Google Photos vs Permafiles
Google Photos
google.comPermafiles
permafiles.comSide by side
| Figure | Google Photos | Permafiles |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | £1.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 10 | 8 |
| Spec score · Photo Storage Services | 9.3 (#4) | 8.9 (#7) |
| Company headquarters | Google's corporate history identifies the Googleplex in Mountain View, California as its current headquarters. | The listed business address is 3rd Floor, 45 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JL, United Kingdom. |
| Company legal name | Google's service terms identify Google LLC as the service provider, organized under Delaware law. | The contact page identifies the operator as Permafiles Ltd. |
| Integrations | Google Photos lists camera and digitization partners including Canon and Photomyne, print partners including Walgreens and Shutterfly, and TV platforms including Google TV and Samsung. | The Nextcloud Mail app can connect to Gmail and other email providers using IMAP and SMTP. |
| Product | Google Photos provides tools to edit, organize, search, back up, and share photos and videos. | Permafiles is fully managed cloud storage powered by the open source Nextcloud platform. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.8 out of 5 from 1.6M ratings | 4.7 out of 5 from 10K ratings for the Nextcloud iOS app. |
| Rating on Google Play | 4.4 out of 5 from 53,899,623 ratings | 4.0 out of 5 from 1.93K reviews for Nextcloud Talk. |
| Security | Google says Photos data is protected with HTTPS encryption in transit and encryption at rest. | The service describes HTTPS/TLS, two-factor authentication, brute-force protection, antivirus protection, and optional end-to-end encryption for supported folders and use cases. |
Plans
Google Photos
- FreeFree
- Basic$1.99 a month
- Google AI Plus$9.99 a month
- Google AI Pro$19.99 a month
- FreeFree
- Basic$1.99 a month
- Google AI Plus$9.99 a month
- Google One Basic (100 GB)¥290 a month
- Google AI Plus (2 TB)¥1,450 a month
- Google AI Pro (5 TB)¥2,900 a month
Permafiles
- Nextcloud FreeFree
- Nextcloud Tiny£1.99 a month
- Nextcloud Small£2.99 a month
- Nextcloud Medium£3.99 a month
- Nextcloud Large£4.99 a month
- Nextcloud 1TB£9.99 a month
- Nextcloud 2TB£18.99 a month
- Nextcloud 3TB£27.99 a month
In their own words
Google Photos
Google Photos is a service for editing, organizing, searching, backing up, and sharing photos and videos. It runs on Android, iOS, and the web. A Google Account includes 15 GB shared among Photos, Gmail, and Drive at no cost; Original quality backups use that storage. Users can back up media automatically or manually, and share photos, videos, and albums with people who do not use Google Photos. The app lists AI editing tools including Magic Eraser and Photo Unblur. It supports full-resolution RAW image backup and cloud storage for 4K video. Google lists paid monthly plans including Basic at $1.99 a month for 100 GB, Google AI Plus at $9.99 a month for 2 TB, and Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month for 5 TB; each allows up to five additional people. The natural-language search example is limited to eligible US users aged 18 or older who meet specified language and settings requirements. Google says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and users can delete or export their content.
Permafiles
Permafiles is managed cloud storage built on the open-source Nextcloud platform, for files, photos, and folders. Users can share family photos and set permissions controlling who may access, edit, or download them. Shared links can also have passwords and expiration dates. Nextcloud Office supports online editing of documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, while Nextcloud Talk provides calls with up to 10 people. The Nextcloud Mail app can connect to Gmail and other email services through IMAP and SMTP. Sync clients are listed for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS, with web access as well. Security measures described include HTTPS/TLS, two-factor authentication, brute-force and antivirus protection, and optional end-to-end encryption for supported folders and use cases. Permafiles says its server infrastructure is hosted in Germany, while customer file data is stored with third-party S3-compatible storage in the United Kingdom. It also says it makes daily offsite backups and can restore a complete server failure within a couple of hours. The free plan includes 5 GB. Paid plans range from £1.99 per month for 64 GB to £27.99 per month for 3 TB.