Ente Photos vs Stingle Photos
Ente Photos
ente.comStingle Photos
stingle.orgSide by side
| Figure | Ente Photos | Stingle Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $2.49/mo | $2.49/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 5 | 10 |
| Spec score · Photo Storage Services | 9.4 (#2) | 8.7 (#9) |
| Encryption | Photos and metadata are encrypted on the user's device before upload, and Ente says it cannot view them. | Files are encrypted on the device before storage or transmission, including their cloud copies. |
| Original quality | Backups retain original photo and video quality and metadata without compression or resizing. | Import preserves files bit for bit rather than recompressing them. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.7 out of 5 from 278 ratings. | 4.0 out of 5 from 2 ratings. |
| Rating on Google Play | 4.7 out of 5 from 2.78K reviews. | 3.6 out of 5 from 167 reviews. |
| Self-hosting | The server and apps can be self-hosted with Docker; the quickstart runs API, web, PostgreSQL and MinIO services. | A user can run a Stingle API server with Linux, a domain, Git and S3-compatible storage using the published Docker setup. |
| Sharing | Users can share end-to-end encrypted albums, invite collaborators and collect uploads through public links. | Users can share albums and media with other users through end-to-end encrypted key exchange. |
| Support | Ente says it offers human support through [email protected]. | The contact page directs users who need faster support to Telegram. |
Plans
Ente Photos
- FreeFree
- Starter$2.49 a month
- Popular$4.99 a month
- Pro$9.99 a month
- Pro+$19.99 a month
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
Ente Photos
Ente Photos is an end-to-end encrypted photo service for backing up and accessing images across devices. Its apps encrypt photos and metadata on the device before upload, and can back up new photos in the background. On-device AI recognizes faces and photo elements to support natural-language search. Users can revisit curated memories and share encrypted albums or browser links, with password and expiry options for links. Album owners can allow others to contribute photos, including people without an Ente account. Ente documents imports from Google Photos, Apple Photos, Amazon Photos, and local storage; its desktop app supports incremental export. The Free plan includes 10 GB and one replica. Paid plans start with Starter at $2.49 a month, which includes 50 GB. Paid subscribers can share storage with up to five family members, each with a private space. Ente says it stores three encrypted copies across providers and EU locations. It also says it cannot recover an account or data if a user loses both the password and recovery key while logged out of all devices.
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.