Phonas vs OpenPhotos
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Phonas
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Phonas turns your NAS into a beautiful photo gallery. Connect via SMB protocol and browse your photos right on your iPhone or iPad β no server-side software required. Works with Everything Works with any device that supports SMB: Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, Windows, macOS, and more. No extra server software to install. If it supports SMB, it works with Phonas. INSTANT LOADING Extracts embedded thumbnails directly from media files with high-concurrency reads. Loads your photo wall instantly β no waiting for server-side thumbnail generation. NATIVE QUALITY Reads original files without transcoding or compression. Displays every photo in full quality, preserving HDR effects and color details. LOCAL CACHE Caches metadata and thumbnails locally. Browse previously viewed content even when offline. SMART RECOGNITION On-device recognition for faces, pets, scenes, and text. Smart search makes finding your photos effortless. FAST BACKUP Quickly upload your local photo library to a designated NAS directory. Back up 1,000 photos in just 1 minute over a gigabit LAN. SUPPORTED FORMATS JPEG, HEIC/HIF, PNG, RAW (ARW, CR2, DNG, NEF, ORF, PEF, RW2), MP4, MOV PRICING Basic features are free forever. Unlock advanced features with a one-time purchase β no subscription.
OpenPhotos
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This is an ios client for OpenPhotos server. Download server at https://openphotos.ca/download/index.html or GitHub: https://github.com/openphotos-ca/openphotos
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OpenPhotos at none against Phonas's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Phonas sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. OpenPhotos asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Phonas | OpenPhotos |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No β better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 β better | 18.5 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 55 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ηΊ’ε« ι | iDeskCentric Inc |
In-app purchases
Phonas
- Unlock Full Features$6.99
OpenPhotos
No in-app purchases
