Paid or free image hosting sites are a blessing to any photographer. You can use these websites to easily share your images or provide a backup for some of your favorite ones. There are plenty of image hosting sites. But they all offer different features. So choosing the right image hosting site for you isn’t always easy.
We’ll take you through 13 of the best free image hosting sites. We compare what they offer and look at the features that make each site helpful for photographers. By the end of this article, you will have plenty of information to decide on the best free image hosting site.
Why You Need to Consider Paid or Free Image Hosting
Image hosting is vital for all photographers. Whether you’re a professional photographer or an enthusiastic hobbyist, it doesn’t matter. Data loss because of a hardware malfunction is painful and frustrating.
There’s a saying that it doesn’t matter if your hard drive will fail, but when. The solution to this is image hosting.
Having your photos stored in a cloud service gives you that extra assurance. If something happens to your computer, you won’t lose your photos.
Uploading your images to the cloud also frees up space on your computer, allowing it to work faster. And finally, your images are available across devices. You can share pictures with family and friends and access them anywhere, at any time.
13 Best Paid and Free Image Hosting Websites
Here are our top 13 picks. We list the file size limits for images, supported file types, editing tools, and if they have paid options.
1. SmugMug
- Image File Size Limit: 3 GB
- Supported File Types: RAW, JPEG, GIF, PNG, HEIC
- Storage Space: Unlimited except RAW (512 GB, 1+ TB plans)
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free 14-day trial, monthly and yearly paid plans
SmugMug is one of the most popular platforms for photographers. It’s a great site to display your photos and sell prints and other products.
No one who takes photos is left behind. There are features meant for everyone, whether you are a pro, an enthusiast, or a “memory maker.”
The basic plan is relatively cheap, and you can pay an annual subscription. This gets you the secure photo storage that you need.
You get more storage and increased features with the pricier plans. These include the ability to create a customizable portfolio site with your own domain. There are 21 design options. And there are editing tools that allow you to tweak the templates.
They have also introduced RAW file storage services. You can pay for RAW file storage starting at 512 GB. Plus, they have plugins for Adobe Lightroom and Capture One. And there are apps for mobile and desktop for easy organization.
Another bonus of SmugMug is that you can set up an eCommerce store to sell prints or photos. And sharing on social media is also an option. You can try SmugMug with a free 14-day trial.
2. Amazon Prime Photos
- Image File Size Limit: 2 GB
- Supported File Types: RAW, JPEG, PNG, GIF+ (see full list)
- Storage Space: 5 GB, 100 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free with Amazon Prime Membership, paid storage upgrades
Prime Photos is Amazon’s photo storage solution, available free for Prime members. You can store and share unlimited high-resolution photos on your desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. And it includes 5 GB of storage for videos.
The service also lets you order photo prints, cards, custom wall decor, and other products. And it includes free shipping.
With a Prime membership, you can invite up to five people to receive unlimited photo storage. With “groups,” you can share images with anyone, even if they’re not a Prime member.
You can use iOS or Android mobile apps to auto-save your photos. Then safely delete them from your phone to free up space on your device. As with the other options, you can pay to upgrade Prime Photos to a more complete suite of services.
3. Wix
- Image File Size Limit: 25 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, GIF+ (see full list)
- Storage Space: 500 MB (free), 2 GB, 50 GB, 100 GB, Unlimited (paid)
- Editing Tools: No
- Options: Free and monthly paid plans
Wix is well known for being one of the biggest website hosting platforms on the internet. They have been around for many years. And they have solidified themselves as an easy-to-use, cheap way to have a professional website. But you can also use Wix for free image hosting.
Instead of having a fully dedicated service specifically tailored for free image hosting, you have to set up a website with Wix in a way that shares your photos easily. This is both a negative and a positive, depending on why and how you share your photos.
It’s negative because you must spend time setting up and organizing an efficient way to present your images. But this isn’t too much of an issue because Wix provides many great website templates.
It’s a positive because you get to share images exactly how you want to present them. This could be particularly useful for people who want to share their work as a portfolio.
Wix allows you to upload in JPEGs and PNGs, with an image size limit of 25 MB.
4. Dropbox
- Image File Size Limit: 2 TB (desktop and mobile)
- Supported File Types: RAW, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, GIF, HEIC+
- Storage Space: 2 GB (free), 2, 3, 5 TB+ (paid)
- Editing Tools: No
- Options: Free and monthly paid plans
Dropbox is a simple and efficient way to store your photos. The best way to understand this platform is as a virtual box where you can “drop” your photos. They’re saved in the cloud and available for you to access anytime.
