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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Install: Free
6. Flickr and Amazon Prime Photos
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
they should fire the person who told them to get rid of Picasa
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.
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.
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
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.
Indeed
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.
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!
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!!!
Please bring Picasa back it was the best !!
I’m with you Linda. But Picasa “acting up or out???” and I need to find something similar. I’m looking at FastStone and IrFan View as the next best thing. Good luck with what you may have found.
Please bring back PICASSA….
How do you know which is a safe picasa site to reinstall the latest Picasa?
Willing to pay if the original Picasa would be brought back. Please bring it back.
please bring picasa back!
Love picasa, no other tool has come close to it’s ease of use and functionality even 5 years after google discontinued. It is a main
Funny, you would figure other image editing companies would be all over picasa trying to replicate\duplicate picasa’s functionality and features?!?
now I just added a 16TB My Book and picasa does not recognize it under folder management? does anyone know if picasa has a size limit for recognizing external HD’s? is there a max size picasa will work with?
anyways I know this is not a support site!
a very informative article and group…thanks all!
James
Picasa is central to my workflow.
Google’s suggested replacement service apparently handles images up to 16 Megapixels.
My cameras are all 25 Megapixels. End of discussion.
I agree with you, Stuart! Google. please bring back Picasa! Killing Picasa was a real murder that gave me huge problems in my work! And Sam, where do I find the last version of Picasa? Thank you for answer!
I dread the day Picasa will no longer work on my computer. Even though I use Photoshop Elements a lot, I also use Picasa heavily. I mainly use it for its superb, real-time photo management tools and for how you can quickly crop and resize a photo. Perfect for Instagram, blogs, printing photos etc. I would dearly love it if somebody picked up the Picasa mantle and continued to maintain it. Looking around the internet, it’s clear that very many people still love and use this outdated piece of software. I have tried all sorts of other programs recommended as Picasa replacements but none come close.
I have been using Picasa for a long time – both personal and work computers.
I had ZERO idea that Picasa was no longer…. until I got a new work PC and tried to install it.
It was a real kick in the cornflakes.
I would have backed up the 12 years of images from the work computer, had I known I couldn’t access them.
During the pandemic, I’ve noticed a LOT of companies ‘fixing’ what isn’t broken. Job security..?? Boredom??
I’m with all of you here. Bring it back!
Google shut it down LONG before the pandemic hit.
I have been using Picasa for a long time – both personal and work computers.
I had ZERO idea that Picasa was no longer…. until I got a new work PC and tried to install it.
It was a real kick in the cornflakes.
I would have backed up the 12 years of images from the work computer, had I known I couldn’t access them.
During the pandemic, I’ve noticed a LOT of companies ‘fixing’ what isn’t broken. Job security..?? Boredom??
I’m with all of you here. Bring it back!
Theres nothing like picasa. I figured google is holding back on that technology. Now we’re 15 years behind on photo editing and management. All others are dull and basics. I tell you why, big corps working on photos wouldn’t make money if people use picaso. So creative and perfect.
+1 Loved Picasa.
I can not find a replacement.
Picasa was
– fast
– pc scan / import without move/database
– non destructive easy edits
– organizing
– face recognition
– compare
– caption & share albums
Google photos =
– not easy to access to the actual files and offers no sync to pc
– organize only by date or album
– album structure is linear with no nestled – makes for a very long list
– no captions or meta shown unless user clicks the i button along side single image
– duplicates and more duplicates
An alternative not mentioned here – Mylio. It’s free under 25,000 photos. It creates a database for collection handling. Does not have its own dedicated sharing platform but does offer a couple of export options. I’ve found Mylio to be the closest thing to Picasa, but without the sharing platform I don’t use/want it.
I have to totally agree with you on there being duplicates after duplicates…its tiring honestly because I have to go through hundreds of photos to get to my older ones and you make one wrong move or click, you are starting all over again trying to find that photo.
