Pricing
Pluto Photos Pricing
One desktop purchase, no subscription, free updates for the life of the licence. The free tier is not a countdown — it is a smaller version of the same app.
Pricing
One Payment. Yours Forever.
Desktop plans are one-time purchases — no subscription required. The Mobile Companion app is free to browse; smart features are a separate monthly add-on.
Free
Get started with the essentials. No credit card required.
- ✓ Up to 500 photos, 1 library
- ✓ Tags, ratings & albums
- ✓ Export photos
- ✗ No editor, AI tools, or batch ops
Pro
The complete suite — every feature, forever.
- ✓ Unlimited libraries & photos
- ✓ Full photo & video editor
- ✓ AI face detection & smart albums
- ✓ AI contextual search & map view
- ✓ Duplicate finder & batch ops
- ✓ Cloud import & background removal
- ✓ 2 devices, lifetime updates
Mobile Companion
Free to browse your library from your phone. $5/mo unlocks backup & smart tools.
- ✓ Browse your full library — free forever
- $5/mo unlocks
- ✓ Automatic Wi-Fi backup
- ✓ Duplicate cleanup tools
- ✓ Password-protected vault
- ✓ Remote access, fully encrypted
Requires Pluto Photos desktop (free or Pro)
What the Free Tier Actually Includes
The free tier is the same download as Pro. It manages one library of up to 500 photos, with folders, albums, tags, star ratings and colour labels, and it exports your files at any time. It is not time-limited and it does not watermark anything. What it does not include is the photo and video editors, the AI tools, batch operations and smart albums.
The 500-photo ceiling is there to make the free tier a genuine trial of the organizing workflow on a real folder rather than a demo — but it is a ceiling, so a library of 30,000 photos needs Pro.
What $29 Buys
Pro is a one-time payment of $29 for a licence you keep. It unlocks unlimited photos and libraries, the photo editor and the video editor, and every on-device AI feature: face detection, plain-English photo search, background removal, object removal, smart albums, the photo map, the duplicate photo finder and batch operations.
Why There Is No Subscription
Cloud photo services charge monthly because they store and process your library on their hardware. Pluto Photos does neither — your photos sit on your own disk and every AI model runs on your own CPU, so there is no per-month cost to pass on. That is the whole reason a one-time price is possible here and is not possible for a cloud service like Google Photos.
The practical difference compounds. A 2 TB cloud storage plan runs roughly $100 a year, indefinitely, and stops working the month you stop paying. A Pluto Photos licence is $29 once, and a library organized with it stays readable whether or not you ever open the app again — the photos are ordinary files in ordinary folders the whole time.
Updates and Upgrades
Updates are free for the lifetime of the licence, including feature releases. There is no upgrade fee between versions and no annual maintenance charge. See the release notes for what has shipped so far.
The Mobile Companion Is Separate
The mobile companion app is free to install and free to use for browsing and backing up your phone's photos to the desktop over your own network. Its optional smart features are a separate monthly add-on, and it is the only part of Pluto Photos that is ever billed monthly — the desktop app is not.
Refunds
Purchases are non-refundable, which is exactly why the free tier exists and has no time limit: install it, point it at a real folder, and confirm it does what you need before paying anything. If you hit a genuine problem, email support@plutophotos.com and we will do what we can.
Before You Buy
Check the system requirements and the supported formats list, or read how Pluto Photos compares with other photo organizers — including where another tool is the better answer. Then download Pluto Photos and try the free tier.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pluto Photos free?
Yes! Pluto Photos offers a free tier with support for up to 500 photos, tags, ratings, albums, and export. Pro ($29 one-time) unlocks unlimited photos, AI face detection, smart albums, map view, the video editor, and more.
Does Pluto Photos require an internet connection?
Only to license the product. Pluto Photos is 100% local-first. All features including AI face detection run locally on your machine. No cloud required, no subscription needed.
What platforms does Pluto Photos support?
Pluto Photos is available for Windows 10+ (64-bit), macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon), Linux (AppImage), and Arch Linux (AUR). There's also a self-hosted Docker server you can run on any NAS, Raspberry Pi, or home server.
Is this a subscription?
No. Pluto Photos is a one-time purchase. Buy once and own it forever, including free lifetime updates.
How many devices can I use it on?
Each license allows activation on up to 2 devices. You can deactivate a device at any time to free up a slot.
Can I import from Google Photos?
Yes! The Pro tier includes cloud import that lets you import your Google Photos Takeout data directly. It also supports importing from iCloud exports.
What is your refund policy?
All purchases of Pluto Photos are non-refundable. We strongly encourage you to try the Free 30-day Pro Trial before purchasing to make sure the software meets your needs. If you encounter a special circumstance, please email support@plutophotos.com with a description of your issue and our team will do their best to assist you.
Is Pluto Photos a good Google Photos alternative?
Yes. Pluto Photos is designed as a privacy-focused Google Photos alternative. You can import your Google Photos Takeout data directly, and all AI features like face detection run locally on your machine. Unlike Google Photos, there are no monthly fees — just a one-time purchase.
Can I use Pluto Photos as a media library manager?
Absolutely. Pluto Photos works as a full media library manager supporting photos and videos. Organize your entire collection with smart albums, tags, ratings, color labels, and folders. It's designed to manage large libraries with 10,000+ files efficiently.
Can I edit videos in Pluto Photos?
Yes! The Pro tier includes a built-in multi-track video editor. Trim clips, combine multiple videos on a timeline, add audio overlays, apply transitions, and export with presets — all processed locally on your machine.
How do I organize and manage my photos with Pluto Photos?
Point Pluto Photos at any folder on your computer and it automatically imports and organizes everything. Use AI face detection to group by person, smart albums to auto-sort by date or camera, tags and ratings to categorize, and the map view to browse by location. It's the easiest way to manage your photos locally without cloud storage.
What is the Mobile Companion and does it require a subscription?
The Pluto Companion app (Android first, iOS to follow) is coming soon. It will let you browse your full library for free — no subscription required. A $5/month subscription unlocks automatic Wi-Fi backup, remote access away from home, a password-protected vault, and duplicate cleanup tools. It requires the Pluto Photos desktop app (free or Pro).
Can I access my Pluto library when I'm away from home Wi-Fi?
Yes. The Mobile Companion automatically falls back to your public IP when home Wi-Fi is unavailable. All remote connections use HTTPS with certificate pinning, so your photos travel encrypted end-to-end with no cloud relay in between. No VPN required.
What is the vault feature in the Mobile Companion app?
The vault lets you move sensitive photos out of your regular library and lock them behind biometrics (Face ID, fingerprint) or a PIN. Vault contents are completely hidden from the main photo view and cannot be accessed without authentication — not even by someone who has your unlocked phone.
Can I view my photos offline with the Mobile Companion?
Yes. You can cache selected albums to your phone and browse them without any Wi-Fi or internet connection — useful on flights, in remote areas, or anywhere you're away from your library. Cached photos are stored at full quality and can be shared directly from your phone.
How secure is the Mobile Companion's remote connection?
All connections use TLS 1.3 (HTTPS). On first pairing, your phone receives a cryptographic fingerprint of your desktop's self-signed certificate via QR code. From that point on, your phone verifies that fingerprint on every connection — a technique called certificate pinning — which means even a network attacker cannot impersonate your server. Your photos never pass through any third-party relay.
Do I need to re-scan the QR code if my home IP address changes?
No. When connected via home Wi-Fi, the Companion app silently reads your server's current public IP and updates it automatically. Your remote access stays working even when your ISP changes your IP — no re-pairing needed.
Still have questions? Contact us →