Last year I put together the first version of this comparison; since then several services have changed.

Smartphones and increasingly-powerful compact and DSLR cameras have led to a huge increase in photos being shared on the web; the hobbyist photographer has many options to share his or her work. Below is a comparison of seven leading photo sharing services; there are others on the market but I’m focusing on the most popular that offer a wide range of features and have decent market reach.

Photo Sharing Feature Comparison

	Flickr	Facebook	Google+	Instagram	500px	SmugMug	Zenfolio
Free Accounts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Free Trial	Free Trial
Paid Accounts	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Features of Paid Account	Unlimited uploads Stats No ads	n/a	Additional Storage	n/a	Unlimited uploads Unlimited collections Custom domain HTML5 Portfolio Priority support Google Analytics	(All features of the site) Unlimited uploads Unlimited galleries No ads Customizable site appearance Custom domain* HD Video	(All features of the site) Unlimited uploads Unlimited galleries Customizable site appearance Custom domain* HD Video
Paid Account Cost	$49.99/year	n/a	varies, starts at $2.49/month for 25GB	n/a	$19.95/year - $49.95/year depending on features	$40/year - $300/year depending on features	$30/year - $250/year depending on features
Single Photo Display Size	responsive**	responsive**	responsive	615px	900 px	1600 px	1550 px
Private/Protected Account	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Private/Protected Galleries	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Mapping / Geotagging Support	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Watermarking	No	No	No	No	No	Yes*	Yes*
Community
Commenting	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Like/Favorite/etc.	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Follow Specific Users / Contacts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Group Photo Pools	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Discover Popular Photos	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Social/Sharing
Embed Images Elsewhere	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Share via Twitter	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Share via Facebook	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Share via Tumblr	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Mobile/App Interfaces
iPhone App for Posting Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Android App for Posting Photos	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes
Instant Upload of all new Mobile Photos	No	Yes	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Ability to View Galleries from iPhone/Android	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
API for Developers	Yes	Yes	Limited	Yes	Limited	Yes	Yes
Photo Sales
Sell Photo Prints at Cost	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes*
Sell Photo Prints for Profit	No	No	No	No	Yes	Yes*	Yes*
Set Your Own Profit Margin	No	No	No	No	No	Yes*	Yes*
Sell Digital Licenses to Photos	Yes	No	No	No	Yes	Yes*	Yes*

* – this feature is available on some of the paid account levels, but not all
** – responsive photo display indicates that the image is shown at a size that best fills the available browser space

Beyond Specs: My Thoughts on the Services

Back in ye olden days of the internet, Flickr was king among photo sharing sites. Then came other services and the rise of social networks, allowing Facebook to dethrone Flickr as the photo hosting/sharing champion. Instagram came on strong in the last couple of years but seems to have faltered a bit lately as its Terms of Service debacle coincided with Flickr releasing a great mobile app. Recent Flickr updates have allowed for bigger photos in the contacts views, but they’ve moved away from Pro accounts as a mainstream feature.

As I see it, much of the social photography conversation which once happened on Flickr is now happening on Google+.

Facebook is the most popular social network in the world but there are those, like me, who don’t use it for various reasons.

For the serious amateur (or pro) who wants to sell prints and products, both SmugMug and Zenfolio offer solid services; using these links gives me a small referral fee.

What do you think? Where do you share photos (and why)? Drop a comment below…