I do get the cheapest sub for Google 1…it has its own photo editing app that is availabe to members with paid memberships… :/
I honestly dont know what the crap I am doing as far as editing photos and things go like yall are talking about, so my main concern in storage. But to be honest, I am just tired of everything Google…
digiKam doesn’t really work for facial recognition.
Google please bring back Picasa, still using the latest version now and nothing compares 🙁
Please bring back Picasa , there is no substitute for it. . Google please understand its your own name getting tarnished , google should at least add these features Of sorting and adding subfolders in google photos
I tried 20+ photo organize software for Win10, nothing close to Picasa’s speed and ease of use. none. don’t pay stupid photo org software, even Adobe’s all slow like snails or corrupts in the middle when importing large number of photos (I have 320K photos). Google developers are the best, no doubt. management cared about revenue, that’s why they moved to google photos cloud. too bad
Its 2021 and I still can’t find good replacement! Please back Picasa to live!
If you’re missing Picasa, just download the last version of it. It’s readily available from various sources (use trusted sites). and it’ll still run and operate as it did the last day it was supported. I have it still running fine on all my machines. Works fine.
My sister had to get a new machine and she was bummed that they discontinued it. I pointed her to the last version to download and she’s happy!
I agree with you, Stuart! Google. please bring back Picasa! Killing Picasa was a real murder that gave me huge problems in my work! And Sam, where do I find the last version of Picasa? Thank you for answer!
my pc crashed and therefore lost my picasa. Did you get a reply as to where to dwn load picasa ? If so, please send it to me
Hi Sam, I’m still using Picasa 3 … is that the latest version?
3.9.141 is the version I’m using, not sure if there was anything after that one.
How do you know if you have a trusted site? How do you find a trusted site?
Miss Picasa sooooo much!
where can we find the last version of Picasa’s download Sam?
thanks Maureen
I saved a copy of Picasa program to put onto a new machine, but do not understand the directions I have found to reload the photos into it. Very unhappy.
One feature I loved on Picasa was they it would scan your entire hard drive and find all your photos. Many of these photo organizers make you navigate to each folder to add images which is a PAIN! Do any of these have the whole hard drive scan feature?
I miss that sooo much too 🙁
it was easy to organize photos on picassa for less tech savvy like me. can it be made usable again please
Please reinstate Picassa back. It was so simple and uncomplicated to work on it.
Picasa was the best user friendly App
Don’t know why Google replaced it !
i want picasa back!!! it’s the only thing that i really like using and know how to use… i used it since it came out so looking for something else is making me crazy cause nothing is the same as picasa!!! Give it back!!!!!
I’ve just bought a new windows 10 computer
I love Picasa which I’ve used for years and have loads of photos nicely sorted
I hate Google Photos although at least I know my photos are safely in the cloud
But what to use on my new computer I have no idea so I join with everyone else with the plea to bring back Picasa
The one thing I really liked about Picasa was the ability to take a yellow sheet or pink sheet and turn it black and white.
There are too many programs out there to try them all, and reviews never seem to touch on this.
The thumbnails are also the best size for viewing, and laid out really well.
I HATE GOOGLE FOR STOPPING PICASA…..
I too am struggling to find a decent Picasa replacement. Version 3.9 began failing on my Mac, so I’m using it on an embedded Windows 10 machine. Some issues with faces and albums, but pretty good otherwise.
It seems Google offered Picasa, but when very many were ‘hooked’ (‘addicted’) to it, they pulled the rug out and watched us fall. A competent drug dealer would then offer you a good deal on that drug you *had* to have. Not so Google. I wonder why no one else has stepped into this breach. There’s gold in them thar hills!
I could not agree more with what you said. I’ve been looking for an editing program that would come close to Picasa. I’m a computer illiterate and the editing program made me a master of photography, people wanted to buy my photos, but alas…..the dealer done his deal and left me. But why?
I have used Picasa almost from day one and have thousands of photos in my folders and know exactly where everything is. I would GLADLY pay to keep this alive if this is about money. I could not even begin to think about starting from scratch someplace else……. PLEASE keep it alive, we all beg you.
Picasa died for years ago. Sadly.
