Picasa was a widely used program for organizing and editing photos. However, Google discontinued the service on May 1, 2016. As a desktop client, it was popular among amateur photographers because it supported multiple operating systems and functioned well with Wine on Linux, despite not having an official Linux version.
With Picasa no longer supported, many users are seeking a suitable replacement. Although the desktop version of Picasa can still be downloaded and used today, doing so is not highly recommended.
Using outdated software may lead to compatibility issues with newer operating systems and, without regular patches, it can become a gateway for malware. While Google considers whether to release the Picasa code under an open-source license, users can explore various alternatives to photo management software.
Essential Features for a Picasa Alternative
A suitable alternative to Picasa should have the following features:
Clear and Comprehensive Functionality:
A good photo management software should provide clear and user-friendly functions, including tagging images by date, location, people, or events. Users should be able to add personal keywords to photos and apply them to multiple images simultaneously.
Metadata Display:
The software should display metadata such as EXIF, XMP, and IPTC formats, which are saved to image files.
Facial Recognition:
While controversial from a data protection perspective, facial recognition can help users sort photos according to specific groups of friends or other criteria.
Geolocation Support:
Many modern GPS cameras automatically record geographic coordinates, so an ideal photo organizer should be able to read and display this information on a map.
Flexible Image Viewing:
The program should offer various viewing options, such as zoom, full-screen view, basic editing, and presentation modes. Advanced users may also appreciate an overview feature to examine entire series of images and customizable slideshows with special effects.
Basic Photo Editing:
Picasa provided useful editing and retouching tools for less experienced users. A suitable alternative should offer simple options for cropping, changing orientation, correcting contrast, brightness, red-eye, and applying basic touch-ups. Some alternatives may even include filters for special effects, like a retro look. However, it is important to remember that these programs are not intended to compete with professional editing software like Photoshop or Gimp.
Google Photos
Naturally Google hasn’t suspended development of Picasa without thinking of a successor. The digital photo library Google Photos, available for desktop or as an application (iOs and Android), is an online service that stores documents in the cloud and automatically sorts them into albums. Born from Google+ photography features, this tool has unlimited free storage space , although it does compress files when uploaded.
In Google Photos, images can be searched based on certain keywords that are automatically assigned by the program thanks to machine learning, as well as filtered by specific people. This is where the conflict with the privacy of personal information materializes.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| Unlimited storage space | · Uploading very large uncompressed files is not free (Google Drive) |
| · It is able to classify a large number of images quickly and reliably | Dubious or insufficient data protection |
| · Practical search function based on automatically assigned keywords |
flickr
Today Flickr has already taken first place in the ranking of online photo organizers and its new design is just as convincing as its numerous functions, which are also perfectly coordinated with social networks : you can mark your contacts on the photos and organize files into groups. If you share the albums, other users can comment on the images , and geotagging and social sharing are no problem with Flickr either. But if what you are really interested in is an online archive to store your memories or work, Flickr offers the so-called “ sets” as a solution, photo albums that can be ordered in turn into collections. A statistical function allows you to have all the information about the photos at a glance. The tool also contains some simple editing features to crop images or fix red-eye, as well as print options .
With “Camera Roll”, “Magic View” and “Uploadr”, three new Flickr tools have recently been introduced with the mission of continuing to improve file organization. Camera Roll is a chronological reel reminiscent of the iOS photo app. When sorting them by date, it can be easier to find a certain photo if you scroll the days and months down. The new Magic View feature, on the other hand, categorizes images thematically. In this way it is possible to classify the photos based on keywords or subjects such as landscapes, portraits, animals or gastronomy. Uploadr is a desktop tool available for Mac and Windows that allows you to upload files from your computer’s hard drive.
Undoubtedly, a great advantage of Flickr is its generous storage space : 1 TB free (enough for about 500,000 images ). Each image that is uploaded to the platform can occupy a maximum of 200 MB; videos, up to 1 GB or have a duration of 3 minutes. The provider allows you to upload and download images in their original resolution .
