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Here you can find a top 10 list of fee Image hosting companies. I spent 2 days compiling information, reviewing and testing these sites so that I can give you a run down of what features they offer to help you choose the right Image Hosting for you. There are a number of reasons why you could need a external Image host (ebay, online auctions, classifieds, message boards, blogs, live journals, online photo albums, myspace or simply to ease the load on your own web server and save some of that precious bandwidth). With so many sites around offering different service plans I thought I would do a bit of digging to save you the trouble and have a look at what the top 10 best Image hosts have to offer you. ALL the websites reviewed are completely FREE! unless otherwise stated. To find out how I compiled this list continue reading for a full review of the features and limitations of each site and a simple comparisons between them to help you decide where to host your pictures.

The Top 10 free Image Hosts 2006

1. FileXoom

2. LetMeHost.com

3. Image Shack

4. File Den

5. Picplace.to

6. Suprfile.com

7. Picture Trunk

8. Image-Upload.net

9. PhotoBucket

10. PureUpload

Continue reading for a full run down of each site’s features and to see how they compare against each other!

FileXoom (http://filexoom.com)

Registration: Required

Maximum File Size: 100MB

Maximum Storage: 2GB

Maximum Bandwidth: No Limit

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs,

Supported File Types: the uploader accepts all file types except for a few such as php, html, xml, asp, and exe.

Direct Linking: Supported

Help I’m Struggling to find something negative about this site… Ok after my initial Tests this site appears to laugh in the face of all other free image hosts. There really Is no contest anymore this is the site to use! there’s a compulsory registration which allows you access to a web based control panel where you can upload you files into multiple folders much like the fileden.com site. Where this site differs is in its excessive amount of free space/ unlimited bandwidth and huge maximum file size of 100MB. I haven’t tested completely the file size limit with images however it swallowed my 6MP .jpg alive spitting out the URL and tags for direct linking in less than a minute. I’m gob smacked. I remember the days when I paid for hosting that wasn’t this good!! dont really know what else to say this should probably cover all your file storage needs on the internet it holds most files except the ones listed above and so you can do everything except host an entire site on these servers and the best bit is there are no plans to limit the length of time a file remains on the server inactive so currently it will stay there indefinitely until you delete it. Unbelievable site a must have bookmark and by far the best free Image host I have tested. Ever!

LetMeHost.com (http://letmehost.com/)

Registration: Not Needed

Maximum File Size: 2MB

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: claim: dedicated servers are able to transfer several TB each month.

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs, Forum Thumbnails

Supported File Types: .jpg, .bmp and .png (Gif also supported but at a reduced maximum file size of 0.5MB)

Direct Linking: Supported

The LetMeHost.com site has the highest file size limit of all the sites which do not require registration and they claim that their dedicated servers can handle several TB a month of traffic this means that your image should be safe here fee of bandwidth limitations (for now at least). This Site tops the charts for anonymous uploading Its very quick and generates comprehensive codes for all sorts of linking for your images simple but that’s what we want when we’re in a rush .

Image Shack (http://www.imageshack.us/)

Registration: Not Required but offered and allows you to keep track of previous uploads.

Maximum File Size: 1.5MB

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: Allows each image 100 megabytes of transfer per hour. If an image exceeds this amount, it will be rendered inaccessible.

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs Thumbnails

Supported File Types: .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, .tif, .tiff, .swf, and .png image types. bmp, tif, and tiff images will be converted to .png automatically.

