The Top 5 Best Cloud Services for Backing Up your Photos

1. Amazon Photos:

Cons:

• Must be a Prime Member

• 5 GB of Video Storage

• Additional video storage starts at $1.99/mo

• If you end your Prime membership your storage is reduced to 5 GB for photos and videos.

Pros:

• Unlimited photo storage

• Accept uncompressed files including raw files

• Secure off-site backup for all of your devices

• Free Shipping when you order prints

• Allows you to use your photos as a slideshow on

  Echo Show or Fire TV

• Allows for photo sharing in private

  groups

• Nice widget creates videos and

  thumbnails so you can revisit past memories

• Advanced search and filters to help

  find photos

• Auto-Save makes sure your photos are

  always backed up from all of your devices.

• 24/7 Customer Support

2. SmugMug:

Pros:

• Unlimited full resolution photo storage including raw files

• Great for portfolios & websites

• Advanced Search

• Easy to upload and access photos

  and videos

• Connect a photo lab to your site for

  print sales

• Custom Photo sharing and Privacy

• Auto-upload

• Sell your images with sales tools

• Human support

• 14 Day Free Trial

Cons:

• $5-$42 per month

• If you plan to sell prints, you can’t designate yourself as the printer

3. IDrive:

Cons:

• They draw you in with an inexpensive price for the first year, then it goes up.

• $80-$150 a year

• Technically more complex than the other solutions on this list.

Pros:

• Multiple Device Backup

• Online File Sync

• Backup and retrieve data in less

  then a week via physical storage

  shipment

• Snapshot & Versioning of your

  backup

• Web-based console to manage

  backup

• Incremental and compressed

  backups will ease network

  bandwidth by transferring the

  modified portions of a file.

• IDrive automatically recognizes

  the modified parts of files and

  backs them up.

• Access files backed up from PCs

  and Macs or synced from connected

  devices; protect mobile data with

  apps for iOS and Android.

• Search and restore files from the

  a desktop application or via any browser;

  provision to recover deleted files

  from Trash within a period of 30 days.

• No data is deleted from the IDrive

  online account until you manually

  delete or run 'Archive Cleanup' to

  match your computer data to your account.

• Activity reports, backup status reports,

  share reports - all keep you informed.

Graphic provided by Crazy Egg

4. Flickr:

Cons:

• You can’t upload raw files

• The interface is outdated

• Its future is questionable

Pros:

• There is a free version

• Flickr Pro is just $5 a month

• Advanced Statistics

• Ad-free browsing

• Automatic Photo Uploads

• Unlimited uncompressed images

  for Pro members.

5. Google Photos:

Cons:

• Google compresses your phones and videos.

• You have to pay for Google Drive to get uncompressed file storage

Pros:

• Securely backup photos and videos

• Auto-backup

• Access on almost any device

• Photos & videos are auto-organized and

  searchable.

• Editing tool & smart filters

• Printing services

• Free for compressed files

Of course, there are other great clouds services out there like Adobe Creative Cloud and 500px, so please post in the comments below what your favorite is and why you like it. Also, stay tuned, for a future post where I will show you how I use Amazon Photos as part of my mobile editing workflow.