The best NAS to replace Google Photos in Canada
By Ryan Fournier · Reviewed by Claire Bergeron · Updated To leave Google Photos, you want automatic phone backup, face and place search, and easy sharing — all of which a NAS photo app now does without a subscription. The UGREEN DXP2800 and Synology DS925+ are the best picks: both run a full photo app with mobile auto-upload, and their x86 chips can run Immich if you want the closest open-source clone of the Google Photos experience. Want zero setup? The single-drive BeeStation is the simplest exit — just remember it has no RAID.
Google Photos replacements, by capability and live CAD price
| DXP2800 | DS925+ | BeeStation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Live price (Amazon.ca) | CA$555 | CA$900 | CA$529 |
| CPU | Intel N100 (4 cores) | AMD Ryzen V1500B (4 cores, 8 threads) | Realtek RTD1619B |
| Bays | 2 | 4 | 1 fixed |
| RAM | 16 GB max | 32 GB max, ECC | 1 GB soldered |
| M.2 NVMe | 2 × M.2 | 2 × M.2 | — |
| Network | 1 × 2.5GbE | 2 × 2.5GbE | 1 × 1GbE |
| Plex transcode | 4K HDR via Intel Quick Sync | No iGPU — software only, not for 4K | Direct-play only |
| Third-party drives | Any NAS drive | HDDs open; NVMe locked | Fixed drive (n/a) |
The verdict: which should you buy?
What you're actually replacing
Google Photos is really three things: automatic phone upload, smart search (faces, places, "beach 2019"), and frictionless sharing. A NAS photo app now covers all three. Synology Photos and the UGREEN and QNAP equivalents each give you a mobile app that auto-uploads every new photo, a timeline, albums, face and geolocation grouping, and shareable links — the daily experience is genuinely close. The differences are polish and the AI search quality, where Google still leads slightly but the gap keeps closing. What you gain is ownership: no monthly fee, no scanning, and your library on drives in your home.
Turnkey app or Immich?
Two routes, and your choice of box follows from it. The turnkey route uses the NAS vendor's own app (Synology Photos, UGREEN's, QNAP's) — install and forget, works on any of these boxes including ARM ones. The Immich route runs Immich, the open-source project explicitly built to clone Google Photos, in Docker — its machine-learning search and UI are arguably the best of any self-hosted option. But Immich's AI features want an Intel x86 CPU (the UGREEN DXP2800/DXP4800 Plus, a QNAP TS-x64, or a DIY box); an ARM DH-series or a BeeStation will not run it well. If "as close to Google Photos as possible" is the goal, buy an x86 box and run Immich; if "simple and done" is the goal, buy anything here and use the built-in app.
The part Google did for you: backup
One honest reality check. Google kept copies in its data centres; once your photos live on a NAS, backing them up is your job. A single-drive BeeStation or a NAS running RAID is still only one copy — a fire, theft or ransomware takes it. So set up the exit properly: phone auto-uploads to the NAS, and the NAS replicates the photo library off-site to a cloud tier (Backblaze B2, Wasabi, or Synology C2) or a second location. Follow 3-2-1 and you get everything Google offered — automatic, searchable, shareable photos — plus ownership, without the single point of failure. Size the library generously in the drive-count calculator; photos only grow.
What this costs in Canada
The prices in the table above are live from Amazon.ca in Canadian dollars, so there is no exchange-rate guesswork. That matters more than usual for NAS boxes: the same model carries a wide, moving spread across Amazon.ca, Best Buy, Canada Computers, Newegg.ca and Memory Express — a two-minute cross-check before you buy is worth real money on a $600–$1,600 purchase.
Importing the enclosure from Amazon.com rarely wins once you add exchange, duty, brokerage and a harder warranty path. The honest metric is total landed cost plus how easy an RMA is — and a NAS you will run for years is exactly the device where local warranty support pays for itself.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best NAS to replace Google Photos in Canada?
The UGREEN DXP2800 or Synology DS925+ — both run a full photo app with automatic phone backup and face/place search, and their Intel chips can run Immich, the closest open-source Google Photos clone. For the simplest exit with no setup, the single-drive Synology BeeStation, keeping in mind it has no RAID.
Can a NAS really replace Google Photos?
Yes, for the three things that matter — automatic phone upload, face/place search and sharing. Synology Photos and the UGREEN/QNAP apps, or Immich on an x86 box, all deliver that with no subscription. Google's AI search is still marginally ahead, but the everyday experience is very close and the library is yours.
Do I need an Intel NAS to run Immich?
For the full experience, effectively yes. Immich's machine-learning search runs well on Intel x86 boxes (UGREEN DXP2800/DXP4800 Plus, QNAP TS-x64, or a DIY NAS) but poorly on ARM units like the UGREEN DH series or a BeeStation. If you want a turnkey vendor app instead, any of these boxes works.
Do I still need to back up photos on a NAS?
Yes. Unlike Google, a NAS is in your home, so a single-drive box or even a RAID array is only one copy — a fire, theft or ransomware takes it. Replicate the photo library off-site to a cloud tier or second location so you keep Google's convenience without its single point of failure.
Ryan Fournier covers home-server hardware and efficiency at nasdrives.ca: the right power supply, the UPS, and what a NAS actually draws running around the clock, priced against Canadian hydro rates.
Reviewed by Claire Bergeron, Editor-in-chief