ArkCentral vs Stingle Photos
ArkCentral
arkcentral.comStingle Photos
stingle.orgSide by side
| Figure | ArkCentral | Stingle Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $2.49/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 10 |
| Spec score · Photo Storage Services | 8.4 (#12) | 8.7 (#9) |
| Encryption | The technical overview says data is encrypted end-to-end, in transit, and at rest, including AES-256 encryption at rest. | Files are encrypted on the device before storage or transmission, including their cloud copies. |
| Product | The Ark is a private home device for storing family photos, videos, files, and messages on hardware the buyer owns. | Stingle Photos combines an encrypted gallery and camera with cloud backup and synchronization for photos and videos. |
| Support | The company lists [email protected] as its support contact. | The contact page directs users who need faster support to Telegram. |
Plans
Stingle Photos
- 1 GBFree
- 100 GB monthly$2.99 a month
- 300 GB monthly$4.99 a month
- 1 TB monthly$11.99 a month
- 100 GB yearly$29.90 a year
- 3 TB monthly$35.99 a month
- 300 GB yearly$49.99 a year
- 5 TB monthly$59.99 a month
- 1 TB yearly$111.99 a year
- 3 TB yearly$359.99 a year
In their own words
ArkCentral
ArkCentral has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Stingle Photos
Stingle Photos is a gallery and camera app for backing up and syncing photos and videos across devices using the same account. It backs up files in the background and supports video recording and playback. Files are encrypted locally before they are sent to cloud storage. Stingle names XChaCha20 with Poly1305 for file data, X25519 for public-key cryptography and Argon2 for key derivation; it says sensitive photo and video metadata is encrypted in the file header. Albums can be shared with other Stingle users using encrypted album keys. The product is open source under GPLv3, and listed platforms include Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows, API access and self-hosting. The free plan includes 1 GB. Paid storage starts at $2.99 a month for 100 GB; other listed plans include monthly and yearly capacities up to multiple terabytes. Users can host their own API server, with Linux, S3-compatible storage, a domain name and Git among the prerequisites. The hosted service uses DigitalOcean and Wasabi hot cloud storage. The provider cannot recover or change a forgotten password, so users should save the recovery phrase. The maker’s August 2026 post says the iOS app is available on the App Store and includes a built-in camera; a web version is planned.