Agree with all of you, I’ve been struggling to find anything like Picasa. I have it on two laptops and now trying to transfer many thousands of photos to a new one. it still works on the old ones except for emailing. Nothing else comes close for speed and ease. such a shame they were so short sighted. Maybe we should start a campaign!
What is Google’s deal with messing with our hard work organizing literally THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of photos we on programs that are great? They get us using something awesome like Picasa to work with and after awhile they pull the rug out. Picasa is easy to use and free. Now we have to switch all our work to another program that’s not as great or as easy or free.
I have just got a new laptop and am devastated that I cant get Picasa on it. Have used it from the outset and there is nothing to match it for quality and simplicity.Thats the problem, Picasa was TOO GOOD for the “big guys” so Google just killed it to promote it’s own geeky trash for the younger generation so I doubt they are going to accept the plea of the thousands of Picasa devotees and bring it back.
Still use Picaca for basic fast work and could not be more pleased. Tried to download “latest” version from internet and found it to contain damaging virous. Be very careful. Bring back a supported version. Will pay.
This is a NIGHTMARE. I still keep 900 files with 1,000 photos in Each! I maintain my Unsupported Windows 7 in order to Maintain my PICASA!!!
Lately GOOGLE HAS. BEEN SCREWING FAITHFUL GOOGLE USERS! They also Eliminated the GOOGLE HOME Brilliant free Radio Mixes which were so incredibly curated replaced by the MEDIOCRE YOUTUBE Subscription music.
This was a crime against All who bought a Google Home!
Their former excellence was to be admired and prized. Now they are like Big Banks – they give us Nothing in return !
Please continue campaigning on social media to bring PICASA and GOOGLE HOME RADIO MIXES BACK!!!!
They changed their moto : “Don’t be EVIL”
I have well over 75,000 very well organized pictures on my Picasa 3 2008 Gateway desktop computer running Win-vista and my favorite, “Win-Mail” program. Never had a bad problem that I could not solve with either Win-vista Or Win-Mail or Picasa. I can’t get Win-mail to work with Win-10 and that is why I am still using this old Windows VISTA operating system. I have 2 other desktops, one with Win-7 and the other with Win-10. they both use a FREE mail program called OE CLASSIC that is very similar to Win-mail. So I can still keep all my thousands of “E” mail that I ever sent or received since 2005 on my computer and not up in the Cloud. Some features of Picasa do not work well on Win-10. Please, Please bring back Picasa 3. I loved, loved the Picasa option of auto deleting duplicate pictures.
by downloading Picasa from an unknown site, I corrupted the hard drive on a new pc.
I would happily pay for a legit Picasa
Are there any other programs like Picasa that do facial recognition as well as Picasa? That is the one reason I still use Picasa
I do not think so, but it sounds like a great feature to request. Perhaps a developer who is working on DigiKam would be interested in making a plugin like that?
Even though I don’t depend on Picasa but I encouraged everyone to use it because it is a simple and easy to use Photo viewer and editor. The feature that no longer works is the ability to easily send pictures to your emailer which is a shame. There are features that I would have loved they improved on but no sense bringing them up now. If you install K-Lite_Codec_Pack, you will not have problems viewing your videos, particularly to bring in sound. It is surprising that no one else has been able to create another Picasa that is easy to use and has similar features. Who wants to be forced to go to the cloud all the time?
I need to add my photos to a CD and plat the CD
I absolutely loved Picasa. I am really really frustrated without it and am searching for something to take its place. Nothing I try is like it. Please please bring Picasa back.
The fact that Beebom included so much programs that are unnecessary as a photo viewer and basic editor is astounding to me You are your best judge.
Has anyone who still uses Picasa, had the problem of not being able to mirror image photos by Command Shift H on a Mac? I have been able to do this until today when it doesn’t seem to work?
Has anyone who still uses Picasa, had the problem of not being able to mirror image photos by Command Shift H on a Mac? I have been able to do this until today when it doesn’t seem to work?