Direct Linking: Supported

The First of the 2 most popular image hosting site under review Image Shack offers users a 1.5MB maximum file size for stored Images which is a reasonable size to satisfy most requirements. Very simple and very easy to used Image Shack is one of the largest most establish image hosting sites out there and so is designed to be of use to the mass market. Don’t let this lead you into thinking they have cut back on features to deal with the extra load on their servers oh no! From the upload page you are able to choose to have your image resized with various different options as well as notes to described what size is best for different places on the web. This is a very useful feature that I’m sure I will be using in future since it just saves the times of having to do that separately in another stand alone program. This can cut your hosting time down significantly. Another cool feature aimed at frequent web users is the ability to transfer a picture to their host from another site, for example a site has a banner but requests that you do not hot link it from their site (you should not hotlink or directly link images anyway without permission) you simply enter the url of the image choose to have it resized if you like then upload as normal. Again this is another good time saving tool which alot of image hosting sites don’t offer. As expected image shack did not fail to impress with its generated tags featuring thumbnails auto generated and various other tags. I’d like to finish by saying I am pleasantly surprised by this image hosting giant I had expected less but my first experiences with Image Shack hack been quite positive its aimed at saving time and getting your images ready to be hosted anywhere and everywhere you might need them, the max file size is adequate larger than most but might not be larger enough for serious photographers to store their larger images but I would definitely recommend Image shack to my friends.

File Den (http://www.fileden.com/)

Registration: Not Required (registration gets you access to a functional uploads area and file storage page)

Maximum File Size: 10MB (applies to images only) 50MB for other files

Maximum Storage: 500MB

Maximum Bandwidth: No Limit

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs

Supported File Types: jpeg, jpg, png, gif, bmp, mp3, txt, avi, wmv, mpg, mpeg, doc.

Direct Linking: Registered Users Only

With free registration, each user gets 500 MB of personal allocated storage space and many other features to make sharing files easy, such as ability of uploading more file types. If you are registered, you can upload files that are as large as 50 megabytes each. If you are uploading many files, there is a batch upload feature — simply upload a Zip file (must be named “upload.zip” or “batch.zip”) containing all your files. There is no specified time limit that hosted files are removed from the free file hosting server — files stay there “forever”. Hot linking (direct linking files) works, but only on files that are uploaded by registered users. I must admit I have used this site before I started this review and when I noticed it was a contender for the review I got quite excited because (and I think its a little unfair to have this site in the Image hosting category) this site simply blows the rest out of the water with its features. Ok so it might not be the simplest site to use so experience with uploading is preferable but once you get used to file den you’ll realise its massive file size limit is extremely useful for all sorts of things not only large images up to 10MB!! (that’s enough for most lower level Digital SLR’s) but video’s and large achieves as well all in the same place. Uploading is simple and fast (even for larger files depending on your connection speeds). If i could pick one fault occasionally You are subjected to a 10 second advert on your own admin area (not other people who view your files) I don’t know how frequent but I’m sure its only once every login or so altogether brilliant site highly recommended.

Picplace.to (http://picsplace.to/)

Registration: Not Needed

Maximum File Size: 1.5MB

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: No Limit

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs, thumbnail generation

Direct Linking: Supported

Another simple anonymous image hosting site. Don’t get me wrong because I think its a good idea to have a good free file host such as fileden when you can login and keep track of the files you have uploaded they are important in some cases but the anonymous ones are surely the cream of the crop simply because of their lack of bandwidth restrictions. No Limit is always better than any limit however you look at it especially when the limit covers your entire folder of files. The PicPlace.to site is very simple quick and easy to use since there’s no need to sign up or sign in and nice simple tags are generated instantly. a good solid looking hosting company I’m sure I’ll re-visit them again.

Suprfile.com (http://www.suprfile.com/)

Registration: Not Needed

Maximum File Size: 1MB (1024 KB)

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: 1GB every 30 Days (per image)

Generated code: All Sorts click here to see a screen shot of the generated Tags

Supported File Types: GIF, JPEG, and PNG

Direct Linking: Supported

An impressive little image host. No registration required which also means no maximum amount of file stored (always a bonus) of course he draw back is you will have to keep a note of the url or tags o the images your upload f you intend to use them again. The Generated tags that come with a suprfile.com upload are very comprehensive allowing for copy and paste creation of thumbnails as well as direct linking and various other cool tags for forums and websites definitely worth checking out the screen shot files are uploaded very fast and bandwidth is unlimited on their generated thumbnail code or 1GB per picture otherwise which is still an awful lot because it does not cover all your uploaded files. I sailed through the upload process in no time and it had no trouble handling one of my files beginning with an underscore hurray finally!! I’d bookmark this Image host for sure If I were you! please note: Images are deleted 6 months after not receiving any visits/traffic.

Picture Trunk (http://www.picturetrunk.com/)

Registration: Not Needed

Maximum File Size: 400KB

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: No Limit

Generated code: HTML, URL, [IMG]

Supported File Types: gif, jpg, png

Direct Linking: Supported

Apparently a favourite of myspace users this image host is focus upon the hosting of smaller picture files of 400kb or less. This is quite a small size and is probably unsatisfactory for photographers and designers who work on large canvases but for general forum, message boards and myspace hosting this quick and easy site requires no registration and is dead simple to use. The images are uploaded very quickly and the site supports direct linking (linking from other sites directly not having to click thumbnails to see them). always a good thing. Nothing more to say really another decent bookmark!

Image-Upload.net (http://www.image-upload.net/)

Registration: Required

Maximum File Size: 1MB (1024 KB)

Maximum Storage: 100MB

Maximum Bandwidth: 1GB every 30 Days

Generated code: 4 to choose from [IMG] - < img> - URLs - Links

Supported File Types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, bmp, txt, zip

Direct Linking: Supported

Image-Upload.net, Easy and simple to register allows for multiple folder use, accepts 3 files uploading at once, My first upload had an error (file name must start with a letter or a number.) not huge problem for most people but my files are stored with an underscore at the start so this might be a little annoying changing every single shot. Tags are generated as soon as the picture is finished uploading and are very easy to navigate. The upload speed was fairly quick, as too was viewing the image almost instant with a 500kb image. all in all a very simple easy to use image host, better used for blogs/temporary pages or smaller images because of the bandwidth limitation, but would suit most people since 1GB is quite a lot of traffic.

PhotoBucket (http://photobucket.com/)

Registration: Not Required but offers a paid for premium service with extra features

Maximum File Size: 1MB

Maximum Storage: 1GB

Maximum Bandwidth: 10 GB per month

Generated code: [img] - < img> - Direct URLs - Linked URLs, slide shows

Supported File Types: .jpg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .swf (Flash files)

Direct Linking: Supported

The highest ranked image host out there photobucket claims to serve 500 million images per day and boasts a variety of features such as slideshows and film loops that are easily generated. Despite its popularity I’ve never been a fan of photobucket. Gone are the days I’m sure when I remember seeing those awful ‘this image is host by photobucket icons when images had exceeded their bandwidth but since then I’ve been put off photobucket. I know this sounds silly since image hosts have come along way since those days and now offering a 10GB bandwidth per month option I’m sure these things don’t happen too often but despite my prejudices against this site lets see how it stacks up. Its 1MB max file size is fair at best compared to its main rival image shack which has 50% more storage and no bandwidth limitations. The slide shows and film strips make for interesting viewing on sites i guess but all i can ever see when I look at them is the blatant advertising at the bottom (this has however decreased in size I think recently, but is still present never the less). Considering This Image host sees the most traffic and so is therefore the most ‘popular’ I cant say I would suggest using It there are many alternatives out there which offer better faster and more user friendly hosting packages. And with the introduction of their new subscriber services I wonder how long until we see the bandwidth dropping for free accounts?

PureUpload (http://ww1.pureupload.com/)

Registration: Not Required (sign-up is optional for more features).

Maximum File Size: 2MB or 3MB if you registerr

Maximum Storage: No Limit

Maximum Bandwidth: Unknown

Generated code: Tags for thumbnails

Supported File Types: jpeg, jpg, png, gif, tif, tif

Direct Linking: Not Supported

There were a couple of negative points that instantly struck me about PureUploads Service. Firstly images are removed after only 60 days with no activity that’s only 2 months not a problem if the file is only to be hosted temporarily or if you have a lot of traffic but for most people this could prove to be a problem. Secondly The site relies upon hosting your images on a page which features an Advertisement. Again I was struck with the error message from trying to upload an image beginning with an underscore (_) these sites are not proving too friendly for the canon default tag for pictures. Once the Photo was uploaded I was quite disappointed with the final page with the advert on it it was quite overpowering and was not what I was looking for. There are some positive points to PureUpload which may benefit a small niche market for a start the 3MB maximum file size for registered users is pretty damn huge and would well suit photographers wanting to share their work in a larger quality format, secondly the site likes and encourages you to use its auto generate thumbnail code for inserting you picture into forums posts and websites, this (although it brings us back to linking to a page with adverts) is quite a cool feature since their thumbnails not only come in 2 sizes but also contain the full file size of your image which is a good indication to anyone wanting to view the file what sort of quality it is, Again another feature photographers might find useful for forums when huge images simply look quite silly inserted into posts. All in all its an average site that relies upon advertising revenue heavily resulting in no hotlink of full size image but with a couple of good feature for photographers I may re-visit the site.

Honourable Mentionn

Flickr - A fantastic Site owned by the Yahoo Group and requiring a yahoo membership which is free (but I don’t like it when sites force you to be members of other sites…). The Site would probably have made it to the top 10 for the reviews except I felt that i did not quite fit in the category of image hosts since the main purpose of the site is to share your pictures with-in the flickr community and with your contacts on there. On top of this the site also offers direct linking (providing the image links back to the flickr page hosting the photo) and a lot of other cool features that take advantage of RSS technology which can mean incorporating live feeds into your website with your pictures. I’d definitely recommend checking out flickr at some point.

Tinypic.com - A great little spin off of the photobucket site and the site I had used up until most recently for most of my quick image hosting needs. Tinypic allows you to upload your pics and re-sizes them appropriately to a medium size about 600 pixels max height/width (I couldn’t find the exact size)

Zoto.com - A sign design for sharing your photo’s Zoto allows users quickly upload their files through their free downloadable software (which is incredibly userfriendly) The service offers a huge 2GB limit for free and an option to subscribe for a further 8GB of storage. The site also featured a tagging service much like that of flickr but which allows for quick searching of the site for images you want to view also includes the option to make your private files which is ideal if you simply need to back up your images. This site would have probably made it into the top 3 if it had been on my list to review from the begining but for now it must remain here in the hall of fame ‘Honourable Mention’.

Summary

As I mentioned earlier in one of the reviews I think it is Important to realise that different people have different requirements for their Image hosting needs and so this top 10 is simply my 10 preferred sites based on their features and how they suit me. I think that those who just use image hosting sites for myspace, journals, blogs and forums etc.. that are often smaller/ of a lower quality and often needed to be hosted in haste for quick one time access might prefer some of the anonymous site that do not require registration since you can just go to the main page and have your file uploaded and tags ready in seconds. The best anonymous host I found was LetMeHost.com which offered a max file size of 2MB and unlimited bandwidth all without registering, this should suit most users perfectly. If however you are looking for a host either to relieve some bandwidth from your website by hosting some of your larger Images there, or if you are a photographer or designer that works with larger files and has a need to share them then a host which offers a user login and folders is a must have. Filexoom toped the chart in this area offering a whopping 2GB storage and a 100MB file size limit, this site really is the be all and end all of free large file storage on the web. I must admit I have a need for both and will most likely used both of the top 2 site’s as well as re-visiting the others regularly to see what they come up with to try and stay ahead of the competition.

What Image Hosting Company Do You Use? What Makes You Use Their Service?Thanks for taking your time to read this article. All the reviews of image hosting companies on www.blog.benscamera.com are completely unbiased and are not commercially funded in any way. they are simply my own opinions of the host coupled with some factual information from their own websites.

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If you’re looking to get some email hosting then something that you might be interested in is Exchange 2007 hosting because it’s a pretty flexible system. For those more interested in web hosting then it’s probably a good idea to research to see if you’ll need things like Coldfusion hosting as part of your package.

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