A Google Photos alternative that keeps your photos off the cloud

The short answer: an offline Google Photos alternative

CachePix is a photo catalog app for Mac and Windows. It catalogs the photos on your drives, then syncs a searchable catalog to free iPhone and Android companion apps, so you can browse your archive with the drives unplugged. Your photos never go to the cloud.

Google Photos works the other way around. Its backup, which you can turn on or off, copies your photos and videos to your Google Account's cloud storage. Google Photos also offers three things CachePix doesn't have at all: an off-site copy, Face Groups (not in all regions or account types) and AI search.

• Choose CachePix if your library sits on external drives and you want to search it from your phone without uploading it.
• Stay with Google Photos for an off-site backup, video, Face Groups and AI search.
• Use both to catalog the drives at home and keep a cloud copy of the photos you can't lose.

Can you view Google Photos offline?

Google's answer is narrow. Its help center says photos and videos you've removed from your phone to free up space can't be viewed while you're offline (as of October 2026).

CachePix is built for the drive-in-a-drawer case. Your phone keeps a thumbnail of each cataloged JPEG, PNG, WebP and RAW photo. HD previews download automatically for a capture-date window you choose: 30 days, 90 days, 1 year (the default), 2 years or All photos.

Browse and search your catalog with the drives unplugged and the computer at home. CachePix checks your plan online at least once every 14 days.

On the library we measured, 190,566 photos (885.66 GB) in two folders on one external drive, thumbnails came to 8.03 GB on an iPhone, about 44 KB per photo. The phone storage numbers page has the HD preview figures and the method.

How Google Photos stores your photos

Google Photos is a cloud service run by Google. Your backups live in your Google Account's cloud storage rather than on a server you set up. Everything in this section is as of October 2026.

You back up in Original quality or in Storage saver, which resizes photos over 16 MP to 16 MP and videos above 1080p to 1080p. Both count toward your Google Account storage.

On a Mac or PC

On a computer, Google Photos is used in a web browser at photos.google.com or through Google's installable Photos Web App. Google Drive for desktop stopped supporting backup to Google Photos on August 10, 2026. Google now has computer users back up folders from photos.google.com, and says the tab or web app must stay open for backup to continue.

Google's help pages say folder backup uploads copies of the folders you choose to your Google Photos library. They don't describe cataloging photos that stay on an external drive without uploading them.

Storage and price

A Google Account includes up to 15 GB of free storage, shared across Google Photos, Gmail and Google Drive. Past that, you buy storage for all three together, not for Photos alone.

The 400 GB and larger plans are sold as Google AI plans that include Gemini features. Prices vary by country, and Google is changing its plan names, so check Google's plans page. If you go over your storage quota, Google says new photos and videos stop backing up to Google Photos.

How CachePix is different

CachePix is a private Google Photos alternative with no cloud for your photos. It starts from the drives you already own: your photos aren't uploaded, nothing scans faces, and the price doesn't depend on how many photos you have.

No photos to upload

In Drives & Folders, choose Catalog a Folder… and pick a folder or a drive.

CachePix keeps a 512px thumbnail and an HD preview (2048px by default) of each cataloged JPEG, PNG, WebP and RAW photo on your computer, plus the people, keywords and captions already in your files. Your photos, previews and catalog never leave your own computer and phone. CachePix's only online service is your account: email sign-in, the plan check, and Stripe billing in your browser.

Cataloging never modifies, moves, renames or deletes your files. CachePix writes metadata only when you edit it, and only the fields you changed, as standard XMP in the file or in a sidecar next to RAW files.

Pair your phone once by scanning a QR code. The catalog syncs one way, from your computer to your phone, over your local network. Full-size originals stay on your drives. There's no server for you to install or run.

No facial recognition, no AI

CachePix has no facial recognition, face detection or AI tagging. People names come from metadata in your files, or names you type in CachePix. On your computer, one search box covers 13 fields, including filename, people, keywords, caption, city and event. Words combine, so "Nora birthday" finds photos that match both. The phone apps search filename, people, keywords and caption.

That's deliberate, and it cuts both ways. "Beach" finds only photos where someone wrote "beach" in the filename or metadata. Nothing looks at the picture and guesses.