Flickr offers two user licenses, both paid . With the first variant, which costs about $50 per year, you get full access to all features and no ads are displayed. The second variant guarantees even more space, 2 TB of memory for photos and videos, in exchange for a higher price, currently USD 49.99 per year. This option could appeal to professional photographers who require a lot of space for their files. For the average user, 1TB is more than enough.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| 1 TB of free memory | · On the website, the new design is mixed with old functions |
| Data protection is very easy to configure | · Uploading photos and organizing albums can be boring and frustrating, due to the large number of menus and tools available |
| File management tools well matched with each other | · Does not support files in RAW and GIF formats |
Suitable for flexible users who want to organize their photos and share them with other hobbyists.
Apple iCloud Photo Library
For Mac and iPhone users, Apple’s cloud platform is a very good choice. The iCloud Photo Library , which is part of the IT manufacturer’s cloud and can be used as a desktop or mobile application, is compatible with almost all formats and stands out above all for its excellent usability . Installed on the mobile, the application allows you to view all the photos taken with the device or with a camera; On your computer, you can manage your photos in the iCloud.com browser or with the Windows app. For Android users iCloud is less interesting, because Android cannot back up photos.
The two most important functions of iCloud Photo Library are organization and sharing . The application classifies all the documents on your iOS device by date, time and place in an interface designed in an intuitive and attractive way . The periods can be defined by zoom and to group files by their geographical location, it is enough to write a name on the map and the program shows all the photographs that have been taken in that place, classifying them by type of photo (panorama, snapshot, etc. .), the program also saves hours of repetitive work and you can also create albums and add as many photos to them as you want. A special feature of the iCloud library are the shared albums in which several people can include files, an ideal function to organize the memories of the last vacation or an event when we like to collect and share all the photos that have been taken of the occasion.
Like the rest of the alternative photo organizers to Picasa, this program also includes basic editing tools with which to carry out small touch-ups both from a mobile iOS terminal and from the Mac, as well as creating printable photographic projects , such as albums of photos or calendars.
However, in terms of the space available for archiving documents, the Apple cloud only offers 5 GB of free memory , which for professionals may be rather insufficient. If you want to increase the storage capacity, you have to opt for the monthly rate: from one dollar a month you get 20 GB of storage.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| · Attractive and intuitive design | Only offers 5 GB of free memory |
| · The tool automatically sorts photos by time, date and location | · Android users cannot use iCloud Photo Library to copy files from their phone or tablet to another device |
| · Social sharing features make it easy to share albums with multiple people |
Suitable for Apple users with iPhone, iPad or Mac because the software has been developed for these devices and its installation is therefore very easy.
Ashampoo Photo Commander
The Ashampoo home tool represents a universal solution for organizing, editing, exploring and sharing the digital images of a personal archive. The main interface consists of a powerful browser that displays images in thumbnail view mode and supports a rich variety of graphic formats, including the common RAW and its variants, PSD (Photoshop), MPO/ JPS 3D and WEBP. Each image is displayed together with the most important information about it: resolution, image format, color depth, dpi, Exif and DMP tags and can be filtered based on the date it was created, the file type, its name or their tag, rate them, and organize them into albums .
Photo Commander contains several automatic optimization tools with which to improve and repair the contrast and colors of photographic shots, reduce distortions (or artifacts) caused by compression algorithms, eliminate noise, etc., but also others to edit manually . In addition to standard functions such as cropping or scaling, you can also rectify the horizon line, remove red-eye, correct scratches, and apply effects. The various phases of the work can be applied globally to the entire image or to precise sections using the pencil effect. Thanks to the dual view mode you can compare images before and after editing and a vector editor allows you to add visual elements such as arrows, lines, outlines, color gradient fills, text or clip arts, among other elements. With professional editing tools like Phtoshop it cannot be compared, but for everyday editing its set of tools is enough.
Among the possibilities of Photocommander for the most creative users is the creation of collages, calendars, greeting cards or HTML albums with which to share photos with other people. It is also possible to burn the best ones as a presentation on a CD or a DVD.
Among those other functions that, without constituting the fundamental body of the program, finish off Ashampoo’s proposal are the detection of duplicate files , the capture of the current screen, the creator of panoramas, which unites several images in one of large format, or the Wallpaper or Slideshow wizards to create high-level presentations. The program also allows you to work in batches (batch processing) when you want to apply some action (rotate, scale or add a watermark) to several images at the same time. The best thing about PhotoCommander is that, by having a development team that constantly improves the tool , its range of functions continues to expand.
