10 Best Google Picasa Alternatives You Should Use

Before Google killed it, Google Picasa was one of the best digital image management and editing service on the market. Not only the service let you organize and manage all your photos but it also allowed users to perform some basic photo editing. One of my favorite features of Google Picasa was the ability to organize images based on folders, tags, and more which allowed me to categorize my images and find them quickly. While Google Photos, which replaced Google Picasa, offers similar features, it never felt as intuitive and easy to use as the latter. Thankfully, there are tons of new and old services out there which provide almost all the features that made Google Picasa such a great image management service. In this article, we are going to list the 10 best Google Picasa alternatives that you should use in 2020.

Best Google Picasa Alternatives in 2020

1. Windows Photo Gallery

Windows Photo Gallery is an application that will make you feel right at home. It has one of the most straightforward and easy to use layouts you will find on any photo editing app. It does not offer you the storage solution that Picasa does, but it works great if you are looking to manage all the pictures on your desktop.

Windows Photo Viewer

Its photo editing features are fairly decent, and it allows easy uploading to OneDrive, Facebook, YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo. Apart from basic editing, you can also add captions, make collages, slideshows, panoramas, photo fuses and movies. One feature that makes it stand out is its ability to save the names of the people tagged and geo-tag information directly to the metadata of the file.

2. Adobe Lightroom CC

Adobe Lightroom CC is probably the best digital image management and editing program on the market right now. If you are ready to pay the subscription price, Adobe Lightroom CC will give you all the features that you need right at your fingertips. My favorite feature of Adobe Lightroom CC is its DAM or digital Asset Management library which allows users to import all their images in the program and then categorize and organize them based on their preferences. One of the best things about Adobe Lightroom CC is that all your photos are saved on the cloud so no matter which device you are using, you can get access to all your photos. This also means that you won’t lose your photos even when your primary machine fails.

Lightroom CC

When it comes to editing, Adobe Lightroom CC is second to none. You get access to all the photo editing tools that you need. From brightness to contrast to color correction, all tools come with easy to use sliders which makes Adobe Lightroom CC a good option even for beginners. Lightroom also comes with both Android and iOS apps allowing users to access and edit photos even on the go. Another good feature of Lightroom is the ability to create and share shareable links allowing users to easily share photos with friends, clients, or family. The only thing that holds it back for me as a past Google Picasa user is its pricing. As I said, if you are okay with Adobe’s pricing, Lightroom CC will bring everything that can ask from an image management service.

Install: Free trial, $10/month

3. Photoscape

Using Photoscape can be a fun experience, whether it is for editing, enhancing or creating something special. It boasts a vast array of features that include basic editing and fixing, batch editing, making collages, making gifs using multiple photos, screen capture and splitting photos among other things. While the app does not offer the same cloud storage that Picasa does, it is one of the most versatile free photo editing application there is. It is a down to earth photo editing app more than anything else.

Photoscape

Install: Free

4. Phototheca

Phototheca is one of my favorites free image management software for Windows. While it also comes with a paid plan, I think the free plan will be enough to fill the needs of most users. One of my favorite features of Phototheca is its extensive image organizational features which allow users to not only import images but also organize them using folders, smart searches, tags, and more. I also love that Phototheca allows me to create shared folders. This feature is great for sharing photos with friends and family where you are not the only contributor. Since all the photos imported into a shared folder are available to all the parties, no matter who uploads the pictures, it is made available to all the users.

4. Phototheca

Phototheca also supports extensive search capabilities allowing users to search for images in seconds. You can search for photos using names, tags, description, location, and other metadata elements. Another good feature of Phototheca is its seamless integration with services such as Flickr, Google Photos, and Twitter, allowing users to easily share photos with their followers. Other cool features include duplicate detection, photo vault, dual view, and smart albums, among other things. I love Phototheca and in my view, it is a worthy Google Picasa alternative.

Install: Free, $39.95

5. FastStone Image Viewer

Despite what its name suggests, FastStone Image Viewer is more than just a photo viewing application. You can use it to organize your photos easily; you can add tags, move photos to desired folders, or even add folders to favorites. It allows you to make basic edits like cropping, adjusting the light, colors, curves and adding effects, etc. Though if you are not satisfied with its editing capabilities FastStone itself provides you with an option to use an external editing program, talk about being too modest.