You can also upload images from your computer to Dropbox as you would with any other files. Or you can upload them from its Android and iOS apps. File sizes are limited to 50 GB through the Dropbox website and 350 GB through the Dropbox API.
Dropbox supports a broad range of image files. And you can organize your folders and sub-galleries and share links to individual files or folders. You can also sync your photos to a folder on your desktop.
Once photos are in the cloud, you can share the files directly with other Dropbox users. It also backs up photos automatically. So you don’t have to worry about losing data.
To share a photo, right-click on the image and then copy and paste the link to your desired sharing location. You can also share this link via email. Plus, your contacts or visitors can download your photos if you provide them with access.
Dropbox doesn’t provide specialized tools for photographers. But it’s an excellent option for storing original or edited versions of your photos. And Dropbox is free up to 2 GB of storage.
5. Google Photos
- Image File Size Limit: 200 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, HEIC, ICO, WEBP, and some RAW files
- Storage Space: 15 GB (free), 1 TB (Google Workspace), 100 GB, 200 GB, 2 TB (paid)
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free and monthly paid plans
Google Photos is an excellent service for uploading high-quality images. And you can do so in large quantities, which many other sites don’t offer. The platform also offers automatic backups, unlimited space, and uploads.
You can store photos at a maximum resolution of 16 MP. Videos can have a maximum resolution of 1080p. To save a bigger image or video file, you must pay for space on Google Drive.
To get started, download the Google Photos app or go to the Google Photos website. You can automatically upload your photos and sync them with your Google account.
You can store images using your free 15 GB storage space from your Google account. Or you can pay for 100 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB storage plans. You can upload JPEGs, PNGS, and GIF images, as well as some other file formats.
Google Photos provides an easy way to share and upload images. A lot of people have a Google account. So if you don’t want to create a new account on a different platform, this might be the photo-sharing platform for you.
6. Flickr
- Image File Size Limit: 200 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, GIF (non-animated)
- Storage Space: 1,000 items (free), Unlimited (paid)
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free, monthly, yearly, and two-year paid plans
A lot of photographers have forgotten about Flickr. But it has been around for a long time, and it’s still trendy to use. Flickr offers free image hosting. And you can organize your images into albums and edit them from within the app.
One of the main draws of Flickr is social networking. You can share your photos with the community and join groups for different types of photography.
Photographers can mark their favorite images and also leave comments. And you can edit your privacy settings to control who sees your photos.
Flickr offers a large amount of storage and an interface that’s simple to use. You can upload up to 1,000 high-resolution images on their free plan.
If you upgrade to the Pro plan, you get unlimited storage, 6K photo display, and access to advanced statistics. You also receive discounts for SmugMug, Blurb, PHLEARN, and PRiime.
7. 500px
- Image File Size Limit: 50 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, HEIC, TIFF
- Storage Space: 21 images per week (free), unlimited (paid)
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free and monthly paid plans
Created with professional photographers in mind, 500px offers a platform to display your images. The free version lets you upload 21 photos per week. But if you buy any of the membership options, you can upload unlimited photos. Plus, you’ll receive priority customer support.
The primary function of 500px is showcasing images, not social media sharing. And you can’t link to other sites.
The most significant benefits are displaying your photos and networking. You can share your pictures and make comments on other photos. You can also follow your favorite photographers.
You can build a profile on 500px and license your photos as stock photography. You’ll get paid up to 60% commission for any sales.
8. ImgBB
- Image File Size Limit: 32 MB (free), 64 MB (paid)
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, WEBP, HEIC, PDF
- Storage Space: Unlimited
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free, monthly, yearly, and three-year paid plans
ImgBB is one of the best free image hosting sites because it’s easy to upload, organize, and share photos. It has a minimalist approach to its design. And I am a big fan of it. This simple layout makes it easy to identify and upload your images.
One of the best points about ImgBB is that it doesn’t restrict the number of images you can upload, even using its free service. You will get an image size restriction of 32 MB. But you can upload images up to 64 MB in the paid monthly plans.
Once your account is set up, you can drag and drop your files onto the page to upload images. Another strong point of ImgBB is the quick access to a range of links. These include direct links to a full-size image or thumbnail HTML links for integration with different sites.
I would say ImgBB is one of the best free image hosting sites on our list. You can read our review of ImgBB for more information.
