Alternatives to Picasa

Those who already had Picasa on their computer can continue to use it. But there are no more updates for Picasa. So there will come a time, even if it may be a while, when you have to switch to a new program. A program that manages your photo collection and is able to perform common operations. Preferably also in Dutch of course. And free. We list the different options for you.

It’s actually an obvious candidate. Google itself sees it as the successor to Picasa: Google Photos. The great advantage of Google Photos is that you have a backup of all your precious images at the same time. On the other hand, you must be prepared to entrust your photos to the cloud (the Internet).

If you have a Google account, you can activate Google Photos in no time. The service works on all Android devices, on the iPad/iPhone and on computers. To this end, a so-called desktop uploader to be used. It is installed on the PC and automatically uploads all photos from folders that you specify. That way, you’ll always have all your photos in Google Photos.

You also use Google Photos online, so in the browser. There you organize photos in albums. And sometimes Google Photos makes suggestions for an album. By default, all photos and albums are only visible to you, but it’s very easy to share them with others.

Google Photos has a number of basic operations: adjusting brightness, color, contrast and vignette. Furthermore, there are thirteen customizable filters. And you can crop and straighten a photo. If that is too limited for you, then you should look out for a real photo editing program.

No photo management but packed with editing options: Irfanview has been one of the best free programs for years. Read more about it in the articles on our website: Irfanview.

This program is somewhat like Irfanview. That is also the opinion of the creator of Irfanview, who claims that XnView has ‘borrowed’ many things from Irfanview. Anyway, XnView combines the capabilities of Irfanview with a solid photo management part. As with Picasa, you can see all your photos together and edit them from there. The difference with Picasa, however, is that the photos are not managed in the program: you click on a folder that contains photos and XnView MP shows small previews of all photos present. This means that you have to remember in which folders you place the photos.

SeniorWeb has no article about this program. Download it from this place.

Another program to manage and edit photos is FastStone Image Viewer. XnView MP and FastStone Image Viewer are somewhat similar in design. In our opinion, XnView MP is easier to use. On the other hand, the start screen of XnView MP looks much busier because there are more management options in the picture. So it’s just what you think is important.

SeniorWeb does not have an article about FastStone Image Viewer. Download it from this place.

Anyone who has Picasa on their computer can continue to use it for the time being. But if you buy a new PC, you will have to switch because Picasa can no longer be downloaded. Existing users may face security risks in the future. But we are not there yet. And when Picasa becomes unsafe, we report it immediately.