Reading through the comments below it seems like Picasa was the #1 choice for many people. Why are you not still using it? I’m still using Picasa 3 (v3.9.141) now in Sept. 2020. Works just fine including emailing images via my ‘Thunderbird’ account.
The only issue I’m having, the reason i’m looking for a replacement, is because its playing all .mp4 videos imported from my phone upside down for some reason. That’s probably not a picasa issue, its probably a codec issue (vids play normal in VLC and in the “photos” app on Win10).
I should add I’m not a photographer, just a guy who has 48,000 photos (and videos) of my dogs lol
I’m still using Picassa on my old laptop but I recently upgraded my desktop and no way to put Picassa on there that I am aware of. I too love Picassa, the way you can easily move pictures between folders, rename folders and create new ones.
You can still easily find the installer online for v3.9
Wow thank you so much, I hate google photos as a replacement for Picassa, it just doesn’t work for me and I am still using Picassa3 for image recognition as GP useless and you can’t move people in wrong folder.
I’ll definitely try out some of your suggestions
Hi,
I have just started to use phototheca as a replacement for Picasso and it seems really good. However after initially making contact with lunarship the providers who sorted out a minor problem, I have not been able to make contact with them. Has anyone else had this experience? Don’t really want to get left with an unsupported piece of software as it seems to give me all I want from an organisational point of view.
The thing I loved most about Picasa and hate about Google Photo and iPhoto is that when I moved a photo to a folder, that was the only place I would see it. It wasn’t sitting on a screen with 30,00 other pictures to wade through and no way to know if they were in a folder or or had been edited or not. The other thing I loved was the elimination of duplicates when importing.
Do any of these have those features ? I am still mourning Picasa and get zero response from Google when I ask about anything.
I have been trying to find a replacement for Picasa for years. I have tried so many different programs and was left being frustrated and really tried to like Google Photos and its just not the same. I can do everything with Picasa except sending my photo’s. I have to download on a disk and then send them. Picasa won’t work any more whether I try to send through my Google account or my Outlook account. It just won’t recognize either e-mail program. If anyone has any suggestions I am open to listening. Like all of you I would be willing to pay a monthly fee to use Picasa and its interesting that no one has come up with a Picasa like program yet.
Hello Michael,
You can export your edited photos to a folder on your desktop and then send them via email or to an online site of your choosing.
I have been doing this for years. It is cumbersome, but it does work.
#1 on your list was discontinued in 2017
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/18614/windows-essentials
i agree with many others, please bring picasa back. it was super easy to use.
PLEASE BRING PICASA BACK, IT WAS EASY TO USE. BETTER THAN GOOGLE PHOTO.
I have well over 100000 photos on Picasa and hundreds of albums. I have been using it for 20 years and it is stillperfect. Please bring it back!
I feel ya Mo, I miss Picasa too
I sooooo agree. I am holding onto my windows 8 pc until it dies…mainly due to the ease and value of Picasa even though I have a windows 10 sitting in its original box. Damn !
I am using Windows 10 Pro and I can still use Picasa.
I an using Windows 10 Pro and I was able to download Picasa and am still using it.
Are you able to sync? I also downloaded Picasa to my new Windows 10 PC but it’s not syncing so any new pictures I upload aren’t added to Picasa – I have to do it manually.
I too love Picasa. I have been using it on my Mac but have a new camera D500 and now it won’t upload. I have to first upload through I photos and then transfer but the files get all messed up and organize singly for some reason, creating a mess> I need to move to something else but have tried some others but did not like them at all. Picasa was so easy and fun to use. I think I will try Phototheca. Thanks for the suggestions
OK so my comments get deleted, lets try this again
1) TO those who cant get videos to work with Picasa, do a web search for K-lite Codec. It’s likely your video codecs need updating. Should work.
2) I’ve got Picasa 3.9.141 (build 259) running fine on my Microsoft Surface Pro 5 (2019) with Win 10.
3) I looked at all the apps listed above on this Page. And I found what appears to be a GREAT alternative to Picasa! (and I’m keeping it saved just in case Picasa stops working). Phototheca above has the same feel, builds the same screen of thumbnails like picasa, and just in general is very Picasa-esque.
