Pixel Gallery Android

Comparison

Pixel Gallery vs Ente Photos

Verdict: Pick Ente if you want private cloud backup and apps on every platform. Pick Pixel Gallery if you want a feature-rich gallery with no account or subscription. Many people use Ente for backup and Pixel Gallery as the gallery.

Ente is an end-to-end encrypted cloud photo service with on-device machine learning. Pixel Gallery is a gallery that never uploads your photos. One solves backup, the other the gallery.

Last updated . Ente Photos website

Pixel Gallery vs Ente Photos at a glance

Pixel Gallery vs Ente Photos feature comparison, data as of November 8, 2026.
Capability Pixel Gallery Ente Photos
Photos stay on the phone Yes Pixel Gallery never uploads your photos or videos. Partly Built around end-to-end encrypted cloud backup; optional no-account gallery mode keeps photos on the phone
Works without an account Yes Partly Gallery mode works without an account; backup, albums, favorites, hide and sharing need one
On-device smart search Yes SigLIP2 model, ~375 MB optional download. Yes Magic search runs on device; not available on the web app
Face grouping Yes Runs on the phone. Yes On device; indexes sync end-to-end encrypted between your devices
Duplicate and similar cleanup Yes Yes Exact duplicates and ML similar images for the backed-up library; no blur detection documented
Encrypted metadata database Yes Not documented Not documented for the local database; synced ML indexes are end-to-end encrypted
No ads Yes Yes Pricing page states no ads
No subscription Yes Free, plus an optional one-time Premium purchase. Partly Free storage tier; more storage via monthly or annual subscription, shareable with family
Cloud backup No Pixel Gallery has no cloud. Backup is up to you. Yes End-to-end encrypted, stored in three locations
Open source No Yes AGPL-3.0, server self-hostable
End-to-end encrypted cloud backup No Yes
iOS, web and desktop apps No Yes
Encrypted shared albums No Yes
All features without an account Yes Partly Gallery mode covers browsing, faces, search and map; albums and hiding need an account.
Statistics Yes No
Photo and video editor Yes Partly Basic photo editor.
Sources (6)
  1. Ente Photos on Google Play, accessed
  2. Ente pricing, accessed
  3. Ente help: Machine learning, accessed
  4. Ente help: Gallery mode, accessed
  5. Ente help: Storage optimization, accessed
  6. AlternativeTo: Ente library sharing and faster on-device ML (2026-09-10), accessed

Only if you do not need backup. Ente is first of all an end-to-end encrypted cloud for your photos, with good on-device machine learning. Pixel Gallery has no cloud at all; it never uploads your photos or videos. If what you want from Ente is the gallery experience, Pixel Gallery gives you more of it without an account or subscription.

What does Ente do better?

  • Encrypted backup. End-to-end encrypted, stored in three locations, originals at full quality.
  • Every platform. iOS, Android, desktop and web, with encrypted sharing and family plans.
  • Open source. AGPL-3.0, with a self-hostable server.
  • No account at all. Every feature works without signing in.
  • No subscription. Free, with an optional one-time Premium purchase. Ente storage beyond the free tier is a subscription.
  • A fuller gallery. Stories, statistics, a video editor, collages and Home-View in a browser on your local network.
  • An encrypted index on the phone. Pixel Gallery’s metadata database is encrypted; Ente does not document this for its local database.

Who should pick which?

Pick Ente if a private, encrypted backup is the goal. Pick Pixel Gallery if you want the gallery and handle backup some other way. Using both side by side is a sensible setup.

Let Ente back up your camera folder and set Pixel Gallery as the default gallery. Both read the same files, so nothing needs to be moved.

What makes Pixel Gallery different

  • On-device AI

    Faces, semantic search, text recognition and captions run on the phone. Gemini Nano captions on supported devices.

  • Never uploads your photos

    Pixel Gallery never uploads your photos or videos. No account, no cloud library.

  • Encrypted metadata database

    The index of faces, places, text and embeddings is encrypted on the device.

  • No ads, no subscription

    Free to use with no ads. Premium is a one-time purchase.

Beyond the table

19 more things Pixel Gallery does

The table sticks to where Pixel Gallery and Ente Photos differ most. This is the rest of the app, all on the phone. Features marked Premium are part of the one-time purchase.

On-device AI

Search & discover

Organize

Create & edit

Insights

Sharing

Experiences

Gallery basics

All features What's in Premium

Pixel Gallery vs Ente Photos: questions

Can I use Ente Photos without an account?

Partly. Ente's gallery mode, added in 2026, browses local photos with faces, search and map, but albums, hiding, backup and sharing need an account. Pixel Gallery works fully without one.

Should I use Ente or Pixel Gallery?

They solve different problems. Ente is encrypted backup with a gallery; Pixel Gallery is a gallery with no cloud. Running Ente for backup and Pixel Gallery as the everyday gallery works well.

Do both do face recognition on the device?

Yes. Ente and Pixel Gallery both run face grouping and semantic search on the phone.

Other comparisons

Best Android gallery apps All comparisons

Free on Google Play

Requires Android 13 or newer. No account. Optional one-time Premium upgrade.

Get it on Google Play Details & requirements