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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

PicCollage vs Google Photos

PicCollage 4.8★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Tie
Google Photos 4.8★ · Free to download 68

PicCollage is better for dedicated collage creation with a focus on creative tools, while Google Photos excels as a comprehensive photo backup and organization solution with AI-powered memory features.

Full reviews: PicCollage · Google Photos

PicCollage offers a wide array of creative tools for making collages, but recent changes have made many features, including saving, subscription-only, frustrating long-time users. Google Photos provides robust photo backup, organization, and AI-generated memories, though users report issues with app performance, privacy concerns, and recent UI changes.

Head to head

Features and Creativity edge: PicCollageR1R4R5R10
PicCollage PicCollage is praised for being excellent at making collages, offering lots of free stickers and backgrounds, and allowing for creative and original designs R5R4. Users appreciate its stack and freeform options . However, many advanced features, including saving collages, are now locked behind a premium subscription R1R10R16R39.
Google Photos Google Photos is lauded for its ability to create videos and memories automatically . It also offers powerful search capabilities for finding photos . However, some users report issues with the photo-to-video feature, stating photos are deemed 'too small' , and the 'Magic Eraser' tool crashing the app .
Ease of Use tieR6R8R11R20
PicCollage PicCollage is generally considered easy to use, intuitive, and user-friendly, with many finding it functional without tutorials R8R11R20. However, some non-tech users find it difficult , and recent changes have made it frustrating to discover free features or understand subscription requirements R6.
Google Photos Google Photos is appreciated for being easy to find and share albums and pictures . However, many users find the app's UX terrible, especially for manual uploads or managing photos without automatic backup R61. Recent updates have made the interface clumsy and difficult to navigate, with issues like photos not showing by day and date or unwanted AI features .
Reliability and Performance edge: PicCollageR4R8R45R59
PicCollage PicCollage generally works well R8. However, some users have experienced critical issues, such as the app inexplicably deleting all their collages, sometimes twice R4. A few users also report the app kicking them off or being laggy R45R59.
Google Photos Google Photos users report significant reliability and performance issues, including the app being impossibly slow, not loading, or crashing constantly on iPads R72R94. There are frequent complaints about photos not uploading or downloading correctly, especially videos R70R85. Users also report photos not actually deleting, requiring multiple attempts , and the app losing access to photos, showing blank spaces .
Price and Value tieR1R6R10R12
PicCollage PicCollage is free to download but has shifted to a model where many essential features, including saving collages and most 'good' templates, require a subscription R1R6R10R12. The annual subscription is noted as £34.99 R12R35. This change has led to strong user dissatisfaction, with many feeling it's 'money hungry' and no longer truly free R16.
Google Photos Google Photos is free to download and offers free storage up to a certain limit, but users often find themselves needing to pay for more space, especially with automatic backup enabled . The app is criticized for 'tricking' users into enabling backup and then forcing them to buy more space . Some users question the value of paying for Google Photos when iCloud offers similar paid storage .
Support and Privacy edge: PicCollageR3R13R35R37
PicCollage PicCollage users report difficulty transferring paid accounts to new phones, even after following instructions and watching videos R3. There are also complaints about not being able to find contact info for refunds after accidental subscriptions R35R37. One review mentions the app promoting certain beliefs, leading to uninstallation R13.
Google Photos Google Photos faces significant criticism regarding privacy, with users feeling the app is 'nosy' and 'steals your privacy' by demanding full access to all photos rather than allowing selection of specific ones R61R79R109R112. Users are frustrated by the inability to unlink the app from their Google account or camera roll . Developer responses to issues are sometimes perceived as unhelpful or not addressing the core problem .
Pick PicCollage if

You want a dedicated app for creating photo collages with a wide range of creative tools and don't mind paying a subscription for full functionality, or if you primarily need basic collage features and are careful about managing your creations R5R8.

Pick Google Photos if

You need a robust solution for backing up, organizing, and automatically generating memories from your entire photo library, and you are comfortable with Google's ecosystem and potential privacy trade-offs for convenience .

Evidence note: PicCollage reviews are heavily skewed towards recent negative feedback regarding its shift to a subscription model for core features, while Google Photos reviews show a broader range of issues related to performance, UI changes, and privacy concerns.