Fastone Image Viewer

Install: Free

6. Flickr and Amazon Prime Photos

flickr

For those of you looking specifically for a storage solution Flickr and Amazon Prime Photo are your best bet. Flickr is one of the best photo management and sharing applications in the world, and it is fairly simple to use. Once you are signed up you can explore Flickr to understand how incredible a service it really is. It provides its users with the ability to save 1000 photos for free after which the service is chargeable. You can create your personal collections and albums and share the same with your family and friends. Flickr is also available as an app for Android and iOS and you can use the same account on all your devices.

amazon photos

Amazon Prime Photos is also a service identical to Picasa and Flickr in terms of storage. Just like Picasa uses a Google account and Flickr uses a Yahoo account, Amazon Prime Photos uses an Amazon account. With an eligible Prime membership, you receive free storage for all of your photos in Amazon Cloud Drive, as well as an additional 5GB of free storage space for personal video and document storage. You can download the Amazon Prime app to add photos from your Android or iOS device or install the Cloud Drive application for PC and Mac to add photos from your computer.

Visit: Amazon Prime Photos (Free, $11.99/month) / Flickr (Free, $5.99/month)

7. IrfanView

IrfanView is a free photo viewer and organizer for Windows which happens to be very light both in size and resource requirements. This makes it a great software for users who are using older generations of Windows PC and want something lean and light. Coming just at 3 MB, IrfanView doesn’t take any space on your computer and can run on any device. One of the biggest benefits of using Google Picasa was that it was easier on the resources, and in that regard, IrfanView excels quite a bit.

7. IrfanView

While IrfanView is a bit lighter on the features, it does bring all the important features to the table. It lets you easily view your entire library in thumbnail form, open any image, supports almost all the image formats, allows you to convert and optimize images for sharing, and supports batch processing of images. All these features in a package which is just 3 MB in size and totally free to download and use. I mean, what’s not to like here.

Install: Free

8. ACDSee

ACDSee started as a standalone image viewer, but over time, new features were added and now it has become a complete digital photo management application just like Picasa. You can organize huge libraries of photos in chronological order and categorize them based on geolocation, type of image, rating, and more. Further, you can create folders with proper tags and keywords. The best part about ACDSee is that it has the Face Detection feature which was introduced in the recent version of Photo Studio. Similar to Google Photos, the software can now recognize similar-looking faces and create a designated folder for quick access. You can also tag photos having similar faces, in case the system fails to do so.

8. ACDSee

Apart from that, ACDSee offers online integration with OneDrive and Dropbox and you have a mobile app too for transferring photos from your smartphone to the computer seamlessly. To sum up, if you are looking for a complete solution like Picasa which has editing, batch processing, smart organization, and also modern features like face recognition then ACDSee is the perfect pick.

Install: Free trial for 30 days, One-time purchases of $59.95

9. DigiKam

DigiKam is another powerful photo management software that is free and open-source. It’s available on Windows, macOS, and Linux so that is great. The software is generally used by professionals to organize all their digital media assets, but I would recommend it to everyone looking for a capable Picasa alternative. DigiKam can easily handle large bulk of images (more than 100,000 images to give you a ballpark figure) and process the images based on their metadata. Apart from JPEG, PNG, and numerous other media formats, DigiKam is also compatible with RAW images and you can edit them on the fly.

9. DigiKam

Talking about editing, DigiKam brings advanced tools like cage transform, sharpening, and lots of powerful filters for you to try. Not to mention, you also get features like facial recognition, smart categorization, geo-tagging, and slideshow creator without paying a dime. I would say DigiKam is a true Picasa alternative and you should definitely try it once.

Install: Free

10. Photobucket

One of the best features of Picasa was its online Picasa Web portal where you could upload photos and share albums from any device. So if you are looking for a similar web service that offers cloud storage without any reduction in image quality then Photobucket is a solid choice. You can upload up to 250 images for free and after that, you will have to pay a monthly charge of $5.99. But the best part is that you get no ads, no reduction in image quality, and superior security. To be clear, Photobucket uses 256 Bit RSA Encryption to keep your account and images secure on the internet.

10. Photobucket

Further, Photobucket has Secure Private Album Sharing which lets you have full control over who can access the photos. This is one of the issues with Google Photos albums and I am happy that Photobucket is offering an additional layer of security over album sharing. So to conclude, if you want a replacement for Picasa Web then Photobucket is a good choice.

Install: Free upload up to 250 Images, $5.99/month

Which Google Picasa Alternatives You Chose?

