Every family ends up with the same problem eventually: thousands of photos and videos spread across multiple phones, with no single backup that everyone in the household can see and contribute to. Google Photos, Apple iCloud+, and Amazon Photos all solve this differently — in how they price storage, how many people can share a plan, and how much they lean on a wider ecosystem. Here’s what each one’s official pricing and policy pages say in 2026.
At a Glance
| Spec | Google Photos (Google One) | Apple iCloud+ | Amazon Photos |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free storage | 15 GB (shared across Gmail/Drive/Photos) | 5 GB | 5 GB photos + videos; unlimited full-res photos for Prime members |
| Cheapest paid tier | 100 GB for $1.99/mo | 50 GB for $0.99/mo | 100 GB for roughly $1.99/mo (Prime add-on pricing) |
| Mid-size family tier | 2 TB for $9.99/mo | 2 TB for $9.99/mo | 1 TB+ via Prime storage add-ons |
| Family sharing | Up to 5 additional members share one plan | Up to 5 family members share one plan | Prime household sharing (varies by plan) |
| Best known for | Cross-platform access, generous free tier historically | Deepest integration with iPhone/Mac | Unlimited full-resolution photo storage bundled into Prime |
Short Verdict
If your family is already paying for Amazon Prime, Amazon Photos is close to a freebie: full-resolution photo storage is unlimited for Prime members, with only video eating into a small free video allowance. If your household is split between iPhones and Android phones, Google Photos remains the most cross-platform option and its 2 TB family-shareable plan is identically priced to Apple’s. If everyone in the house is on Apple devices already, iCloud+’s deep OS-level integration (automatic backup, Shared Photo Library, Family Sharing) makes it the path of least friction even though its entry tier offers less storage per dollar.
What Each One Is
Google Photos is Google’s photo and video library app, backed by Google One storage plans that also cover Gmail and Google Drive. Every Google account gets 15 GB free, shared across all three services, and paid Google One plans raise that shared quota.
Apple iCloud+ is Apple’s paid storage tier on top of the free 5 GB every Apple ID receives. It covers photo/video backup through the Photos app, plus device backups, Mail, and other iCloud-synced data, and includes privacy features like Private Relay and Hide My Email on top of storage.
Amazon Photos is bundled into every Amazon Prime membership, and its headline feature is unlimited full-resolution photo storage for Prime members — a benefit neither Google nor Apple offers at any price. Video storage, however, is capped unless you buy additional storage.
Pricing Breakdown
| Plan | Monthly price | Storage | Family sharing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google One Basic | $1.99 | 100 GB | Up to 5 members |
| Google One Standard | $2.99 | 200 GB | Up to 5 members |
| Google One Premium | $9.99 | 2 TB | Up to 5 members |
| Google One (higher tiers) | $99.99–$299.99 | 10 TB–30 TB | Up to 5 members |
| iCloud+ 50 GB | $0.99 | 50 GB | Up to 5 family members |
| iCloud+ 200 GB | $2.99 | 200 GB | Up to 5 family members |
| iCloud+ 2 TB | $9.99 | 2 TB | Up to 5 family members |
| iCloud+ 6 TB | $29.99 | 6 TB | Up to 5 family members |
| iCloud+ 12 TB | $59.99 | 12 TB | Up to 5 family members |
| Amazon Photos (Prime) | Included with Prime | Unlimited full-res photos, 5 GB video | Amazon Household sharing |
A note on the numbers: Apple’s and Google’s tiers above are confirmed directly from Apple’s and Google’s own support/help documentation. Amazon’s exact paid add-on storage tiers for Amazon Photos beyond the Prime-included allowance were not consistently documented on a single current official page at the time of writing — if you need more than the Prime-included photo/video allowance, check your Amazon account’s storage settings directly for current add-on pricing rather than relying on third-party estimates.