Disclaimer: I’m just a guy. No conflict of interest or anything like that, so I hope this comment doesn’t get deleted like my others, OK?
Thanks for the heads up Ill try that first then
Are you able to sync to the web at all? Picasa will no longer let me log in… It gives me an unsupported or insecure browser error. I have tried changing default browser, turning off security, and anything else I could think of… Any suggestions?
HEY!
you all better check out PhotoTheca ! It’s listed above, has a free version, and after using it 5 minutes is seeming pretty close to Picasa!
Just sayin’
Sure, you have to poke around with it a little and tweak setting up the folders and all, but it’s worth a check!
From the time I first started taking pictures of my granddaughter, I used Picasa and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!! I was devastated when I first heard it was being discontinued. I have TRIED
to like Google photos for 4 years, but I HATE, HATE, HATE it!!!!! I would be more than willing to pay a reasonable fee for using Picasa if they would bring it back. ANY CHANCE OF THAT HAPPENING??
Bring Picasa back, ditto. All I want is to connect my camera to my desktop computer, view the pics, import those I want and have the software delete those from my memory card on the camera. I don’t want or need photo editing crap. Simple? Picasa did it.
Bring Picasa back please!!!
I’ve been busy and didn’t notice that picasa was retiring ! I was still scanning my Mom’s photos to picasa. The other day I could not scan any more into my computer and that’s when I found out they retired picasa. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY RETIRED PICASA ! ! ! I HAVE HUNDREDS MORE PHOTOS TO SCAN IN SO I CAN MAKE CD COPIES FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY ! I TRIED TO UPDATE MY PRINTER TO SCAN INTO GOOGLE PHOTOS AND IT WAS NOT SUCCESSFUL ! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BRING PICASA BACK ! ! !
I’M NOT ABLE TO USE GOOGLE PHOTOS AS EASY AS I USED PICASA ! ! ! AND NOT ALL MY PHOTOS WENT INTO PHOTO GOOGLE EITHER ! ! !
Picasa. it was easy for people with no or very little software knowledge were able to use it. And not able to trust others as much I trusted Picasa. I wish Google brought back Picasa!
Count me in for Picasa too. Here we are like 4 years later (?) and people are still pining for Picasa. It was lightweight, yet still super responsive, easy to use, and still allowed one to do 90% of the edits one needed to make.
Yes! Bring Picasa back!! I have Adobe Lightroom and I hate it, don’t like it, despise it. What is wrong with me? Screen is so small I have to squint my eyes to read it, too much on same page, confusing, can’t find photos, I want to cry every time I use it. However…..it does make nice videos!
Im still unsure which path to take…I loved Picasa for its simple use..I still have Picasa and can use its basic editing tools however now when I move a folder in from any of my external hard drives it wont load the whole file ,just one image only…While this is not too much of a problem for most of my photos….I do photograph our minor league games and can take anywhere between 300 to 500 pics a game …I would edit them,create individual folders for between 25 and 30 players..this takes me a few hours….If Im unable to find something equivlent that is quick and simple..I will no longer be able to photograph the games…….. I agree with the all comments below..BRING Picasa back with support, I would not mind paying a small fee…Nothing you showed me here shows any signs of doing what Picass did….Im guessing no-one at Google reads these comments as I was unable to find any repsonse from Google to those who have commented..BRING Picasa back PLEASE
Looking for an App that downloads like Picasa ie by putting all photo’s with the same date in a folder. You can later move folders or create a new folder and transfer photo’s. Most Apps just download with zero organization.
can’t believe how many of us still use Picasa and would love to even pay for it. I use it in Windows, from several PCs, accessing a large (more than 30K photos) library on a NAS: I recently moved to Synology and checked out their Photo Station and Moments. Alhtough these are nice and free, no comparison to Picasa. Moments has auto face recognition, and auto location, but nothing compared to what is in Picas. Still waiting…
Agreed. Picasa was powerful and with all Google’s money, they could have continued to support it, even charging a nominal fee for use.
