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Photography · head to head

Affinity Photo vs Google Photos

Affinity Photo logo

Affinity Photo

Photography

Professional photo editing software

From
$69.99/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Google Photos logo

Google Photos

Photography

Google's photo backup and organisation app, now billed against shared Google account storage

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Google Photos has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Affinity Photo version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users; Google Photos unlimited free storage ended in June 2021, so an active phone photographer will hit the 15GB shared cap and be pushed into a paid Google One subscription within a year or two.
  • They diverge on capability: Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, Google Photos covers Automatic backup.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Affinity Photo and Google Photos actually diverge.

Attributes where Affinity Photo and Google Photos differ
AttributeAffinity PhotoGoogle Photos
Starting price$69.99/one-timeFree
Pricing modelone-timeFree tier plus paid storage add-on
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, iPadiOS, Android, Web
Founded1987Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Photography).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Affinity Photo

  • Photo editing
  • RAW processing
  • Non-destructive editing
  • AI enhancement
  • Retouching tools
  • Batch processing
  • Vector support
  • HDR tools

Only in Google Photos

  • Automatic backup
  • Face grouping
  • Search
  • Shared albums
  • Magic Eraser and editing
  • Storage saver conversion

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Affinity Photo

  • Photo editingnot Google Photos
  • RAW processingnot Google Photos
  • Retouchingnot Google Photos
  • Digital photographynot Google Photos

Google Photos

  • A household wanting automatic phone photo backup without plugging into a computernot Affinity Photo
  • Someone who wants to search old photos by what is in them rather than by filename or foldernot Affinity Photo
  • A family sharing a running album of a child or event across several phonesnot Affinity Photo
  • A person switching phones who wants photo history to follow them regardless of device brandnot Affinity Photo

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Affinity Photo

  • Version 2.0 required a full repurchase after seven years, breaking the perpetual license promise made to earlier users
  • Affinity Photo was discontinued in October 2025 and replaced by freemium Affinity application
  • No subscription model means no cloud storage or automatic backups like Photoshop Creative Cloud

Google Photos

  • Unlimited free storage ended in June 2021, so an active phone photographer will hit the 15GB shared cap and be pushed into a paid Google One subscription within a year or two.
  • The 15GB quota is shared with Gmail and Drive, so a full inbox can push someone into a storage warning that looks like a photos problem but is not.
  • Face grouping and search rely on Google scanning image content, which is a real privacy consideration for people uneasy with a US company indexing personal photos.
  • Pixel phones get extra editing features such as Magic Eraser variants that other Android and iOS users do not, so the experience is not equal across devices.
  • Downgrading storage or cancelling Google One after exceeding 15GB puts the account into a grace period and eventually restricts new uploads and can affect other Google services sharing the quota.

Pricing, plan by plan

Affinity Photo

$69.99/one-time
  • Standard$69.99/one-time
    • Full version
    • All features
    • Lifetime updates

Google Photos

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 15GB shared across Gmail, Drive and Photos
    • Original quality uploads always counted
    • No storage cap on device, only on the account
  • Google One 100GB$1.99/month
    • 100GB shared storage
    • Extended by-family sharing with up to 5 others
  • Google One 2TB$9.99/month
    • 2TB shared storage
    • Additional Google One perks such as VPN in some regions

Which should you pick?

Choose Affinity Photo if

  • You need photo editing.
  • You work on macOS, Windows, iPad.
  • You also want raw processing.
Affinity Photo review

Choose Google Photos if

  • You need automatic backup.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want face grouping.
Google Photos review

Questions people ask

Is Affinity Photo or Google Photos better?
Neither clearly leads. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time and Google Photos at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Affinity Photo or Google Photos?
Google Photos has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $69.99/one-time for Affinity Photo and Free for Google Photos.
Does Affinity Photo or Google Photos run on more platforms?
Affinity Photo runs on macOS, Windows, iPad. Google Photos runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Google Photos for free?
Yes. Google Photos has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Affinity Photo starts at $69.99/one-time.
What is Affinity Photo best used for?
Affinity Photo is most often used for photo editing, raw processing, retouching, digital photography. Of those, photo editing and raw processing are not what Google Photos is typically brought in for.
What can Affinity Photo do that Google Photos cannot?
Affinity Photo covers Photo editing, RAW processing, Non-destructive editing, AI enhancement. Google Photos covers Automatic backup, Face grouping, Search, Shared albums.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Affinity Photo: Does Affinity Photo include RAW editing?

Yes, Affinity Photo includes non-destructive RAW photo editing and development capabilities for photographers working with RAW image formats.

Source
Google Photos: Is Google Photos still free?

The app is free to use but storage is not unlimited. All uploads count against the 15GB shared with Gmail and Drive, and more storage requires a paid Google One plan.

Google Photos: What happened to the old unlimited backup?

Google ended unlimited free storage for photos on 1 June 2021. Photos uploaded before that date in compressed quality are not retroactively counted.

Google Photos: Can I avoid Google One by using another cloud service instead?

Yes. Apple Photos with iCloud, Amazon Photos or a self-hosted option can substitute, though switching means re-uploading or exporting your existing library.

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