Ente Photos review
End-to-end encrypted photo backup with on-device AI search
- Ente
- Free + paid plans
- iPhone & iPad, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Web
Does it deserve #7?
Is Ente Photos worth it?
For most people, yes. Ente Photos scores 8.7/10 and ranks #7 in Photo & Video. It's best for privacy-minded families moving off Google Photos or iCloud. Skip it if you want the cheapest storage and don't mind a provider seeing your photos. Price: 10 GB free; paid storage starts at $2.49 a month for 50 GB.
The verdict
Ente Photos is a Google Photos alternative that can't see your pictures. Everything is end-to-end encrypted, yet you still get face recognition, natural-language search and Memories, all worked out on your device. Share albums, add up to five family members to your plan, and set legacy contacts. The code is open source and independently audited. It costs a little more than mainstream clouds, and very large libraries can be slow to sync at first.
- End-to-end encrypted backup
- On-device face and natural-language search
- Family sharing at no extra cost
- Legacy contacts
- Open source and self-hostable
Score breakdown
Overall = features 30% · design 20% · speed 20% · value 15% · privacy 15%. Why these weights?
What's new
- Oct 2026Redesigned album sharing and fixes for search and Memories
- Sep 2026Library Sharing for families and on-device machine learning up to 10x faster
- Mar 2026Use the app without an account as a local, offline gallery
Privacy 9.8/10
Photos, metadata and search indexes are end-to-end encrypted. App Store label: no tracking, with only name, email and user ID linked to you. Ente says it collects no feature analytics.
What we like
- Encrypted so only you can see your photos
- Smart search runs on your own device
- Apps for every phone, computer and the web
What could be better
- Pricier than mainstream photo clouds
- Big libraries can be slow to sync at first
- Less built-in than iCloud Photos on an iPhone
Privacy-minded families moving off Google Photos or iCloud
you want the cheapest storage and don't mind a provider seeing your photos
Questions about Ente Photos
Is Ente Photos worth it in 2026?
For most people, yes. Ente Photos scores 8.7/10 and ranks #7 in Photo & Video. It's best for privacy-minded families moving off Google Photos or iCloud. Skip it if you want the cheapest storage and don't mind a provider seeing your photos. Price: 10 GB free; paid storage starts at $2.49 a month for 50 GB.
Is Ente Photos free?
Yes, you get 10 GB free. Paid plans start at $2.49 a month for 50 GB, and up to five family members can share a plan.
Can Ente see my photos?
No. Files, metadata and search indexes are end-to-end encrypted, and face recognition and search run on your device.
What are the best alternatives to Ente Photos?
The closest alternatives are Adobe Lightroom, VSCO and DaVinci Resolve. See all of them ranked on our Ente Photos alternatives page.
Where does Ente Photos rank?
Ente Photos ranks #7 of 10 in our Photo & Video ranking, with an overall score of 8.7 out of 10.