To any photographer, both free and paid image-hosting websites are a blessing. Image hosting websites can be used to share your images easily or offer a backup for your favorite ones. There are many image-hosting websites out there. However, all of them come with different features. So, selecting the best image hosting website is not always simple for you.
We will walk you through some of the best image-hosting websites and compare their offerings and features. By the end, you will have lots of information to choose the best image hosting website for you. But before proceeding, let us find out what image hosting sites are and their benefits.
An Introduction to Image Hosting Sites
The image hosting sites let individuals upload, manage, and share their images efficiently without having to worry about data loss or backup. The photos you upload on these websites are stored primarily on their servers. Some of the standard features of most image hosting websites include:
- Image enhancements and editing
- Sharing the photos across various websites, blogs, or forums
- Complete control over privacy
Benefits Offered by Image Hosting Sites
- Backups
- Editing
- Flawless uploading
- Security
- Easy sharing on different social media networks
- Images management
- Help photographers get global exposure
- File format support
9 Best Image Hosting Sites
Below are our top picks for image hosting sites. Let’s explore them in detail together:
Dropbox
Dropbox offers an efficient and simple way to store photos. It is better known as the virtual box which lets you “drop” your photos. The images are then saved in the cloud and are available to access anytime. Once your images are in the cloud, they can be shared with other users on Dropbox directly. It also automatically backs up photos. So, you do not need to worry about losing your data.
File size is limited to 350 GB via the Dropbox API and 50 GB via the Dropbox website. It supports a wide variety of image files. It also lets you organize your sub-galleries and folders and share their links to individual folders or files. You may even synchronize your images to any of your desktop’s folders.
Pros
Allows synchronization of files across various platforms
Lets you create multiple versions of the same files
Simple. To use interface
Cons
Can’t edit the files that are uploaded
Not completely free
| Best For | Anybody looking for a complete online storage solution |
| Supported Files | JPEG, RAW, HEIC+, PNG, PDF, BMP, TIFF |
| File Size Limit of Images | 2 TB |
| Editing Tools | No |
| Pricing | Free for up to 2 GB of storage. Plans start at $.049/month for 10GB storage |
SmugMug
It is another popular image-hosting platform for photographers. SmugMug is an excellent website to show your images and sell prints. Whether you’re an enthusiast, a memory maker, or a pro, it has some features for everyone. SmugMug has a relievedly cheap starter pricing plan and it lets you pay for yearly subscriptions to get the safe photo storage you need.
If you choose to go with the more expensive plans, you can get more features and storage. It includes the capability to make a customizable portfolio website with your domain. SmugMug has editing tools that let you tweak the templates and comes with 21 design options. It also lets you set up eCommerce stores to sell photos or prints. You also get an option to share your images on social media.
Pros
Simple to get started and use
24/7 customer support
Offers eCommerce option to sell photos or prints
Cons
No Free plans
Minimal integration with any other platform
| Best For | Those photographers who want a storage solution or website |
| Supported Files | JPEG, RAW, HEIC, GIF, PNG |
| File Size Limit of Images | 3 GB |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Free 14 days trial, Basic plans start from $7/month |
ImgBB
ImgBB is the best free image hosting website as it is simple to upload, share, and organize photos. It comes with a minimalist strategy to its design. Its straightforward layout makes it simple to upload your images. The best-selling point of this image hosting site is that it does not limit the number of photos you can upload. You get a photo size limitation of 32 MB. However, with its paid plans, you can upload photos up to 64 MB.
ImgBB offers the anonymity of a famous image storage platform. You may also embed file-uploading plugins in your website when needed. With this, images may be uploaded instantly from your site to the servers of ImgBB, which is a great feature.
Pros
API compatibility
A plugin to upload is available
Code-free solutions
Cons
Restricted multi-photos link sharing
Doesn’t support video uploads
| Best For | Anybody who wants unlimited storage online |
| Supported Files | PNG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, PDF, HEIC, GIF, WEBP |
| File Size Limit of Images | 64 MB (Paid), 32 MB (Free) |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Both free and paid plans are available. Paid plan starts at $ 7.99/month |
ImageShack
Another popular image hosting site on our list is ImageShack. Though it isn’t a free service now, you can get a 30-day free trial. This is especially beneficial for those who wish to use a photo-hosting website for some time only. Primarily, ImageShack has become a paid service now. However, you can rest assured to get those bells and whistles during the free trial of any image hosting site. They include great mobile application integration, different photos editing methods, and image stats. It also comes with useful watermark options to save you time.
Users of Pinterest prefer using this website as it comes with a similar layout. Its layout style makes it very simple to sift through a large number of images. The free trial of ImageShack lets you upload 10 GB of photos during a month. Whereas the paid plans have unlimited image storage.