With all that said, it is clear that organizing your image archive with PhotoCommander is easy and efficient. The program identifies known devices, memorizes photos that have already been imported previously, saves files in the cloud (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive) or sends them by email without having to open a mail program for it. In short, Ashampoo’s PhotoCommander is a very extensive Photo management software that can intimidate even the least expert due to its large number of options, but very promising in the case of needing and using them on a daily basis.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| Universal solution in the field of photo editing and management | · The breadth of its range of functions could scare away the less experienced |
| · Contains so many editing features that it could replace other programs | |
| It is compatible with a large number of formats |
Suitable for photographers who want to cover as many tasks as possible with a single tool.
Amazon Prime Photos
When you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you also get access to Prime Photos , a service that gives you unlimited space for photos and 5 GB for videos or other types of files, and which is part of Amazon’s Cloud Drive.
Images that are uploaded to Amazon’s cloud and can then be re-downloaded, emailed, or shared on Facebook can be organized into albums, and Prime Photos sorts them chronologically by default. By limiting itself to the most basic functions it can be easier to use than other more complete tools. Instead of containing many extras and options, Amazon’s strategy is different and consists precisely in linking the platform with editing applications that the user can choose to edit photos, request prints or create gifts from photographic memories.
Available for PC or as an app for iOS, Android or Kindle systems, images are uploaded to the cloud from the device or on Amazon’s website, and the mobile apps have a backup function that automatically uploads all new photos.
This service represents an option if you are already a member of Amazon Prime or at least are interested in becoming one, because otherwise the subscription with unlimited space for photos is around 11 euros (12 dollars) per year. It is possible to try it for three months for free.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| · Easy photo storage options, because the service has been reduced to the most essential | The organization tools are limited and there is no search function |
| · Files stored in the cloud can be viewed on any device with Internet access | |
| The service is included in Amazon Prime and offers free unlimited storage |
Suitable for amateur photographers who are content with basic file storage features and fewer tools.
StudioLine Photo 4
This photo management software allows you to sort a photo collection based on personal preferences. With StudioLine Photo 4 you can create and maintain a personal database, categorize images by motives, keywords, geotags or in custom folders. With the manual labeling function they can be classified by the place where they were taken. The program does not, however, have password protection or a facial recognition function.
In addition to organizing the file, with StudioLine Photo 4 you can also edit the images. To do this, the photo organizer has a function that allows you to see the images before and after editing and switch between one view and another to check each change and evaluate the final result. Thanks to color markings, all editing stages can be kept in view.
The editor is basic and therefore very suitable for beginners or for making simple corrections . Professional photographers are likely to miss more complex features, while less experienced ones can quickly become familiar with all its possibilities, such as modifying the tone of an image, cropping it or changing its orientation. Many of these tools can already be found at first glance in the toolbar , where you can also set the most frequently used functions.
The photo organizer also allows you to send photos by email or share them on Flickr , although not on other networks like Facebook. Sharing them physically, however, is very easy thanks to several interesting options for creating calendars, cards and photo books . If what you want is to keep them on a CD or DVD, the program has a very practical way to create covers. Like other tools, this one also includes image and text editing options, with grammar correction included.
Even though you can print the photos and share them on Flickr, StudioLine Photo 4 lacks sharing options for other specialized image sharing sites like Facebook, but it’s worth a try considering that the demo version lasts 30 days. If you decide to use it, its price ranges between 70 euros for the basic version and 450 for the professional variant.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| · It is a multipurpose tool with many photo editing and management options | Does not have options to share photos on social networks |
| · Very indicative thanks to labeling, color marking or star rating functions | · After the trial phase, the program is not free |
| · The interface is customizable |
Suitable for : amateur photographers wanting to go professional who need a versatile program to organize their images but not so much the social functions.
photobucket
Nearly 10 billion photos hosted is a statement enough in favor of Photobucket , one of the most popular online image hosting services, offering unlimited free photo and video storage but with size limitations, as well as organizing into albums, Integrated Facebook and mobile applications.
Photobucket is conceived as a social platform and offers many possibilities to share images with contacts or on social networks. This is done by automatically generating URLs for the photos so they can be easily embedded in a post or on a web page (blog or forum). It also contains some editing tools with which to carry out simple touch-ups on the photos, crop them or correct the contrast and brightness. As in other programs, effects, decorative frames or labels can also be applied here, albums and calendars can be created, or photos can be printed on mobile or tablet cases or even on canvases.
Its free use limits the space available for photos to 10 GB, but if you use the applications for iOS or Android you get an additional 8 GB. The ad-free version means paying $0.99 per month and for $40 per month or $400 per year you have 500 GB of memory to archive photos.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| The social focus of the program makes it easy to share photos on social networks | · For many users social options are unnecessary |
| Editing options and mobile apps allow constant access to photos | · The Photobucket community is mostly interested in entertaining photos and GIFs, something that is not part of the interests of professional photographers |
| · Managing photos with multiple devices is a breeze |
Suitable for users who want to share their images and videos on social networks.
Adobe Lightroom 6
Adobe is the industry leader in graphic design, photo editing and image organization, representing the highest level of professional software like no other. Lightroom </a >, with its extensive array of editing tools and sharing features, lives up to this reputation no less.
Adobe software offers various possibilities for organizing a photo collection . These include the automatic generation of categories based on the metadata of the images or by placing the images on a map ( geotagging ), a function suitable for presentations or documenting trips that can also be done manually. The program offers the options and settings often found in other photo organizers: you can bookmark your favorite photos or those you want to edit, tag them , or add text notes to them, so it’s easy to always have special reminders at hand. practical or the briefings of the projects linked to certain photos.
Among its various sharing options , Lightroom allows you to send them by email, share them on platforms like Facebook or Flickr, or print them directly from the application. Likewise, the Lightroom user also has many possibilities when it comes to creating presentations , prints , calendars and photo albums . When creating diashows, you can freely select the content, the speed of the image sequence and the music, and if you want to create a photo album, it is worth first reviewing the templates that the software includes, among which are some as popular as those with a marriage theme, travel or professional portfolios. If a suitable one is found, you only have to include the photos that you want to share, and if not, a document is created from scratch that corresponds to the occasion or the project. The program offers artistic filters with which to modify texture and chromatic tone, but certain settings can also be saved, thus creating an individual look .
Adobe has created an application for iOs and another for Android that can be connected to Lightroom, although you must be a subscriber to Adobe’s creative cloud to use them.
Lightroom supports non-destructive editing , which means that the software preserves the original version of a file, which is not damaged after modifications. By automatically storing all stages of the history of changes made to an image, Lightroom allows you to revoke a change by reverting to a previous version of your work.
The subscription to Adobe Lightroom means an outlay of 12 euros per month.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| · Very reliable software from the leading house in the photo editing sector | · Monthly costs can be an obstacle for amateur photographers |
| · Extensive range of functions | |
| · For users of Adobe products like Photoshop, Lightroom is the perfect complement |
Suitable for professional photographers used to working with Adobe products on a daily basis.
SmugMug
SmugMug is an online photo sharing service with which you can create a web page with your own images , as well as create albums and share them by email or on social networks. SmugMug also offers photo editing, printing , and a sales service .
Choosing one of the four available subscription plans depends on individual needs, but each version offers unlimited storage for photos and videos (photos up to 50MB and videos up to 3GB), editing tools, and SEO features. The two most expensive models even contain marketing and e-commerce features to attract more web visits. The SEO functions contained in the program can encourage search engines to favorably evaluate a web page and thus contribute to increasing the visibility of the work displayed on it. These features include settings for meta descriptions, photo titles, galleries, and keywords in file names. And as soon as the traffic on the page increases, it is worth protecting the images in connection with copyright . In this regard, the tool has some effective options, such as the protection of user photos that includes downloading with the right mouse button or customizable watermarks.
The photo sharing platform makes it easy to share images on various channels. Each subscription allows you to publish photos on social networks , including Facebook, Twitter or Google+, although of course you can also send them by a method as classic as email or share photo albums with other contacts if you want to work on them together, since that users who are invited are also allowed to upload images to these collections.
