PHOTO STORAGE COMPARISON
Where Should Your Family Photos Live? Mylio vs Google Photos vs iCloud vs Amazon Photos
Most families are not short on photos. They are short on a plan. Thousands of pictures sit on old phones, a laptop from 2015, a shoebox of prints, and three different apps.
Before comparing brands, it helps to know that these tools do two different jobs:
- Cloud storage keeps a copy of your photos online, so a lost or broken phone is not the end of them.
- A photo organizer pulls photos from many places into one library you can actually search and sort.
Google Photos, iCloud Photos, and Amazon Photos are mainly the first kind. Mylio Photos+ is mainly the second. Many households only need one of them. Some need both.
The short answer
- Everyone in the house uses an iPhone or Mac? Start with iCloud Photos.
- Android phones, or a mix of devices, and you already use Gmail? Start with Google Photos.
- Already pay for Amazon Prime? Amazon Photos is a low-effort extra copy of your photos.
- Photos scattered across old computers, drives, and several phones, and you want one organized library? Look at Mylio Photos+. It costs the most of the four, so use the free trial first.
Side-by-side
| Free option | Paid plans (US) | Best for | Watch out for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mylio Photos+ | No free plan. 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. | Individual: $25/month or $240/year. Duo, Family, and business plans also exist. | Bringing photos from many devices and drives into one organized library. | The highest price here. Check what your plan includes before treating it as your only backup. |
| Google Photos | Up to 15 GB, shared with Gmail and Google Drive. | More space through Google One. Plans and prices vary, so see Google's plan page. | Android users and mixed-device families. | The free 15 GB is shared with your email, so it can fill up without any new photos. |
| iCloud Photos | 5 GB. | Per month: 50 GB $0.99, 200 GB $2.99, 2 TB $9.99, 6 TB $29.99, 12 TB $59.99. | Households where everyone uses Apple devices. | 5 GB goes quickly. Works most smoothly when everyone is on Apple devices. |
| Amazon Photos | For Prime members: unlimited photo storage and 5 GB of video storage. | Extra storage plans are available if you need more space for video. | Prime members who want a second copy of their photos. | The photo benefit is tied to your Prime membership, and video space is limited. |
Storage is not the same as organized
Paying for more space moves the mess somewhere bigger. Before you upgrade, spend a few short sessions on the basics:
- Clear screenshots, blurry shots, and duplicate bursts.
- Use one simple folder system: Year, then Month, then Event.
- Start folder and file names with the date written as YYYY-MM-DD, so everything sorts in true time order.
Our free 30-Day Digital Declutter Checklist breaks this into one small task a day.
One copy is not a backup
Whichever service you choose, keep your favorite photos in at least two places, for example a cloud service plus an external drive. Every so often, try restoring one photo to make sure the copy still works. No single app or device removes the risk of losing files, but a second copy lowers it a lot.
Which one would we start with?
If you are not sure, start with the cloud service that matches the phones in your house, and do the 30-day cleanup first. If you still have photos spread across many old devices after that, try Mylio Photos+ with the free trial and see whether it saves you real time before you pay for a year.
How we made this comparison
This comparison is based on each company's published information, checked in September 2026. We have not run long-term tests of each service. Plans and prices change often, so please confirm on the official pages: