Personal AI Photo Cloud · Olares Mini

Pay $72/yr
to store photos
you already own.

Or pay $399 once, $10/month, and let an AI Agent organize, tag, and search 10 years of photos — privately, overnight, from your home.

iCloud + Google
$72
per year · forever
  • ✗ Your photos train their AI
  • ✗ No smart organization
  • ✗ Storage you rent, not own
  • ✓ Works, mostly
Best Value
Olares Mini
$399
one-time · +$10/mo agent
  • ✓ AI tags faces overnight
  • ✓ Removes duplicates automatically
  • ✓ Natural language search
  • ✓ Photos never leave your home
  • ✓ Break even in month 4
Synology NAS
$400+
+ setup time · no AI
  • ✗ Requires IT knowledge
  • ✗ No AI organization
  • ✗ You configure everything
  • ✓ Private storage
Reserve Olares Mini → FULLY REFUNDABLE · SHIPS Q3 2026 · OPEN SOURCE
the math

Month 4, you're ahead.
Month 12, you're saving.

ICLOUD + GOOGLE · CUMULATIVE
$24
MONTH 2
OLARES MINI · ALL-IN COST
$419
SUBSCRIPTIONS · CUMULATIVE
$48
MONTH 4
OLARES MINI · BREAK EVEN
$439
SUBSCRIPTIONS · YEAR 1
$72
MONTH 12
OLARES MINI · YEAR 1 TOTAL
$519
SUBSCRIPTIONS · 5 YEARS
$360
YEAR 5
OLARES MINI · 5 YEAR TOTAL
$999
After month 4 — you own the hardware, AI keeps working
$0/yr subscriptions
what the agent does while you sleep

Zero folders.
Zero effort.
Everything findable.

01 · FACE TAGGING

It knows who's who

Powered by the same cloud AI APIs as Google Photos. Your photos stay on your hardware. Google never processes them.

02 · NATURAL SEARCH

"Beach with grandma 2019"

Type what you remember. Find what you're looking for. Across 10 years of photos. Across all your devices.

03 · DUPLICATE REMOVAL

Reclaim your storage

Burst shots, near-duplicates, forgotten screenshots. Identified and flagged automatically. Free up space you're paying to rent.

04 · AUTO BACKUP

Every device, one place

Your phone, your partner's phone, old hard drives. All syncing to Olares Mini automatically. Nothing gets lost.

05 · RUNS OVERNIGHT

While you sleep

Plug it in. Go to bed. Wake up to an organized library. You never had to open a folder.

06 · 200+ APPS

More than just photos

Bitwarden for passwords. WireGuard VPN. Nextcloud files. Jellyfin media. One box. One payment.

what people say about the problem
I try to organize them, but minutes into the task I quit. Maybe 2025 is the year LOL
R/DATAHOARDER · 2025
↑ 2,400 UPVOTES
God I wish I could use something to finally, once and for all, clean up the rats nest that is my filesystem
R/LINUSTECHTIPS · 2025
↑ HIGHLY UPVOTED
It even has AI photo tagging for search, so there really isn't anything Google Photos can do that Immich can't do
R/SELFHOSTED · IMMICH USER
↑ VALIDATED SIGNAL

Common questions

Is the AI as good as Google Photos?
Face recognition and search use the same cloud AI APIs Google uses. Results are comparable. The difference: your photos aren't processed on Google's servers, and Google doesn't train its models on your family album.
What's the $10/month Agent fee for?
The Agent calls cloud AI APIs for face tagging, object recognition, and natural language search. Compare: you're currently paying $6/month for dumb storage on their servers. $10/month for smart storage on your hardware — net cost actually goes down.
What if I cancel the Agent?
Everything already organized stays organized. Search and tagging stop updating. Your photos and library don't disappear — they're on your hardware. Cancel anytime.
Do I need technical knowledge?
No. Plug in power + ethernet. Download the app. Scan QR code. Done. Non-technical families use this every day. No terminal, no config files, no Docker.
When does it ship?
Q3 2026 for founding members. Fully refundable — no conditions, no questions — until it ships.
3,900 GitHub Stars?
Olares OS is fully open source. You can read the code, audit it, or contribute. We believe in hardware you own running software you can verify. Covered by XDA Developers, Liliputing, and Android Headlines.

Stop paying rent
for memories you own.

$399 hardware. $10/month Agent. Break even month 4.
Your photos stay home. Forever.

Reserve Olares Mini →
FULLY REFUNDABLE · SHIPS Q3 2026 · OPEN SOURCE · CANCEL ANYTIME