Frequently asked

Can I save collages for free with PicCollage?
No, recent updates to PicCollage have made it so you can no longer save or download collages without a premium subscription R1R10R16R39.
Does Google Photos require full access to my phone's photos?
Yes, many users report that Google Photos forces you to grant full access to your entire photo library to use its features, even for simple tasks like adding a few photos to a shared album, despite claiming to offer 'limited access' R61R79R109R112.
How much does PicCollage premium cost?
PicCollage premium is reported to cost £34.99 a year, or approximately £3 per month R12R35R51.
Are there performance issues with Google Photos?
Yes, many users report that Google Photos has become slow, laggy, crashes constantly, and frequently fails to upload or download videos and live pictures, especially after recent updates R70R72R85R94.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] PicCollage 1/5 · US Cheap: Used to be a great app but now you can’t even save a collage without having a subscription. I’ve used this app for years and sadly will be deleting to find something better :/
  2. [R4] PicCollage 2/5 · US Deleted all my collages (TWICE): The good: Lots of free stickers, backgrounds, etc- but includes watermark. Pretty intuitive, can save, duplicate, and edit images. The bad: I use this app to make templates for posts that I edit and use again. TWICE the app has inexplicably deleted ALL my collages- not after an uninstall or update, no warning, just gone and not recoverable. Considering switching
  3. [R5] PicCollage 5/5 · US ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: Honestly this is really good at making Collages. I have tried so many apps for picture editing, and this one is by far the best one. I would totally recommend it. But the only thing is, if you're making videos of pictures, this app is usually only for collages, (as you can see in the name.) So, I would recommend CapCut if you're making it with pictures.
  4. [R10] PicCollage 1/5 · US You can no longer save or download collages: Every time I try to save/download my collage or edit, all of a sudden it wants me to subscribe to their damn premium in order to see it! Not a good look. I used to love this app and use it all the time until yall decided to get greedy…💔
  5. [R6] PicCollage 3/5 · US $$: Nothing fun to use. Almost every option is locked. I hate when they say try for free and you spend time editing and then it says buy now😩
  6. [R8] PicCollage 5/5 · US Fun, easy to use and works well.: I’ve made some of these for friends and they’re frame worthy. Good ap.
  7. [R11] PicCollage 5/5 · US Love it: I love this app. It’s very user friendly!
  8. [R20] PicCollage 5/5 · US Easy & works great: No tutorials - pretty intuitive and very functional
  9. [R45] PicCollage 2/5 · GB Ok…: It just keeps kicking me off and not working so it’s 2 stars
  10. [R59] PicCollage 2/5 · GB Not happy: Very laggy not impressed Very annoyed with it
  11. [R12] PicCollage 3/5 · GB Good except from two things: Pick college is really good except from two things all the good collages you have to pay for And it is £34.99 a year WHAT !!!!!! And if you want to have a bit of fun on the app you can press the enchanted video and photo editor, but you can only use it three times if you haven’t got the premium templates which is where you have to pay and when I tried to use the encha
  12. [R3] PicCollage 3/5 · US I love pic collage but…: I love PicCollage, but no matter what I do I cannot transfer my paid account over to my new phone. Very frustrating. I followed everything it said to do and watch YouTube videos even. I am using Canva for most things now and may have to cancel my membership.
  13. [R13] PicCollage 1/5 · US Stop pushing your beliefs: I had to get rid of app because pride shouldn’t be celebrated or a thing to promote and be proud of. I will never accept “love is love” especially if it’s a perverted kind.
  14. [R35] PicCollage 1/5 · GB need refund: I did a free trial and I wasn’t able to cancel it in time so now £34.99 has come out of my bank account , I’d like a refund for this please I cannot find contact info for you
  15. [R37] PicCollage 1/5 · GB Forgot to cancel subscription: I forgot to cancel my subscription and no way to get my money back ( cancelled it the same day after it took my money)
  16. [R16] PicCollage 1/5 · GB Money hungry!: Used to be able to get none subscription features that would allow you to save with a watermark. Now you can’t even save the collage!
  17. [R39] PicCollage 1/5 · GB Can’t save anything: This used to be an amazing app but now I’m unable to save any of my collages without having to pay. It’s advertised still as a free app but not since 30/3/26 😢 I’m gonna have to find something else now
  18. [R61] Google Photos 1/5 · US Nosy and not worth it: Wanted to upload my photos to a shared album on this app from a work team bonding event. It was a really fun day and I wanted to contribute. If I could select certain photos from my library I would’ve done just that and have a neutral to positive experience on this app. But no, I spent many minutes of my life poking around the app, not knowing why the selected photos I chose
  19. [R79] Google Photos 1/5 · US Won’t work unless you give Google access to all your photos: Do you want to add a few photos from vacation to a friend’s share Google photo album? Well, forget it, this app will not let you access and share a few photos, it wants every single photo on your phone. The app claims to allow “limited access” but you can punch that button all day, it won’t work. Then, once you allow “full access,” and h
  20. [R109] Google Photos 1/5 · US Steal your privacy: After update, you cant choose some photos to publish anymore. Only "give me all your photos" or "nothing" options.
  21. [R112] Google Photos 1/5 · US Typical predatory behavior from google: You cant just select a subset of photos to share. This app will only work if you share everything (full access) from your phone. I’m already migrating to a personal photo server than use these horrible data pirates
  22. [R51] PicCollage 1/5 · GB Appaling: I started making a wallpaper for my ipad and it was great! At first then it wanted me to subscribe to continue editung which is £3 per month i could not believe what i was seeing i am 12 years ols and i shoukd beable to make just one collage formy favourite singers please fix this immediatly thank you
  23. [R70] Google Photos 1/5 · US Never uploads correctly: I imagine this product works well on Android, but on iOS it has been a complete mess for sometime. Images will not upload even when you leave your phone open, you cannot remove images from albums, images disappear from albums, and the list goes on. Fire these PMs and start over from scratch.
  24. [R72] Google Photos 3/5 · US Performance is horrible: I used to love this app and am married to it because all my photos from over the years are in it. However, the last year or two the performance has continued to deteriorate. The app is so impossibly slow and sometimes doesn’t load at all. Hoping to amend this review if updates are finally made, but I’m tired of waiting and hoping.
  25. [R85] Google Photos 1/5 · US Slow, won’t upload or download videos: It always fails to download or upload videos or live pictures. Worked so well then suddenly about a week ago the app is basically useless. Trying to move my archives over and now I’m regretting wasting so much time.
  26. [R94] Google Photos 2/5 · US Crashes constantly: This app has gotten steadily worse over the years. It crashes constantly on my iPad. Very frustrating.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store