A price that doesn't grow with your library

CachePix is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year after a 14-day free trial, or $99 once for Lifetime. One plan covers your computer and your phone with the same email. The price is the same whatever the size of your library, because you supply the storage. Trial and card terms are on the pricing page.

CachePix vs Google Photos, side by side

CachePix cells describe desktop 0.2.1 and the 1.1.0 phone apps.

When Google Photos is the better pick

Google Photos does things CachePix doesn't do at all. If one of these matters most, keep it, or run both.

• An off-site copy. CachePix keeps no copy of your photos off-site, so it can't replace a cloud backup.
• Face Groups. Google Photos groups photos of people and pets so you can label them and search by name. Google notes it isn't available in all regions or account types.
• AI search. It searches your backed-up library by people, places and things without manual tagging, using Google's AI.
• Video. Google Photos backs up videos as well as photos. CachePix doesn't catalog video.
• Editing and web access. Google says edits to backed-up photos appear on any device where you're signed in. On a computer, your library opens at photos.google.com.
• Small libraries. Up to 15 GB is free and 100 GB is $1.99 a month in the US (as of October 2026), so for a library under about 100 GB, Google's yearly cost is lower than CachePix's.
• Shared storage. A paid plan can be shared with up to five other people (as of October 2026).

Other alternatives to Google Photos

CachePix isn't the only thing you can use instead of Google Photos. These facts are as of October 2026, from each company's own pages.

• Immich is free, open-source software. Its apps need an Immich server that you run yourself, usually installed with Docker on a home server, NAS or always-on computer. It includes facial recognition that runs on that server. See Immich without a server.
• PhotoPrism also needs a server: a computer, NAS, Raspberry Pi or cloud server you run yourself, or paid managed hosting from its partner PikaPods. Its free, open-source Community Edition includes facial recognition. Compare CachePix vs PhotoPrism.
• Ente Photos is an end-to-end encrypted cloud backup service: photos are encrypted on your device, then uploaded to Ente's cloud. It offers 10 GB free with no time limit and annual plans from $29.88 (USD) a year for 50 GB, so for a library under 50 GB it costs no more than CachePix. Ente's help center says its phone app also has a Gallery mode for browsing photos already on the phone without an account, though it may not be in all regions yet.
• Synology Photos, according to Synology, keeps your photos on your own Synology NAS rather than a public cloud service. Synology's FAQ says it "requires a Synology NAS to privately store your photos". Synology says the app is free with no paid tiers. The NAS and drives are bought separately.
• Mylio Photos keeps your library on your own devices by default and doesn't require uploads to Mylio's servers. The Mylio Photos app is free to use. Syncing your library to more devices needs Mylio Photos+, which Mylio's website lists at $25 a month or $240 a year for one person. Compare CachePix vs Mylio.

Bringing a Google Photos export into CachePix

Already downloaded your Google Photos library to a drive? Choose Catalog a Folder… and pick that folder. Four things to know:

• Dates come from the photo. CachePix reads the capture date only from EXIF DateTimeOriginal, and photos without it are listed as undated. Google notes that a date or time change made in Google Photos shows in Google Photos, but a downloaded copy may still carry the camera's original date.
• JSON files are ignored. If your export includes .json files, CachePix doesn't read them. It reads people, keywords, captions and the other IPTC and XMP fields it searches, in the photos and in sidecars next to RAW files. PhotoPrism can read the JSON files that come with a Google Photos export.
• HEIC shows as a filename tile. HEIC photos (including iPhone photos saved as HEIC) are cataloged and searchable, and previews for them are coming. In the current version you see the filename instead of a picture.
• Video stays out. Video isn't supported, and Live Photo motion is ignored.

Keep reading

Check pricing, or learn how to view external hard drive photos on your phone.

• Compare

  All comparisons

  CachePix next to other photo catalog apps, each dated.

• Compare

  CachePix vs Immich

  Immich runs on a server you host. CachePix doesn't.

• Compare

  CachePix vs Mylio

  Two apps that keep photos on your own devices by default, row by row.

• On your phone

  How much space it uses on your phone

  Measured phone storage for 190,566 photos.

• Product

  Photo cataloging software features

  What the desktop and phone apps do, and what they don't do.

Last checked October 6, 2026. Google updates its apps often and is renaming its storage plans, so check its pages before you decide.