iCloud shared albums
Built into every iPhone, and fine until the album gets busy.
Most groups try an iCloud shared album first. There is nothing to install and nothing to pay, and albums made on iOS 27 keep photos at full resolution. For a small group that shares willingly, it can be all you need.
Being fair about it
Full resolution, since iOS 27.
Shared albums created on iOS 27 or later keep photos and video in their original format at full resolution. Older albums reduced photos to 2048 pixels. If your group is on current iPhones, image quality is no longer a reason to switch.
For a handful of people, it is enough.
Five friends who all remember to add their photos will end up with a good shared album. If that describes your event, keep your money.
Side by side
The differences that actually change your week.
| iCloud Shared Albums | Team Capture | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free, paid for in the album owner's iCloud storage | $79 for one event, or from $99 a month for unlimited events, never per person |
| Storage | Everything participants add counts against the owner's iCloud storage | Included: one event holds up to 2,000 photos and videos |
| How many people | Up to 100, including the owner | Up to 150 on one event pass |
| Getting photos in | Each person opens the album and adds their photos | Guests upload from a QR code in their phone's browser, with no app and no account |
Checked against public information on 27 September 2026.
Where it stops working
Everyone else's photos fill your storage.
In an iOS 27 shared album, every photo and video participants add counts against the album owner's iCloud storage. A big event with a lot of video can push the owner into a larger plan.
A hundred people is the ceiling.
An album holds 100 participants, the owner included. A wedding or a company event can pass that before the speeches.
Somebody still has to add the photos.
A shared album only fills if each guest opens it and adds their photos. Plenty of people mean to and never do.
Which one you want
Small group on current iPhones? Use a shared album.
If a small group on current iPhones is sharing one event, an iCloud shared album is free and keeps full resolution. Once the guest list passes 100, or the video starts eating someone's storage, the $79 event pass takes uploads from a QR code, holds up to 2,000 photos and videos, and lets you search for "cake cutting" instead of scrolling.
Get the $79 passRelated
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