DearSnap / Guides / DearSnap vs a Google Photos shared album
DearSnap vs a Google Photos shared album
A shared Google Photos album is a solid free option, as long as your guests have Google accounts and are willing to use their own storage. Here's the honest comparison.
Updated 2026-10-14 · by the DearSnap team
Short answerA Google Photos shared album is free and can hold up to 20,000 photos and videos, but every guest who adds photos needs a Google account, uploads use their own storage, and there's no way to approve photos before they appear. A QR code gallery skips the accounts: guests just scan and add.
Side by side
DearSnap
Google Photos shared album
To add photos, guests need
Their phone's camera
A Google account, signed in
Whose storage
Included
Each guest's own Google storage
Quality
Originals kept
Depends on each guest's backup settings
You approve what appears
Optional review mode
No
Printable QR card
Included
Make your own
Cost
$79 once
Free
Where Google Photos shines
It's free and very capable.
If your friends all live in Google Photos already, adding photos is easy for them.
20,000 items is plenty for any wedding.
Where it gets awkward at a wedding
The sign-in step. Older relatives and iPhone users without Google accounts get stuck, and stuck guests don't upload.
Guests pay with their storage. A guest uploading 4K videos is using their own 15 GB.
No review step. Whatever anyone adds is in the album straight away.
Do guests need a Google account to add photos to a shared Google Photos album?
Yes. Anyone with the link can view the album, but adding photos requires signing in with a Google account.
How many photos can a Google Photos shared album hold?
Up to 20,000 photos and videos per shared album.
Whose storage do shared album photos use?
Photos count against the storage of the person who adds them, so each guest uses their own Google storage (15 GB free, shared with Gmail and Drive).
Is a Google Photos album good for a wedding?
It works well if most guests already use Google Photos. It's harder for guests without a Google account, and you can't review photos before they appear.