Sharing and Privacy
Both Google One and iCloud+ let a paying member share their storage plan with up to five additional family members, with each person’s own files generally still counted against their own device’s local account first. Apple’s ecosystem adds a “Shared Photo Library” feature specifically for co-managing one combined family photo library across multiple Apple IDs, separate from basic storage sharing. Amazon’s model is different: Prime’s unlimited full-resolution photo benefit applies per Prime member, and Amazon Household lets eligible benefits be shared between two adults, but it isn’t the same five-person family split that Google and Apple offer.
On privacy, all three publish policies stating photos are stored encrypted in transit and at rest, and none of the three claims to use your personal photo library to train generative AI models without consent in their current consumer terms — but policy language and specific opt-in/opt-out AI-training toggles change often enough that it’s worth checking each provider’s current privacy settings directly inside your account rather than assuming last year’s policy still applies.
Pros and Cons
Google Photos / Google One
- Pros: works identically on iPhone and Android, storage doubles as Gmail/Drive space, highest tiers scale up to 30 TB
- Cons: 15 GB free tier is shared across three services so it fills up fast, no unlimited free tier anymore for any photo type
Apple iCloud+
- Pros: cheapest entry tier (50 GB for under $1/mo), deep OS integration, Shared Photo Library for genuinely co-owned family albums
- Cons: 5 GB free tier is the smallest of the three, best experience is Apple-device-only
Amazon Photos
- Pros: unlimited full-resolution photo storage bundled free with Prime, no separate subscription needed if you already pay for Prime
- Cons: video storage is capped unless you pay extra, less polished album/editing tools than Google Photos or Apple Photos, family sharing model is less generous than Google’s or Apple’s five-person split
Who It’s a Good Fit For
- Choose Google Photos if: your family uses a mix of Android and iOS devices and you want one backup that works the same everywhere.
- Choose iCloud+ if: your household is all-Apple and you want backups, device storage, and a genuinely shared family library handled automatically in the background.
- Choose Amazon Photos if: you already pay for Prime and mainly need unlimited photo backup rather than video-heavy storage.
Who Should Look Elsewhere
Families who shoot a lot of 4K video and need generous video storage without hitting a cap quickly may find all three services’ video allowances tight at the entry tiers — budget for at least the 2 TB tier on Google or Apple if video is a big part of your library. If you want one unified backup for photos, documents, and general files rather than a photos-specific product, a general cloud storage comparison may be more useful — see our Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive comparison.
Bottom Line
Google Photos and iCloud+ are priced almost identically at every comparable storage tier in 2026 ($9.99/mo for 2 TB on both), so the real decision is ecosystem fit rather than price. Amazon Photos is the outlier: if you’re already a Prime member, its unlimited full-resolution photo storage is effectively free and hard to beat on pure photo-backup value, even if its video allowance and sharing model are more limited.
FAQ
Is Amazon Photos really unlimited for free?
Full-resolution photo storage is unlimited for Prime members at no extra cost beyond the Prime subscription itself. Video storage is capped at a small free allowance (5 GB) and requires additional paid storage beyond that.
Can my whole family share one storage plan?
Yes, on Google One and iCloud+ — both let the paying subscriber share their storage plan with up to five additional family members. Amazon’s sharing model works through Amazon Household rather than the same five-person storage split.
Which is cheapest for a typical family’s 2 TB of photos and videos?
Google One and iCloud+ both charge $9.99/month for 2 TB, so they’re tied on headline price at that tier. The deciding factor is usually which ecosystem (Android/Google vs. Apple) your family’s devices already live in.
Do these services use my photos to train AI?
Check each provider’s current privacy settings directly, since AI-training opt-in/opt-out policies for photo libraries have changed across the industry and specific terms can shift. None of the three currently states in its consumer terms that personal photo libraries are used for AI training without user control, but confirm current settings in your own account.
Sources
- Apple — iCloud+ plans and pricing (official support page)
- Google One — Official help center plans overview
- Google One — background on plan history and family sharing
- Amazon Photos — official product page
Related reading: Dropbox vs Google Drive vs OneDrive: Best Cloud File Storage and Sharing in 2026.
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