Piwigo
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it if you can self-host and patch promptly . it's a proven, free, multi-user photo gallery trusted by councils and utilities.
New check
Comparison
Piwigo vs Google Photos
Piwigo lands on Depends, and Google Photos lands on Worth it.
Google Photos
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want effortless backup, strong search, and AI editing and accept Google handling your library.
| Compare | Piwigo | Google Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Self-hosters wanting a dependable gallery | Everyday phone photographers |
| Who it's not for | Casual users wanting Google Photos-style auto-backup | Privacy-conscious users who don't want Google scanning their library |
| Privacy | Active risk: several 2025-2026 CVEs including SQL injection and arbitrary file read/RCE, fixed in v16.4.0 . patching discipline required.⁹ | No vulnerabilities found for Google Photos itself; the CVEs in reviewed sources affect third-party WordPress plugins, not the product. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | No evidence on support quality |
| Public sentiment | Self-hosters broadly praise Piwigo's reliability and price while noting it demands more configuration than newer rivals.¹ | Users praise the AI editing and search but increasingly complain about storage limits, privacy, and pushed AI features. |
| Biggest gotcha | Multiple 2025-2026 CVEs (SQLi, file read, RCE); patch to 16.4.0+ immediately⁷ | Unlimited free storage ended June 1, 2021 . every upload since counts against 15GB shared with Gmail and Drive. |
Pick Piwigo when
- Self-hosters wanting a dependable gallery
- Photographers sharing client galleries
- Orgs needing a shared brand-asset library (DAM)
- Multi-user teams controlling photo access
When Piwigo is not a fit
- Casual users wanting Google Photos-style auto-backup
- Anyone unwilling to patch security updates quickly
- Non-technical buyers expecting budget turnkey hosting
- Users wanting AI-heavy search . PhotoPrism or Immich fit better
Pick Google Photos when
- Everyday phone photographers
- Android/Google households
- Casual AI photo editors
- Families sharing albums
When Google Photos is not a fit
- Privacy-conscious users who don't want Google scanning their library
- Anyone unwilling to pay once 15GB fills
- Pros needing RAW workflows or local archives
- People who want painless bulk export and an easy exit
Sources
- Piwigo Reviews . G2g2.comreview
review
review
- Piwigo . official sitepiwigo.orgofficial
- Piwigo Pricingpiwigo.orgofficial
security
security
- CVE-2026-27634: Piwigo SQLi . SentinelOnesentinelone.comsecurity
official
review
- Google Photos . Apps on Google Play (4.4, 54M+ ratings)play.google.comreview
- Google Photos official sitegoogle.comofficial