Last verified: September 2026
Ente Photos and Proton Drive both offer end-to-end encrypted storage and can be used to back up photos and videos.
A key difference is what each service is built around: Ente is a dedicated photo storage and management service, while Proton Drive is a general encrypted cloud storage service that also includes photo backup and management features.
Both services provide end-to-end encryption. Ente focuses more deeply on the photo experience, with features such as on-device face recognition, Magic Search, memories, map views, and dedicated photo-sharing tools. Proton Drive combines photo storage with general file storage and the broader Proton ecosystem.
Quick Comparison
Questions | Ente Photos | Proton Drive |
|---|---|---|
Are my photos end-to-end encrypted? | Yes, by default | Yes, by default |
Is it open source? | Yes, client and server | Apps are open source |
Is it designed specifically for photos? | Yes | No, it's general cloud storage with photo features |
Does it recognize faces? | Yes, on-device | No |
Can I search my photos using descriptions? | Yes, on-device | No |
Does it have photo albums? | Yes | Yes |
Does it have memories? | Yes | No |
Does it have map/location features? | Yes | No |
How much free storage do I get? | 10 GB (20 GB with referral) | 5 GB |
Can I automatically back up phone photos? | Yes | Yes |
Does it have an official Linux desktop app? | Yes | No |
Can I share an album with someone without an account? | Yes, through a public album link | Album recipients need Proton accounts |
Can guests contribute photos without an account? | Yes, directly into an album through a Collect link | Yes, through shared folder links; album contributions require an account |
Privacy & Security
Both Ente and Proton Drive provide end-to-end encryption, meaning the contents of your photos and files are encrypted before they are uploaded.
With Ente, your photos are end-to-end encrypted on your device before upload. Ente does not have the keys required to decrypt your photos, so it cannot access the contents of your photo library.
Read about Ente's encryption architecture →
Ente's apps and server are open source, and its architecture and source code have undergone an independent security audit.
Read about Ente's security audit →
Proton Drive also uses end-to-end encryption. Files are encrypted on your device before being uploaded, and Proton states that it cannot access the contents of your files. Proton Drive's apps are open source.
Learn more about Proton Drive's encryption →
Learn more about Proton Drive's open-source apps →
Features, AI & Sharing
Both Ente and Proton Drive provide ways to back up, browse, organize, and share photos, but Ente offers a broader set of photo-specific discovery features.
Ente includes face recognition, Magic Search, similar-image detection, curated memories, map views, albums, and organization by date and location. Face recognition and Magic Search run on your device.
Learn more about Ente's features →
Proton Drive provides a dedicated Photos section alongside its general file storage. It supports photo backup, albums, favorites, filters, and photo sharing.
Learn more about albums in Proton Drive →
Photo management
Ente is built specifically around managing a photo and video library. Photos can be organized and rediscovered through people, albums, memories, dates, locations, and search.
Proton Drive combines its photo features with a broader cloud storage service. It now supports dedicated photo albums and photo organization, while also letting you store documents and other types of files in the same service.
For everyday use, Ente's face recognition helps you find photos of a family member across different years, while Magic Search lets you describe a scene without remembering when it was taken.
Ente also supports automatically adding photos of named people to albums. For example, a child's shared album can stay updated as you upload new matching photos. Setup is available on mobile with machine learning enabled, and each contributor's rule applies to their own uploads.
Learn more about Auto-add people →
Memory Lane creates a timeline of a person across different years, which can be shared through a public link. This provides another way to revisit family memories or share them for a birthday or anniversary.
Learn more about Memory Lane →
Sharing & collaboration
Both Ente and Proton Drive provide end-to-end encrypted ways to share photos.
Ente supports shared and collaborative albums, comments and likes, Collect links, Trip layouts, embedded albums, and custom domains. You can share albums, let others contribute photos, or collect photos from a group.
Proton Drive also supports encrypted album sharing. Albums can be shared with other Proton users with Viewer or Editor permissions, allowing invited users to view or contribute photos.
Proton Drive also supports secure links for sharing individual files and folders.
With Ente, relatives can view a shared album in their browser without an app or account. Public links support passwords, expiry dates, and revocation. Proton's album-sharing guide currently requires recipients to have Proton accounts and lists public album links as coming soon.
Learn more about Ente's public links →
Learn more about Proton's album sharing →
For weddings, birthdays, and group trips, Ente's Collect links let guests view and contribute photos directly to an album without signing up. Guest uploads count toward the album owner's storage. Proton also supports guest uploads through public folder links, while contributions to photo albums require a Proton account.
Learn more about collecting photos with Ente →
Learn more about Proton's public folder links →
Ente's comments and likes are end-to-end encrypted, including interactions from guests using public album links. Family and friends can add stories and reactions alongside the photos. Trip layouts also let recipients explore an album through a map and timeline.
Learn more about comments and likes →
Family photo libraries
Every paid Ente plan includes storage sharing for up to six people at no additional member charge. Each person keeps a private library and chooses what to share. Proton also provides private accounts for family members, with two users on Proton Duo and up to six on Proton Family.
Learn more about Ente's family plans →
Learn more about Proton's family plans →
Ente's library sharing lets you share the albums you own with a family-plan member and automatically share new albums as you create them. Hidden albums are excluded, and automatic sharing runs through the mobile app. This reduces the work of keeping a partner's access to family photos up to date.
Learn more about library sharing →
Ente also offers Legacy, which allows trusted contacts to request account recovery in your absence. They can recover access after a chosen waiting period unless you block the request, helping preserve access to family memories over time.
Learn more about Ente Legacy →
These features give Ente an advantage for families who want automatic photo organization, easier participation from relatives and friends, and more ways to revisit shared memories.
