# Pixel Gallery vs Ente Photos

Canonical: https://pixel-gallery.app/android/compare/ente

Last updated: November 9, 2026

**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.

## Feature comparison

| 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.) |

## Is Pixel Gallery a good Ente alternative?

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.

## What does Pixel Gallery do better?

- **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.

## Using Ente and Pixel Gallery together

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.

## 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.

## Sources

- [Ente Photos on Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.ente.photos), accessed November 8, 2026
- [Ente pricing](https://ente.com/pricing/), accessed November 8, 2026
- [Ente help: Machine learning](https://ente.com/help/photos/features/search-and-discovery/machine-learning), accessed November 8, 2026
- [Ente help: Gallery mode](https://ente.com/help/photos/getting-started/gallery-mode), accessed November 8, 2026
- [Ente help: Storage optimization](https://ente.com/help/photos/features/albums-and-organization/storage-optimization), accessed November 8, 2026
- [AlternativeTo: Ente library sharing and faster on-device ML (2026-09-10)](https://alternativeto.net/news/2026/9/ente-photos-introduces-encrypted-library-sharing-and-faster-on-device-machine-learning/), accessed November 8, 2026