We cannot fail to mention the quality of SmugMug’s detailed and helpful support options. Thanks to the “Frequently Asked Questions” page and the video tutorials, taking the first steps with the program is much easier, in the same way as the various support articles covering a wide spectrum of topics. And if it were still necessary, there is an electronic address where you can direct any question to the assistance department .
Due to its unlimited storage space , SmugMug is ideal for storing photos online and thanks to its high capacity for high-resolution images, the tool is especially suitable for the needs of professional SLR camera users , but not so much for non-professionals. , to whom software subscription plans may be less attractive. For the most ambitious it is a very good choice, since the page offers assistance in aspects such as marketing, SEO, eCommerce and brand development. In conclusion, SmugMug is suitable for professionals who sell their work and therefore need to draw attention to their projects on the web.
| Advantages | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
| · Ideal software to optimize the marketing of photos | Can be complex for non-commercial use |
| Extensive SEO and marketing options | |
| Unlimited storage |
Suitable for professional photographers who want to market their work online.
Alternatives to Picasa: cloud storage
The platforms we’ve featured are meant explicitly for hosting graphic documents, but if you want to store them securely online , there’s a huge variety of cloud storage sites, including Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive , which they can also be used as digital photo files. A great advantage of these services is that they are not limited to storing graphic formats, but also any type of file.
These cloud “stores” offer spacious and secure hosting for around $10 a month and usually have no file size limits, so they are suitable for storing high-resolution images or videos as well. On the other hand, the files can be downloaded on various devices to use the sharing options on social networks or through a download link, making sharing files with friends and family really easy.
However, most of these platforms do not contain editing and organizing features, although some do offer some interesting features. Dropbox, without going any further, has its own application called Carousel , initially developed as a photo sharing application, which automatically saves the photos taken in the user’s account. Apple has, for its part, its own file and photo storage system in the cloud called iCloud Drive , where you can save photos taken with any iDevice.
Here is a comparison table between the various options presented:
| flickr | google photos | Apple iCloud Photo Library | Amazon Prime Photos | photobucket | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| free version | 1TB | Unlimited space for photos and videos | 5GB | Unlimited space for photos and 5 GB for videos (with Prime membership) | 2 GB and 8 GB with apps |
| subscription plans | No Ads: $5.99/month, 2TB for $49.99/year | 100 GB for $1.99/month, 1TB for $9.99/month | Starting at $0.99/month for 50 GB | $12 per year without subscription | Starting at $3.99/month for 20 GB |
| Supported file formats | JPEG, GIF and PNG | JPEG, TIF, TIFF, BMP, GIF, PSD (Photoshop), PNG, TGA and some RAW | JPEG, TIFF, PNG and most RAW | JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF and some RAW | GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG |
| Maximum file size allowed | Photos: 200 MB, Video: 1 GB | Photos: 75 MB, Video: 10 GB | Photos: 1,000 MB per hour, 10,000 per day, 25,000 per month | 2GB | 5MB |
| Bandwidth limitation | None | None | None | None | 10 GB /month in the free version, unlimited in the full version |
| apps | iOS, Android, Mac and Windows | iOS, Android, Mac and Windows | iOS, Mac and Windows | iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Mac and Windows | iOS, Android, Mac and Windows |
| Ashampoo Photo Commander | StudioLine Photo 4 | Adobe Lightroom 6 | SmugMug | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| free version | 1TB | 4GB | 2GB | Unlimited space for photos |
| subscription plans | $49.99 ($14.99 for users of a previous version) | Between $70 and $450 | Starting at $12/month for 20 GB | From $3 /month |
| Supported file formats | All types of RAW, PSD, MPO/JPS files, 3D images, WEBP | JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PNG, and some RAW | DNG, JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and most RAW | JPEG, PNG, GIF |
| Maximum file size allowed | Photos: 200 MB, Video: 1 GB | Photos: 75 MB, Video: 10 GB | 1GB | Photos: 50 MB, Video: 3 GB |
| Bandwidth limitation | None | None | None | None |
| apps | iOS, Mac and Windows | iOS, Android, Mac and Windows | iOS, Mac, Android and Windows | iOS, Android, Mac and Windows |