I think that even in 2020 there is no equivalent to Picasa. I still use the 3.9 version with Win 10 and it’s the best! I really regret that google no longer support this awesome program.
We upgraded our PC a couple months ago (going from Windows 7 to Windows 10), and although I was able to download Picasa again, now it won’t view about half of my files properly (both previously saved and new photos I import)…it just shows a small portion of the photo in an extreme close up, so I can’t edit the whole thing. The whole file is there…I can open it in a viewer and have tried a Photoscape and a few others and can see and edit them just fine, but I don’t like the other programs at all. Any ideas what the problem is, or how I can get it resolved in Picasa? I’ve tried re-downloading a few times from different sites, and different versions of Picasa.
Same problem. Very frustrating.
by downloading Picasa from an unknown site, I corrupted the hard drive on a new pc
None of these (other than LR possibly) allows you to import, sort, edit, add captions then upload, share albums/pics with captions visible.
I’m still using Picasa 3 on my laptop computer. It still functions the same for photos, but no longer opens videos. Whole Google supported it, I was able to upload a video and watch it frame-by-frame and snap a still photo of the best frame (no eyes closed, goofy faces on family shots). Where can get this feature in a simple service like Picasa 3?
I updated my Mac operating system yesterday to Catalina and can no longer access my old Picasa app. Very distressing with 25G of photos in the order that I want them.
Its always come back after other upgrades but not this one!!!
Do any of the above Apps allow you to make collages within the program, as Picasa did? I used that function a lot and it was seamless. Like the other people commenting…. I love Picasa, why can’t we have it back ???? Dianne
My Picasa3 works fine. I can download pictures, edit the, etc. etc. I have over 5000 pictures on Picasa. How long can I expect it to continue working?
Did anyone answer? And have you heard any negative possibilities for still using Picasa?
Yes. It no longer opens videos. Please see latest comment by Steven Hart.
It doesn’t seem to support new photo formats such as HEIC which means I now have to find an alternative having just bought a new iphone.
Like any deprecated software it is no longer patched, which means using it on a PC connected to the net will always be a risk.
I am still using Picasa and I cannot find another application that is anywhere near as good!
Would love it if Google would reinstate it!
Does anybody know WHY Google canned it?
i hear they focus on google photo or something, idk man i think they should launch picasa 4 with google photo integration rather than plug the support for arguably the best media viewer that ever exist.
Is there any photo management application that can sort photos by their gps location? I saw a map in picasa but it lacked the mentioned function.
I’ve tried these too. There is just not a very good replacement for Picassa’s ease of use and organization. Sure do miss it. Wish they would bring it back.
why couldn’t they just leave well enough alone…UGH! Picasa users were just HAPPY with the way things were. Please, PLEASE give us Picasa back.
Picasa was just fine. Excellent, I recommended it to everyone.
“Do you have Picasa yet? They could just have expanded its editing options a bit.
Bring it back, please!
“Absolutely Agree”
You can still download Picasa from a site called uptodown. The Google replacement for Picasa is pathetic. If you don’t have a version of Picasa saved on your computer and can’t download from the web, I suggest Photoscape. It’s free and offers lots of photo editing options.
I’m using Phototheca as Picasa replacement. The app looks nice, works pretty well. Even can upload images to Google Photos.
I used KrojamSoft PhotoViewerPro…
Another alternative of picasa…
Thanks for suggested other is well…
I have used Picassa for as long as it has been around and am trying to get through this wondows 10 and now the replacement for Picasa Google… BUT I cannot find anywhere to scan and import from my scanner – printer… I have tried everything and there just is nothing there. This was one of the biggest reasons to use Picasa and nopw it isa gone… Can you help Please?
Please bring Picasa back. I have used it for years. It was simple and I have found nothing else out there to compare.
Absolutely agree. I still have Picasa with all my photos from years of traveling. But it won’t let me send or email any of them. I LOVED everything about Picasa, ease of use, simple editing, ability to easily organize, edit, compare similar photos, delete, on and on. PLEASE bring it back!