That ends our article on the best Google Picasa alternatives that you can use. All the apps mentioned here has been tested personally by me so I can vouch for them. Depending on your personal requirements, one piece of software on this list will serve you better than the others. For example, if you are just looking for storage, Amazon Prime photos is a great option, however, it is not meant for editing. On the other hand, apps like Fastone and IrfanView are great for on device organization but don’t offer a cloud storage. There’s also Adobe Lightroom which does everything but costs a lot. So you see, you have a lot of options to choose from. Once you have found your favorite Google Picasa alternative, let us know in the comments section below as to which one you went with.

comment Comments 127
  • Matze says:

    I still use picasa, as of today my main image library organization tool.. since more than a decade. Even though i use a bit lightroom in parallel – picasa feels incredibly fast

  • John W. Dawe says:

    Picasa is still available to download. I have used Picasa for the last 8 years to create my website www. hawardencemetery.uk, Being retired, a free programme fits the bill. It does everything that I need except one. I would request Google to resurrect the really great programme, so easy to use for an amateur photographer as I, update and add a “Delete background” feature. Stay Safe all

  • Troy says:

    I still use Picasa as of June 2022. My photos and vidoes are all kept local on hardrives, I don’t use any cloud storage, so that’s not a problem. The program runs fine on Windows 10.

    • Elle says:

      I’ve been using Picasa on an old PC with Windows 10 but running out of storage. I have a laptop but wondering if I can use that with an external hard drive and somehow still use picasa? Would that work? On my PC Picasa gets photos and mirrors the folders on the PC… can you do the same with a hard drive as there won’t be enough storage on the laptop?

  • ron says:

    they should fire the person who told them to get rid of Picasa

  • Sharon F. says:

    I was in love with Picassa 3. It was my photo teacher, mentor, and best late night friend. I am just a very amateur photographer. I think, not really being a bragger, quite a few of my photos are excellent. I am an RN, ASPO Certified Lamaze Instructor of 31 years, and an IBCLC lactation Consultant
    Several years ago, I took a scrapbook of pictures of a beach trip that my husband and I took our 4 grown kids and 5 grandchildren. Every one of my colleagues that I showed it to, said I was missing my calling. It was a very special trip. My husband had been diagnosed with a fatal lung disease not long before we took the trip.
    Without Picasso, I never would have become so efficient at editing, resizing, making slide shows,etc.. For me, it was so straight forward and very simple. I am definitely not a computer whiz. Just the opposite!
    Anyway, it made me sick when Google killed Picassa. I am still trying to find something very, very similar. Please share with me your favorites.

  • Don2737 says:

    I’d pay for a current version of Picasa. I still use it, with Win 10. It sometimes hangs when exporting a lot of files, so then I have to do that in smaller batches.
    I hate the idea of moving all my photos to a new program and losing my crops, edits, etc. and the tags I put on the photos.
    Someone please make a current version, I’d pay an annual fee.
    We may all be out of luck when forced to Windows 11, I hear it is much less likely to run old programs.
    Some tips that might help, when installing PICASA on Win 10, run the install file in compatability mode, and then run it in compatability mode. You can try various settings. I use in mode for Windows 7.

  • Janice Williams says:

    Agree wholeheartedly. Been struggling so much now that Picasa is gone. I think many of us would have rathered pay a fee than lose it all together! POWERS THAT BE – LISTEN TO YOUR FAN BASE

  • Glyn says:

    I have just tried to start Picassa and it’s gone! Sent me to Google Photos which is just an form of album. No way to crop or manipulate photos. I coul cry. Looking for something easy to use now. I have PhotoShop and other progams but none as good as Picassa for ease of use.

    • Lemme Hide says:

      Indeed

  • Kim Efa says:

    Just adding I moved to Lightroom plan for about 10 € a month. As I have 20.000 scanned old photos from 1920 to 2000, what Im missing from Picasa is the ability to badge changing all fotos in an album from the difference dates they were scanned to the SAME date they were all taken. Lightroom changes the dates of each FOTO for a different relative amount.

  • Lori says:

    Please bring back Picasa! I have 1000s of photos, all identified by face recognition. I simply do not have the patience to go through 1000s and 1000s of photos again and tag them! I’d gladly use a Picasa subscription. It does everything I need!

    • Cynthia says:

      Same here! I went through 2,553 images I had stored on PhotoBucket this week—I totally forgot about them and they’re from 2009-2012, all over the world. Looking at them, I thought ‘Jeez, my photos used to be better than they are now…why???’ And then I realised I was using Picasa fr everything! I have Photoshop…BUT I’D RATHER THEY BROUGHT BACK PICASA, PLEASE!!!

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