep those photos safe! Storing a copy of your photos online has many advantages. First of all, you can access it anytime and anywhere, provided you have a (fast) internet connection. In addition, you have an extra backup in case something goes wrong with the local storage or original photos. We take a closer look at eight online storage services: where is the best place to store your photos?

Storage space in the cloud, or an online disk, can be used for various things. For example, as an accessible and flexible extension if there is too little disk space in your own computer.

In this comparison, we look specifically at the storage for your photos. For example, you can place a selection of photos on that online drive that you want to be able to access via multiple devices and from anywhere, or use it for photos that you want to share with friends and/or customers. And an extra backup in addition to the backups you make on external drives at home is also a great idea. Because with a copy outside the door, the chance that you will ever lose your photos is very small. In short: many applications are conceivable with the cloud services that we discuss below. Of course you can also park all kinds of other types of files there.

Microsoft OneDrive

OneDrive software is standard on a Windows computer, otherwise you can download it for free here. All files and folders that you want to store online can be placed under the local user folder (or shortcut) OneDrive. You can simply copy them there, for example by dragging them from Windows Explorer. The same is true for other cloud services.

You can also use the OneDrive app, which you first install from the Microsoft Store where necessary. A free app is also available for an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet. In short: you can easily access your online storage from any device. And of course this can also be done via a browser. Do you regularly use Office programs such as Word, Excel and Outlook? With a subscription to Office 365 you can use them on all your devices and you get a large amount of online storage space.

Microsoft OneDrive

OneDrive Basic: 5 GB free

OneDrive 100 GB: € 2 per month

OneDrive for business: from € 4.20 per month (excl. VAT, from 1 TB per user)

Office 365 Home: €99 per year (1 TB per user, maximum 6 users)

Office 365 Personal: €69 per year (1 TB)

Website

//onedrive.live.com

• Pros
• Seamlessly integrated with Windows
• Included with Office 365 subscription
• Close integration with (own) office software

• Negatives
• No raw preview in web interface
• Somewhat confusing subscription structure

Google Drive

Google's storage service also allows you to access your photos anytime, anywhere and with a device of your choice. Choose on the website for In person, then you get a whopping 15 GB of free storage. The paid version of this service is called Google One.

On the Google Drive website, click the gear to go to settings. Click on that Get Backup and Sync for Windows to get software that shows your online storage as a local user folder on your own computer. Additionally, you can designate local folders that are backed up continuously. You install the Google Drive app on your smartphone and tablet via the relevant app store.

You can view your photos on any platform, but for raw files you only see the baked-in preview. Depending on the camera model, it has a high or low resolution and high or low compression. That is separate from Google Drive, just like with the other cloud services.

Google Drive

15GB free

100 GB: €19.99 per year (or €1.99 per month)

200 GB: €29.99 per year (or €2.99 per month)

Website

www.google.com/drive

• Pros
• Lots of free storage space
• Integration with (own) office software
• Continuous backup of local folders possible

• Negatives
• Paid versions not cheap
• Additional app (Google Photos) required for smartphone photos synchronization

Dropbox

Dropbox is popular with both business and consumers for quickly and easily transferring files between devices or sharing them with others. Then it is useful to immediately save photos here. An app or program is available for Windows, Mac, Linux, smartphone and tablet (iOS and Android) among others.

Once you install the local client on your computer, you can access the online storage via the user folder or shortcut Dropbox. Only if you set it this way, you can share folders or photos with others, which is also possible with the other cloud services. The app on your smartphone or tablet can automatically save new images you create online if you indicate this. Ideal, because then you will receive all smartphone photos and videos automatically and without using a cable on your computer. Almost all cloud apps do this too.

Dropbox

2 GB free

Dropbox Plus

2 TB for €119.88 per year (or €11.99 per month)

Dropbox Professional

3 TB for €199 per year (or €19.99 per month)

Website

//www.dropbox.com

• Pros
• Broad support platforms
• Relatively cheap if you need a lot of extra storage space

• Negatives
• Little free storage

Adobe Creative Cloud

You already know Adobe from Photoshop and Lightroom. Part of the subscription structure is an amount of online storage space. By placing photos here, you can edit them on a device of your choice, whereby the edits are also synchronized in addition to the footage. This way, during a lost hour on the road, you can already start selecting and editing photos on, for example, a tablet or laptop, after which you continue at home where you left off.

This means that this storage space is specifically intended for images and synchronizing edits, and not, as with other cloud services, for synchronizing documents and all those other types of files. Adobe encourages you to put as many photos as possible in the cloud. But it is wiser not to put your only version there, and always save a version locally (in addition to your normal backups on external drives, for example).

Adobe Creative Cloud

(Free N/A)

Photography plan 20 GB

€ 12.09 per month (20 GB storage) Photography plan 1 TB

€ 24.19 per month (1 TB storage)

Lightroom Membership

€ 12.09 per month (1 TB storage)

Upgrade a subscription from 20 GB to 1 TB or increase your total storage space to 2, 5 or 10 TB: from € 12.09 per month per TB.

