Google Photos vs iCloud Shared Albums
Pick the one your family's phones already use. Google Photos works the same on Android and iPhone. iCloud Shared Albums are smoother if everyone is on Apple.
Choose Google Photos if
- Your family mixes Android and iPhone
- You want albums that fill themselves by face
- You want a full export with Takeout
Choose iCloud Shared Albums if
- Everyone uses an iPhone
- You want up to 100 people in one album
- You want older albums that don't use your storage
Side by side
Google.
Apple.
Android, iPhone and the web. Source
iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Windows through iCloud for Windows, and iCloud.com. Source
Free up to 15GB, shared with Gmail and Drive. Paid Google One plans add more. Source
Free. Albums made on iOS 27 or later count against the owner's iCloud storage: 5GB free, then from $0.99 a month for 50GB. Source
Yes, within your 15GB. Source
Yes. Albums made before iOS 27 don't use your storage at all. Source
No ads in the app. Google says your Photos data is never used for ads unless you connect it to other Google services that show them. Source
No ads in the Photos app.
Up to 20,000 photos or videos in an album. Source
iOS 27 albums have no item limit beyond your storage. Older albums cap at 5,000 items and shrink photos to 2048 pixels. Source
Up to 10GB per video. Source
Older albums allow up to 15 minutes, delivered at 720p. iOS 27 albums keep the original. Source
Share with Google accounts or with a link. Anyone who has the link can see the album, account or not. Source
Up to 100 people per album. On iOS 27, Apple says relatives can join on the web without an Apple Account. Source
With Collaborate on, anyone with access can add photos, and anyone with access can add more people. Source
The owner decides whether people can add photos. Source
None. It has face groups and automatic Memories.
None. Photos groups faces into People and makes Memories.
Comments and likes in shared albums. The owner can turn them off. Source
Comments and likes, plus emoji reactions on iOS 27. Source
An album can fill itself with photos of a chosen face, so one album per child works. Source
Make a separate album per child.
Google Takeout downloads everything, with comments in a separate file. Source
Download unmodified originals from iCloud.com, up to 1,000 at a time. Source
Not covered here.
Not covered here.
Google says it doesn't train generative AI models outside Google Photos on your personal photos, but may train on summaries and other things derived from them. Source
Apple says it doesn't use your photos for research and development. Shared Albums are not end-to-end encrypted, even with Advanced Data Protection on. Source
We make Aanvi, so weigh that when you read this. Everything about the other apps comes from their own websites, help centers, privacy policies and app store listings, checked on November 1, 2026, with US prices. Each fact links to its source. If something has changed, email support@aanvi.app and we'll correct it.
If neither fits
A private baby book app built around milestones: photos, videos and the things your child says, each stamped with their exact age and shared only with family you invite. No ads and no data selling, but there's no free plan: $6.99 a month or $49.99 a year after a 14-day trial.