So which one should you use?
But it was a close race against Flickr, which garnered just 67 fewer votes.
A lot has happened since then.
Lets take a look at how these two popular services now compare.
Want to keep the original full resolution quality?
Google Photos also supports more file formats, including RAW images.
Video playback is also constrained to the first 3 minutes.
Youll get more free space for your full-res photos.
However, Google Photos is better for backing up videos, since theres no length limitation.
Both Google Photos and Flickr can automatically upload your photos and videos via mobile apps or desktop uploaders.
Flickr: Simple but does the job (if slowly).Flickrs uploaders are more basic.
On the desktop, you go for the folders you want and let it do its thing.
On mobile, your options are to use Wi-Fi only or cellular/Wi-Fi.
Downloading photos reveals some other differences.
Alternatively, it’s possible for you to download individual albums or the collections Google Photo creates for you.
Thats where these apps smart organization and display features come in.
The biggest difference between these two services is how they present your photos.
Google Photos search isnt perfect, however.
But still, the initial results are pretty impressive.
Google also automatically categorizes your photos into People, Places, and Things.
As with Googles Picasa desktop photo app, the facial recognition is stellar.
The Google Photos Assistant creates entertaining animations and slideshows for you automatically as well.
Unfortunately, however, Google Photos doesnt preserve your file folder structure.
It just flattens everything into one huge folder online.
Photo search, however, isnt as smart in Flickr compared to Google Photos.
(Im not sure if thats a helpful thing or not.)
Google Photos is better at finding specific photos in your vast collection.
Take your pick at which is more important to you or what best matches your style of photo perusing.
You cant edit metadata in Google Photos.
Winner: Flickr.Flickr has such a robust community of users, comprised of both professional and everyday photographers.
The community features are one of the services strongest selling points.
A quick summary:
Google Photosauto-creates albums, slideshows, and collages for you.
It also lets you create your own animations and awesome photos.
(Also, as mentioned above, it supports RAW images and offers virtually unlimited storage.
Its best for exploring your photos.
These arent the only two options for storing and sharing your photos online, of course.
Microsoft OneDrive: Microsoft offers a generous 30GB of free online storage for photos and other files.
In the end, as usual, choosing between these services depends on your usage needs.
Illustration by Tina Mailhot-Roberge.
