iCloud Backup vs Noodle Gallery

iCloud Backup is Apple’s iOS service for backing up and synchronizing files and other data across devices. It supports mobile and video backup, file restoration, original-quality storage, face search, shared albums, family sharing, and a desktop app. The free plan includes 5 GB. Paid iCloud+ storage starts at $0.99 a month for 50GB, with monthly tiers of 2.99 USD for 200GB, 9.99 USD for 2TB, 29.99 USD for 6TB, and 59.99 USD for 12TB. The 50GB tier adds iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, Custom Email Domain, and HomeKit Secure Video for one camera. The 200GB tier supports five cameras, and 2TB supports unlimited cameras; higher tiers include the preceding features. Computer and server backup are not supported, and ransomware protection is not included. The service is listed for iOS.

Noodle Gallery is a self-hosted photo and video app for storing and organizing media on a server you provide. Its Shared Spaces let several people contribute to one chronological timeline while keeping their personal libraries separate. A Cmd/Ctrl+K palette searches photos, people, places, tags, albums, Spaces, commands, and settings. The server supports S3-compatible storage, including AWS S3, MinIO, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, and Wasabi. A browser import wizard reads Google Takeout archives while retaining dates, GPS coordinates, descriptions, favorites, and album structure. Native iOS and Android apps include background camera backup, CLIP search, a map, and Shared Spaces. The developers say media, metadata, face-recognition data, and accounts stay on the user’s server, which they cannot access. Noodle Gallery is open source under AGPL-3.0, and each instance provides REST API documentation and Swagger UI at /doc. The free self-hosted plan has no subscription or storage cap, but runs on user-provided hardware.