Is Google Photos free? What it actually costs in 2026
Yes, there is a free tier — with limits.
15 GB free, shared across Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail; beyond that a Google One plan is required, starting at $1.99/month for 100 GB, $2.99/month for 200 GB, and $9.99/month for 2 TB.
What you are locked into
Photos live in Google's cloud tied to your account and share one quota with Drive and Gmail. Google Takeout can export your library, but large exports come in multiple archives, some metadata (such as descriptions and album structure) lands in separate JSON sidecar files rather than embedded in the images, and re-importing elsewhere can take effort.
If you would rather not pay: Immich
Immich
A self-hosted photo and video backup that feels like Google Photos.
Free and open-source (self-host); you provide the hardware and storage
See all 4 Google Photos alternatives comparedCompare the free options head-to-head
Pricing is verified against the vendor's published figures and dated above. Vendors change prices — confirm current numbers with Google before you commit. More photos & media decisions on Macrostack.