Pricing & Storage
Plan | Ente Photos | Proton Drive |
|---|---|---|
Free | 10 GB (20 GB with referral) | 5 GB |
Entry paid plan | 50 GB – $2.49/month | 200 GB – $4.99/month |
Storage focus | Photos and videos | General files, photos and videos |
Family sharing | Up to 6 people total | Available through Proton family/group plans |
Data replication | 3 copies across 3 cloud providers in the EU | Proton-operated infrastructure |
Customer support | Human support team | AI chat, with human support if needed |
Ente's three-copy replication and human support are included with paid plans. The free plan includes one replica and community support.
Pricing, storage allowances, and plan benefits can change over time.
Check current pricing: Ente | Proton Drive
Why does Ente cost more than Proton Drive?
Proton Drive's storage is general-purpose, shared across documents, photos, and other file types. Ente's price is for a dedicated photo and video library: your files are stored in their original quality without compression, backed up in three copies across three different cloud providers in the EU, and backed by a real human support team.
You're paying for a service built specifically to manage and preserve your photo library - not just a place to put your files.
Read about Ente's reliability and replication →
How does storage differ between Ente and Proton Drive?
Ente's storage is designed specifically for a photo and video library. Both photos and videos count toward the storage allowance included with your selected Ente plan.
Read about Ente's storage optimization →
Proton Drive provides general-purpose cloud storage, where the same storage allowance can be used for photos, videos, documents, and other files.
Learn more about Proton Drive storage plans →
The main difference is focus: Ente is built around storing, managing, and preserving photos and videos, while Proton Drive is designed to store different types of files.
Backup & Data Quality
Both Ente and Proton Drive can automatically back up photos from supported mobile devices while preserving their original quality.
Ente supports automatic mobile backup and provides desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Photos and videos are stored in their original quality without compression, with photo metadata preserved.
Learn more about backup and sync with Ente →
Proton Drive provides automatic end-to-end encrypted photo backup on Android and iOS. Proton states that backed-up photos are stored in their original quality.
Learn more about Proton Drive photo backup →
Data Portability & Export
Both Ente and Proton Drive allow you to download your data.
Ente is designed around data portability. You can export your photo library through the desktop app or use Ente's command-line tools, making it possible to maintain a local copy of your library outside Ente.
Learn more about exporting from Ente →
Proton Drive also allows you to download files and folders from your encrypted storage. Proton's decryption happens locally so that its servers do not need access to the unencrypted contents of your files.
Learn more about downloading from Proton Drive →
Ente Photos vs. Proton Drive: Which Is Better for You?
Choose Ente Photos if:
- You want a service built specifically around photos and videos.
- You want end-to-end encryption by default.
- You want on-device face recognition and Magic Search.
- You want memories, map views, and deeper photo organization.
- You want dedicated encrypted photo-sharing and collaboration features.
- You want both the client and server code to be open source.
- You use Linux and want an official desktop photo app.
- Easy photo-library export and maintaining control over your library are priorities.
Choose Proton Drive if:
- You want end-to-end encrypted general file storage as well as photo storage.
- You already use Proton Mail, VPN, Calendar, or other Proton services.
- You want photos, documents, and other files stored through the same encrypted cloud service.
- Proton's photo backup and album features cover your photo-management needs.
- You want to bundle storage with other privacy-focused services.
Switching From Proton Drive to Ente
You can move photos and videos stored in Proton Drive to Ente by first downloading them to your computer.
Once they're stored locally, import the resulting folders into Ente using the desktop app. Your photos and videos are then uploaded to your end-to-end encrypted Ente library.
Learn how to import photos into Ente →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Ente replace Proton Drive for photos?
Yes. If you primarily use Proton Drive to back up and manage photos, Ente can serve as a dedicated end-to-end encrypted photo and video library.
The main difference is that Proton Drive also stores general files, while Ente focuses specifically on photos and videos.
Are Ente and Proton Drive both end-to-end encrypted?
Yes. Both Ente and Proton Drive encrypt your data on your device before it is uploaded, preventing the service provider from accessing the contents of your files.
Ente applies this model to its dedicated photo and video service, while Proton Drive applies it to general cloud storage, including photos.
Does Proton Drive have face recognition?
No. Proton Drive does not currently offer face recognition.
Ente provides face recognition that runs locally on your device while your photo library remains end-to-end encrypted.
Does Proton Drive have photo search?
Proton Drive provides ways to browse and organize photos, including albums, favorites, and filters.
Ente additionally provides Magic Search, which lets you search your library using descriptions, with the machine-learning processing performed locally on your device.
Can Proton Drive automatically back up my phone photos?
Yes. Proton Drive provides automatic end-to-end encrypted photo backup for supported Android and iOS devices.
Ente also provides automatic photo and video backup on Android and iOS.
Which gives me more free storage, Ente or Proton Drive?
Ente provides 10 GB of free storage for photos and videos, with an additional 10 GB available through referral code.
Proton Drive currently provides 5 GB of free encrypted cloud storage.
Does Proton Drive have a Linux desktop app?
Proton Drive does not currently provide the same graphical Linux desktop application available for Windows and macOS. Proton does, however, provide a Proton Drive CLI that supports Linux.
Ente provides an official graphical desktop app for Linux, as well as Windows and macOS.
Can I move my photos from Proton Drive to Ente?
Yes. Download your photos and videos from Proton Drive to your computer, then import the resulting folders into Ente through the desktop app.
Ready to Try Ente for Your Photos?
Get 10 GB of free storage (20 GB with referral) and start building your end-to-end encrypted photo library.