Synology Photos vs Google Photos
Verdict: Google Photos wins on AI, search, and convenience — face recognition, natural language search, and zero hardware make it the best photo management system for the vast majority of users. Synology Photos wins on privacy, unlimited storage, and RAW preservation — the right choice for photographers with large libraries who reject cloud processing and are willing to manage their own hardware. Choose based on your priorities: AI convenience → Google Photos; privacy and unlimited RAW storage → Synology.
Winner: Google Photos
Synology Photos: 9/10
Google Photos: 9/10
Spec-by-spec comparison
| Synology Photos | Google Photos | |
|---|---|---|
| storage | Unlimited — limited only by NAS hard drive capacity | 15GB free; Google One $2.99/mo (100GB), $9.99/mo (2TB), $29.99/mo (5TB) |
| hardware_required | Synology NAS (DS224+: $300; DS923+: $500) | — |
| ai_features | On-device face recognition, object detection, location clustering | World-class AI: face recognition, scene detection, object search, memory curation |
| backup | Mobile app auto-backup from iOS and Android | Auto-backup iOS and Android; Google Takeout for export |
| sharing | Private album sharing, family portal, external guest links | Shared albums, Google Lens in-app, partner sharing |
| raw_support | Full RAW file support (CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG) | RAW backup supported but stored as JPEG in UI (RAW preserved in storage) |
Synology Photos
What works
- Unlimited storage at zero ongoing cost once NAS hardware is purchased — photographers with 100,000+ RAW files pay nothing per month vs Google's $10-30/month for equivalent storage
- 100% private on-premise storage means photos never leave your network — the only solution where faces, locations, and metadata are processed locally without training any cloud model
- Full RAW support with EXIF preservation for CR3, NEF, ARW, and DNG files — Google Photos compresses and strips metadata from RAW files regardless of storage plan
What doesn't
- $300-500 NAS hardware required before any photos are stored — the upfront cost takes 2-4 years to recoup vs Google One at $10-30/month
- Mobile app face recognition is slower than Google Photos' cloud-processed AI — face grouping on a 50,000-photo library can take days of background processing on NAS hardware
Google Photos
What works
- Google's AI face recognition identifies faces across 20 years of photos and groups them accurately across aging — the best-in-class AI photo organization that no self-hosted system approaches
- Natural language search 'photos of Mom at Christmas' accurately retrieves semantically relevant images from a 100,000+ photo library — Synology's local AI cannot match this search quality
- Zero hardware to purchase or maintain — $2.99/month for 100GB gets 10,000+ photos backed up with no NAS, no hard drives, and no power consumption at home
What doesn't
- Google processes all photos including faces, locations, and metadata in their cloud AI pipeline — the privacy trade-off is real and non-negotiable
- Costs scale: 2TB is $120/year and a 5TB photographer library costs $360/year — Synology NAS hardware pays for itself in 2-4 years for large libraries
Bottom line
Our pick: Google Photos. It edges out the alternative on google's ai face recognition identifies faces across 20 years of photos and groups them accurately across aging — the best-in-class ai photo organization that no self-hosted system approaches. That said, Synology Photos still wins on unlimited storage at zero ongoing cost once nas hardware is purchased — photographers with 100,000+ raw files pay nothing per month vs google's $10-30/month for equivalent storage — consider it if that single trade matters most for your use.
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