9. Imgur
- Image File Size Limit: 20 MB (non-animated)
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF+
- Storage Space: Unlimited, 50 images per hour
- Editing Tools: No
- Options: Free
With Imgur, you don’t have to worry about your photos expiring. You can also store as many images as you want. Plus, they have features to add captions to your photos or upload them via email.
Unlike some of the other image hosting options, Imgur allows direct linking. Each image can have a link posted in forums or embedded in HTML.
You can upload many different file formats to Imgur besides the standard ones like JPEG and PNG. These include BMP, TIFF, GIF, APNG, PDF, and XCF. It supports non-animated files up to 20 MB and GIFs up to 200 MB.
You can share your images on most social networking sites. Imgur is often used for uploads to Reddit.
10. PostImage
- Image File Size Limit: 24 MB (free), 48 MB (paid)
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG+
- Storage Space: Unlimited
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: Free, monthly, and yearly paid plans
PostImage is another free image hosting site that provides a simple way to send your photos over the web. My favorite feature of PostImage is when you upload photos. Before you even select your images, it gives you two options.
The first is to resize your image. PostImage has made this amazingly helpful by providing the resolution. It also tells you what these resolutions are best for. This ranges from a thumbnail to a 21-inch monitor.
The other option you get is to set an expiry date for your photo. You still have the option for no expiration. But having an expiry date could suit your needs, especially if you don’t want your images lurking around the web.
Apart from this initial resizing tool and the expiration date, PostImage has no other editing features. But you do get the opportunity to upload your photos in bulk.
The free version downscales “hot link” images to 1280 pixels. Their premium plan shows these images in their original resolution.
PostImage is a great free image hosting service if you want a simple, fast way to share your images. It’s specifically meant to share images on websites, blogs, message boards, and eBay.
11. ImageShack
- Image File Size Limit: 25 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF+
- Storage Space: 10 GB (free trial), unlimited
- Editing Tools: Yes
- Options: 30-day free trial, monthly and yearly paid plans
ImageShack is another of the more familiar image hosting sites on our list. It may not be a free service anymore. But you do get a free 30-day trial. This may be beneficial for a particularly busy time when you have to use an image hosting site in a short period.
will prefer using this site as it has a similar layout. This layout style makes it extremely easy to quickly sift through large amounts of imagery.
ImageShack is now a primarily paid service. But you still get all the extra bells and whistles of an image hosting site during your free trial.
These features include great mobile app integration, image stats, and many photo editing methods. It even has a useful watermark option that can save you lots of time.
The free trial allows you to upload up to 10 GB of images during that month. Paid versions have unlimited photo storage. Each image can have a maximum size of 25 MB. And you can upload all the major image formats. This includes JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, and GIF.
12. ImgBox
- Image File Size Limit: 10 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, GIF
- Storage Space: Unlimited
- Editing Tools: No
- Options: Free
ImgBox is a free, easy-to-use platform for sharing your images. This platform has unlimited storage space and lets you store your photos permanently. JPEGs, PNGs, and GIFs are all supported.
The platform offers several features. These include image galleries, drag-and-drop uploads, and direct links.
You don’t even need to create an account to upload your images. But having an account gives you the ability to access your photos later. It also allows you to upload your images quicker with preset settings.
You even can share your photos via social media and allow comments from others through ImgBox. You can learn about current social media image dimensions here.
13. Uploads.im
- Image File Size Limit: 10 MB
- Supported File Types: JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, PSD, PDF
- Storage Space: Unlimited
- Editing Tools: No
- Options: Free
With Uploads.im, you can upload various image file types via their main page. You can upload directly from your computer by clicking the “local” button. Or you can click on the “remote” tab to upload from a URL.
This platform supports uploading several images at one time. The size limit for a single image is 10 MB. There are no restrictions on the number of image files you can upload. And images won’t be deleted after a certain amount of time.
You can share your image on Pinterest or Twitter or post it to a forum or blog with links and codes. And they also provide a hyperlink shortener.
This isn’t your traditional image hosting site where you can easily view your images. But it can be useful if you only share images occasionally or need to share an image in a pinch.
Conclusion: Best Paid and Free Image Hosting Sites
These paid and free image hosting websites offer some great features. The file size and type of files you can upload determine how much you can utilize them. You also want to watch out for included editing tools that can be a huge time saver.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution that is perfect for everyone. You may need to use a couple of services that complement each other to meet all your image hosting needs. But after looking through our list, you should see what services will work best for you.