Website

//www.adobe.com/nl/creativecloud

• Pros
• Strong integration with Adobe software
• Synchronization of files and operations

• Negatives
• No free storage
• Specifically intended for visual material
• Storage space not available separately

Apple iCloud

Apple iCloud is especially a logical choice if you work alone or mainly with Apple equipment. With a Mac, iPhone and iPad you make optimal use of the ecosystem. If you don't have much with Apple, then it is a less logical choice, because it is a rather closed ecosystem.

You can use iCloud by default as soon as you start using an Apple device and create an account (Apple ID). In addition, you can always access the storage via the web interface. Fortunately, your PC is not completely left out, because the program iCloud for Windows you can also exchange photos with a Windows computer. It is a bit laborious to exchange photos via something like a PC, but luckily Apple describes the process for the various platforms here.

Apple iCloud

5GB free

50 GB: €0.99 per month

200GB: €2.99 per month

2TB: €9.99 per month

Website

//www.icloud.com

• Pros
• Seamless Apple ecosystem integration
• Logical choice if you use Apple equipment

• Negatives
• No logical choice without Apple equipment
• Closed ecosystem

box.com

Initially, only the more expensive business subscriptions are shown on the website, so switch to the Individual subscriptions tab yourself. During registration, in addition to a name and e-mail address, you will also be asked for a telephone number. This is a required field, but validity is not checked, if you prefer not to disclose this immediately if you just want to test the service.

Box.com also has a free app for smartphones and tablets (iOS and Android), so you can access the online storage from anywhere. The client for your PC is a bit hidden. Click on your name at the top right of the website and choose apps. The program you need is called Box Sync for Windows. We did not see any previews of raw files via the web interface and in the app. Also, at least in the free version, there is no option in the app to automatically upload new footage.

box.com

10GB free

Personal Pro

€9 per month (100 GB) Various subscriptions for teams/business use

Website

www.box.com

• Pros
• Generous amount of free storage
• Broad platform support

• Negatives
• No raw preview in web interface
• Few upgrade options for individuals

mega

When creating your account, pay attention to which password you come up with. Because there is no way to find it out, should you ever forget it. This is done on purpose as a security measure. You will, however, be offered a recovery key with which you can still access your photos (but not a new password). Keep that key in a safe place, as it is obviously the weakest link.

Synchronization is again done via a special user folder. In addition, you can additionally designate one or more local folders that are continuously synchronized with your online storage. So if you wish, you can keep your complete photo collection continuously up-to-date in the cloud. You can expand the already large amount of free storage immediately after registration by installing the synchronization program on your computer and the app on your smartphone or tablet. Unfortunately, the data traffic that you can use monthly is limited.

mega

50 GB free

Pro Lite

€4.99 per month (200 GB storage, 1 TB transfer)

Pro I

€9.99 per month (1 TB storage, 2 TB transfer)

Pro II

€19.99 per month (4 TB storage, 8 TB transfer)

Pro III

€29.99 per month (8 TB storage, 16 TB transfer)

Website

//mega.nz

• Pros
• Generous amount of free storage
• Emphasis on safety storage
• Lots of storage options
• Continuous synchronization of local folders possible

• Negatives
• Don't forget your password (and keep the recovery key)
• Monthly data traffic limited

TransIP Stack

Your online disk space is called a stack with this provider. You can easily access the stack via the browser, as a local user folder on your computer from, for example, Windows Explorer by installing the Stack software (which is also available for Mac and Linux), or via an app on your mobile iOS or Android device . In addition, you can mount a stack as a network drive, so that you can access it via a real Windows drive letter and it looks like an extra drive on your computer. It is possible to designate local folders yourself that should be continuously synchronized with your online stack. Handy to have an updated remote copy on-going.

TransIP Stack

(Free N/A)

250 GB: € 2.50 per month (excl. VAT)

2 TB: € 10 per month (excl. VAT)

10 TB: €50 per month (excl. VAT)

Website

www.transip.nl/stack

• Pros
• Storage in the Netherlands
• Continuous synchronization of local folders possible

• Negatives
• No more free storage available

Conclusion

If you want to make a limited set of photos available online, then you often have enough free storage space. For example Dropbox, if you already use it to exchange files. Or Microsoft OneDrive because of the Office 365 subscription you have taken out, which comes with a lot of storage as standard, so that you can also store larger collections. Google Drive and Apple's iCloud in particular are a logical choice if you already use services or equipment from these suppliers. While Adobe Creative Cloud is very interesting because a subscription gives you access to photo editing software and online storage and even your edits are synchronized.

To put large amounts of photos online (perhaps even your entire photo collection), continuously synchronize local folders or keep extra backups outside the door, it is important that you first make an inventory of exactly how much data is involved. You can then search for a suitable provider. Also, see if there are any other types of files you'd like to have available online, such as documents. It may be cheaper if you place everything with one provider.