FamilyAlbum is the better fit if you want a free, invite-only album with unlimited uploads and you can live with ads. Tinybeans is the better fit if relatives like daily email updates and you will pay for Tinybeans+, which cost $7.99 a month or $74.99 a year as of 15 Oct 2026, to lift the 20-uploads-a-month cap.
We make Our Little World, a different kind of app that appears briefly at the end of this page. We read each app's App Store listing, pricing and help pages and recent App Store reviews on 15 Oct 2026. Both Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum are well loved, and both keep a child's photos away from public social media.
How do Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum compare side by side?
Tinybeans is a paid-first family journal with a capped free plan, and FamilyAlbum is a free album with paid extras. Every fact in this table comes from each app's App Store listing or help center, checked on 15 Oct 2026.
| Tinybeans | FamilyAlbum | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | Tinybeans USA Ltd. | MIXI, Inc. |
| Paid plans | Tinybeans+ $7.99 a month or $74.99 a year (help center) | Premium Family $5.99 a month or $59 a year, Premium Family Pro $10.99 a month or $109 a year, Premium One $2.99 a month (help center) |
| Free plan limits | 20 photo or video uploads a month, 5GB of storage (help center) | Unlimited uploads and storage, videos under 2 minutes (help center) |
| Ads | On the free plan. Tinybeans+ removes them for you and your followers | Third-party ads on the free plan. Premium Family and Pro remove them, but FamilyAlbum's own product banners stay |
| Video length | Up to 5 minutes on Tinybeans+. The free limit isn't stated | Under 2 minutes free, up to 10 minutes on Premium |
| Printing | Photo books from $19.99 on the website or $25.99 in the app. No single prints | 11 free prints and 1 monthly card on your first print order each month. Photobooks and DVDs for sale |
| Sharing model | Followers you invite by email, with their own login and email updates | Album members you invite, with comments and reactions. Up to 100 members per album |
| Both parents | The owner can give one follower Full Access, making them a co-owner. Tinybeans+ benefits can be shared with one other person | Invite the other parent as an Album Admin. A Premium Family plan covers everyone in the album |
| Export | Bulk export by month on the website with Tinybeans+. One memory at a time otherwise | One at a time free. Bulk download, up to 100 items at once on iPhone, with Premium Family Pro |
| Privacy label | Lists location, contact info, user content, identifiers and usage data as possibly used to track you | Lists identifiers as possibly used to track you |
| App Store rating | 4.9 from 104K ratings | 4.9 from 377K ratings |
The privacy labels are what each developer reported to Apple, and Apple notes it has not verified them.
Is Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum cheaper?
FamilyAlbum is cheaper, because its free plan has no upload cap and its paid plans cost less. FamilyAlbum's free plan includes unlimited photo and video storage, and Premium Family cost $59 a year as of 15 Oct 2026, per FamilyAlbum's help center.
Tinybeans' free plan allows 20 uploads a month up to 5GB, with ads. Tinybeans+ cost $74.99 a year as of 15 Oct 2026, and the App Store listing offers a two-week free trial. A family that posts a few photos most days will pass 20 uploads well before the month ends. Our post on what Tinybeans costs covers the Legacy plan, the 2023 price rise and what happens after you cancel.
Do Tinybeans and FamilyAlbum show ads?
Yes, both free plans show third-party ads, and both paid plans remove them while keeping each company's own promotions. Tinybeans says a Tinybeans+ subscription removes ads for the journal owner and every follower, though in-house articles and marketing emails continue. FamilyAlbum says Premium and Premium Pro albums hide third-party ads, while banners for FamilyAlbum's own products can't be hidden.
Ads are the most common complaint in FamilyAlbum's recent App Store reviews. Several reviewers from July to September 2026 describe new full-screen ads as they swipe through photos, two more in October 2026 say there are too many ads, and a paying member describes constant promotions for books, mugs and stickers. Recent Tinybeans reviews focus more on a redesigned upload screen, price and frequent notifications.
Which is better for grandparents?
FamilyAlbum suits grandparents who want to look and comment in an app, and Tinybeans suits grandparents who prefer email. Many of FamilyAlbum's recent five-star reviews come from grandparents and great-grandparents watching a baby grow from far away. Tinybeans sends followers a daily email update on days you add memories, plus flashbacks and weekly summaries, so a relative can follow along without opening an app.
A Tinybeans reviewer in October 2025 says about half the older relatives they invited by email couldn't get connected. A FamilyAlbum reviewer in September 2026 says the app glitches when a family has several albums.
Which works better for two parents?
Both apps let a second parent help, in different ways. In Tinybeans, the journal owner can grant Full Access to another follower, which gives them the owner's editing rights except removing the owner or deleting the journal. Tinybeans+ can be shared with one other person.
In FamilyAlbum, you invite the other parent as an Album Admin. Admins can upload, invite family and share photos with admins only. In both apps, each parent still picks and uploads photos from their own phone.
Can you get your photos out of Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum?
Yes, but bulk export costs extra in both apps. Tinybeans lets Tinybeans+ subscribers request an export on its website, delivered as emailed links that download one month at a time and expire after 5 days. FamilyAlbum lets anyone save photos one at a time, and Premium Family Pro adds a bulk download of up to 100 items at once on iPhone.
If you are moving from Tinybeans to FamilyAlbum, FamilyAlbum's help center says there is no direct transfer. You download from Tinybeans first, then upload.
Which is more private?
Both are invite-only, and the main difference is in what each developer told Apple it may use to track you. Tinybeans says the photos you upload can only be viewed by the people you invite. FamilyAlbum says it doesn't sell your data to third parties. Both free plans carry third-party ads, and on 15 Oct 2026 the Tinybeans App Store label listed more data types used for tracking than FamilyAlbum's did.
Should you choose Tinybeans or FamilyAlbum?
Choose based on who looks at the photos and how much you post.
Choose Tinybeans if
- relatives would rather get photos by email than open an app
- you want a dated journal with captions, quotes and printed photo books
- you're happy paying $74.99 a year (as of 15 Oct 2026) for unlimited uploads and no ads
Choose FamilyAlbum if
- you want a free plan with no upload cap
- grandparents like to comment and react on each photo
- free monthly prints matter to you, and you can accept ads or pay $59 a year (as of 15 Oct 2026) to remove third-party ones
If neither fits, our Tinybeans alternative and FamilyAlbum alternative pages compare each one with a different approach.
Is there a third option?
The app we make: Our Little World is a private baby book app for iPhone and iPad. Our Little World finds your child in the photos on your iPhone and lays them out month by month, and two parents share one family space. As of 15 Oct 2026, Family is $7.99 a month or $69.99 a year for two parents and two invited family members, and Family Plus is $11.99 a month or $99.99 a year for 12 accounts, per our pricing page. There is no free plan, only a free trial of 7 days on monthly plans or 14 days on yearly. There are no ads. Grandparents and family members you invite can view what's shared with them, never face data, and they need an iPhone or iPad. You can export everything you made, with or without a plan. Our Little World isn't for Android families, anyone who wants a printed book or anyone who needs a free plan.