Pros
Seamless mobile integration
Image Stats
Cons
A little expensive
| Best For | Users of Pinterest who want online storage |
| Supported Files | PNG, JPEG, GIF+, TIFF, BMP |
| File Size Limit of Images | 25 MB |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | 30 days free trial, paid plans start at $3.99/month |
Google Photos
It is another outstanding service for uploading quality images. You can do this in large quantities. This platform also offers unlimited space, automatic backups, and uploads. It lets you store images at a resolution of 16 MP at the max and videos at 1080p. If you want to save a larger video or image file, you should pay on Google Drive for space.
Google Photos offers a simple method to upload and share images. Many people have a Google account. Therefore, if you do not wish to make a new account for image hosting on any other platform, Google Photos can be the perfect photo-sharing site for you. You can store pictures using your 15 GB free storage space from the Google Account. Otherwise, you can buy the paid storage plans of 2TB, 200 GB, or 100 GB, as per your requirement. To get yourself started, visit Google Photos or download Google Photos. You can then upload photos automatically and synchronize them with a Google Account.
Pros
Integrated well with Android
Excellent facial recognition feature
Ad-free, well-designed UI
Cons
Unlimited storage is not free
Not intuitive enough editing functions
| Best For | Users of Google Workspace |
| Supported Files | WEBP, JEPG, BMP, PNG, GIF, ICO, HEIC, TIFF, AND A few RAW files |
| File Size Limit of Images | 200 MB |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Offers free 15 GB cloud storage with free plan and paid plans start at $1.99/month |
Imgur
Next on our list of image-hosting sites is Imgur. It is the simplest tool that assists you in exploring and enjoying the great magic of the Internet. With Imgur, you just don’t need to worry about the expiration of your images. You can store as many photos as you wish. Moreover, they have the feature to add any caption to your images or upload them through email. It also lets you share your pictures on most of the social media platforms. Often, it is used for uploading to Reddit.
Unlike other image hosting sites, Imgur enables direct linking.
Pros
Free Registration
Cons
Applies lossy compression to a few images
| Best For | Anybody who wishes for free, unlimited storage space |
| Supported Files | PNG, JPEG, TIFF, GIF+, BMP |
| File Size Limit of Images | 20 MB |
| Editing Tools | No |
| Pricing | Free |
Flickr
Many people have forgotten about this image-hosting platform. However, it is still around and is trendy to use. Flickr is known to offer a free image hosting service. It lets you organize images into different albums and even edit them within the app. Social networking is Flickr’s main draw. You can share images within the community and even join various photography groups.
Flickr lets photographers mark their favorite pictures and leave comments. You can also edit the private setting to control who can see your images. It offers a large storage and a user interface that is easy to use. With its free plan, you can upload nearly 1000 high-resolution pictures. And with its pro plan, you can get a 6K photo display, access to advanced stats, and unlimited storage.
Pros
Intuitive photo management
Unlimited storage
Smart editing tools
Cons
Limited free plan
| Best For | Anybody who wants social media integration |
| Supported Files | PNG, JPEG, GIF |
| File Size Limit of Images | 200 MB |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Free with paid plans starting at $6.99/month |
500px
500px was created keeping professional and experienced photographers in mind. The platform lets you display images. Its free version allows you to upload 21 images/week. However, if you buy a membership option, you can then upload unlimited photos. In addition, you will get priority customer support. After you create your profile on this image hosting site, you can also license your images as stock photography. For any sales that you make, you will get a commission of up to 60%.
500px’s primary function is showcasing pictures. Users of 500px can draw inspiration from others on the platform and discover new images too. For those who have their website, 500px works as the display hub for your photography works.
Pros
Superb discovery feature
Free plans
Cons
Lack of security for photos
| Best For | Anybody looking for a large online storage with simple sharing option |
| Supported Files | GIF, JPEG, TIFF, HEIC, PNG, BMP |
| File Size Limit of Images | 50 MB |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Both Free and Paid plans. Paid plan starts at $6.49/month |
PostImage
It is yet another free photo hosting site that offers an easy method to send your images over the Internet. The best PostImage feature comes when you upload images. Even before you choose the pictures, it offers you two options. The first one is to resize the image. This site makes this very helpful by offering the resolution. It even tells you what the resolution is best for. It ranges from just a thumbnail to 21 inches.
The second option is to set up an expiry date. You also get a no-expiration option. However, taking the expiry date option can fit your requirements, particularly if you do not wish your images to lurk around the web.
Pros
No limitation on how many photos you upload
Simultaneously upload up to 1K files in batches
Cons
Its web interface can be confusing for newbies
| Best For | Anybody looking to customize the size of their images as per usage |
| Supported Files | PNG+, JPEG |
| File Size Limit of Images | 48 MB (paid), 24 MB (Free) |
| Editing Tools | Yes |
| Pricing | Free |
Wrap Up
The above list of image hosting sites includes both free and paid sites and comes with excellent features. The types of files and file sizes you can upload decide how you can use them. By going through the list above, you will be well able to decide which image hosting site is best for you.
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