# DS photo vs Piwigo

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Piwigo at 69% against DS photo's 24%. Piwigo also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.2) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). DS photo's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.5). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Piwigo holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 122 and 182 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of DS photo's written reviews are positive against 69% of Piwigo's.

DS photo ships an update every 2 months, Piwigo every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | DS photo | Piwigo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.2 (122 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-photo/id321493106/reviews) | **[4.6 (182 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piwigo/id472225196/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 122 | **182** |
| Positive reviews | 24.1% of reviews | **69.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 55 MB | 47 MB |
| Requires iOS | **10.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Synology Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/321493109) | [Pigolabs](https://appshunter.io/developer/978060564) |

## What reviewers say

### DS photo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-photo/id321493106)

Access and manage your Synology NAS photo collection from your mobile device. Organize photos into albums, create virtual albums with tags, and view them offline. Effortlessly back up photos taken on your device to your personal cloud.

**Highlights:** Browse Synology NAS photo collection, Organize photos into albums, Create virtual albums with tags, Timeline photo view, Download albums for offline access, Photo backup to personal cloud

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fast photo viewing
- 👍 Useful for backing up photos
- 👍 Ability to access photos remotely

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and login issues
- 🐛 Unreliable photo backup
- 🐛 Slow performance and freezes
- 🐛 Incompatible with newer iOS versions
- 🐛 Conversion of photos to JPEG format

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on startup
- Login failures
- Issues with geofencing and background uploads
- Problems with uploading large files or videos

**Requested features**

- Add support for HEIC/HEIF photo format
- Improve background upload capabilities
- Add option to save photos/videos to camera roll
- Enhance album management and sorting options
- Improve slideshow and video playback functionality


### Piwigo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/piwigo/id472225196)

Manage your cloud-based photo gallery from your mobile device. Organize albums, edit photos and videos, upload new media with detailed metadata, and share your creations. This app complements the web-based Piwigo software for a seamless photo management experience.

**Highlights:** Browse and manage albums, Edit, download, and delete photos/videos, Upload media with metadata, Organize photos into albums, Share photos and videos, Set album cover images

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for photo sharing control
- 👍 Free and awesome
- 👍 Best for self-hosted pictures
- 👍 Sync feature is great
- 👍 Flexible photo organization

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 iPad app connection issues
- 🐛 Uploaded photos not showing
- 🐛 B&W images render blurry on iPad/iPhone
- 🐛 Pictures only display momentarily
- 🐛 Uploads have stopped

**Reported bugs**

- iPad app connection issues
- Uploaded photos not showing
- B&W images render blurry on iPad/iPhone
- Pictures only display momentarily
- Uploads have stopped

**Requested features**

- Ability to browse in Photos and open in Piwigo to upload
- Double tap to zoom
- Auto upload camera roll
- Search capability
- Support for multiple accounts


## Frequently asked questions

### Is DS photo free?

DS photo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Piwigo free?

Piwigo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, DS photo or Piwigo?

Piwigo is rated higher. DS photo averages 2.2 out of 5 from 122 ratings, while Piwigo averages 4.6 from 182 ratings.

### Do DS photo or Piwigo have ads?

Neither DS photo nor Piwigo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, DS photo or Piwigo?

DS photo ships an update every 2 months, and Piwigo every 3 weeks. Most recently, DS photo was updated on October 30, 2026 and Piwigo on October 23, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*