1. The list in brief
2. Best overall
3. Best high-resolution
4. Best design
5. Best budget
6. Best for art fans
7. Best finish
8. Best with video calls
9. Best traditional
10. Best for Google Photos
11. How to choose
12. How we test
The best digital photo frame options make it easy to showcase your cherished memories. From affordable frames for your desk to premium screens for your wall, we’ve spent countless hours testing the best options for every budget. We test factors such as design, ease of use and screen quality in real-world conditions, all to help you find your ideal photo frame.
From the results of our reviews, we think the best digital photo frame for most people is the Aura Mason Luxe. With a neat design, intuitive interface and sharp display, it’s pretty much the complete package. That said, if you’re prepared to spend more on a sharper display, the Nixplay 2K is worth a look. Or if your budget is a little tighter, the Aeezo Portrait 01 offers excellent value.
Whether you want to display a slideshow of family portraits, vacation snaps or your own photography, you’ll find a fitting option in the list below. Our guide spans a wide variety of frames, ranging from simple models to high-end frames with features to match. Some function as smart hubs, too.
Whatever your expectations, you’ll find something to fit the bill below. If you’re not sure where to start, scroll to the end for expert buying advice to help you choose the right frame. If you need more in-depth suggestions, check out our guide on how to buy a digital photo frame. Once you’ve selected your favorite, you’ll find links to the best deals beneath each entry.
Tim is TechRadar's Cameras editor, with over 15 years in the photo video industry and most of those in the world of tech journalism, Tim has developed a deeply technical knowledge and practical experience with all things camera related. He loves making pictures and believes they should be enjoyed by others, and what better way to do that than to frame them and put them on display.
The quick list
If you’re in a hurry to display your favorite pictures, the round-up below will give you an instant summary of the top digital photo frames. If you find one which fits your needs and budget, you can use the links to fly down to our full write-ups.
The best digital photo frame overall
The Aura Mason Luxe is a clear cut above most photo frames. It’s stylish, easy to use and, most importantly, benefits from a sharp, well-saturated display.
The best high-res digital photo frame
Nixplay’s 2K frame features one of the sharpest, most vibrant screens on the market, with deep blacks, plus lots of detail and brightness.
The best landscape frame for design fans
The Luxe version has a slightly sharper screen, but the Aura Carver stands out with a classy embossed border and angular, free-standing design.
The best budget digital photo frame
Cheap and cheerful, the Aeezo Portrait 01 is more flexible than its price suggests. Its no-frills, plastic build won’t win awards, but it’s neat enough.
The best hybrid photo frame for art fans
A premium photo frame that works in portrait or landscape, its 15.6-inch matte display is a genuinely appealing way to display art at home.
The best realistic frame design
With a generous border and glass facade, the Skylight Frame has real presence on a shelf, making it one of the more attractive photo frames we’ve tested.
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The best photo frame with video calling
Officially discontinued, you can still pick up Portal devices at discounted prices. It's a smart display that's great for showing snaps from social.
The best traditional digital photo frame
The Nixplay Touch 10 passes for a traditional photo frame at arm’s length. Its back is heavily sculpted, but this will usually be hidden away from view.
The best digital photo frame for Google Photos users
A smart home hub with Google Assistant built in, the Nest Hub Max doubles up as a 10-inch digital photo frame with a speaker in its fabric-wrapped base.
The best digital photo frames in 2023
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Below you'll find full write-ups for each of the best digital photo frames in our list. We've tested each one extensively, so you can be sure that our recommendations can be trusted.
The best overall digital frame you can buy
✅ You want your photos to look good: With fine detail and natural colors, the Mason Luxe’s 9.7-inch display really does justice to your images.
✅ You value stylish design: It might be made of plastic, but the Mason Luxe’s shell is distinctive in good way, standing out on any shelf.
❌ You want an offline frame: Because photos are stored on Aura’s service, the Mason Luxe must be connected to your Wi-Fi at all times.
❌ You have a limited budget: Clever software and a high-quality screen mean the Mason Luxe comes with a relatively high initial outlay.
The Aura Mason Luxe is a clear cut above most other photo frames. It’s stylish, has greater character to its design and, most important of all, the screen is excellent in most respects.
Its 4:3 aspect display is perfect for not just adding some color to your room with your photos, but to actually get an up-close look at them. Pixel density is so high they look sharp and detailed even when you get your face right up to the screen. We found that color is natural-looking and well-saturated too, so you can be sure you’re seeing a fair representation of the photos you fling its way.
There’s also a social side to the Aura Mason Luxe. You can invite friends and relatives to send photos to the frame, and everyone in this inner Aura circle can “like” and comment on the images, creating a cosy sort of private social network. The cost of the Mason Luxe may seem high for a 10-inch photo frame, but after our tests, we conclude the quality of the software and hardware justifies the expense.
- Read our in-depth Aura Mason Luxe review
The best high-resolution digital photo frame
✅ You want the sharpest display: With a 2K resolution, Nixplay’s Smart Digital Photo Frame has one of the most detailed screens on the market.
✅ You like to adjust settings: Like most Nixplay frames, the 2K’s menu lets you customize a whole range of settings, from color to sensitivity.
❌ You hate fingerprint marks: In matte black the bezel is understated, but the metal-effect version is super reflective and easy to smudge.
❌ You like easily readable text: Because of the high resolution, menu text can appear small, making it difficult to read at a distance.
Nixplay’s 2K Smart Digital Photo Frame features one of the sharpest screens on the market, offering lots of detail. Our tests found it vibrant, too, with deep blacks and enough brightness to beat the reflective coating. At 9.7 inches, we also felt it struck a good balance: with a flexible stand that works in portrait or landscape, the frame fits on most shelves, yet still gives images space to be seen. The option to wall-mount is also a useful one.
As with other Nixplay frames, the settings menu offers no shortage of customisation options, from colour adjustments to the sensitivity of the motion sensor. Controlled via a physical remote (or the virtual replica in the app), the frame proved responsive and pretty intuitive during our review, even if the high resolution means text can appear small.
One of our favorite things about this frame is how straightforward it is to load photos using the app. You can create playlists using photos from your smartphone, or sync with Google Photos to display AI-generated smart albums. You can also connect with friends to easily add their snaps to your frame.
One final note: in matte black, the bezel is sizeable but understated. In contrast, the metal-effect variant is both excessively reflective and a serious fingerprint magnet, distracting from what is otherwise a sharp and capable Wi-Fi frame.
The best landscape frame for design fans
✅ You want an easy setup: With automatic brightness and a simple interface, the Carver is one of the easiest photo frames to operate.
✅ You don’t want to pay extra: There’s no subscription with the Aura Carver, and unlimited cloud storage space is included as standard.
❌ You want complete control: By favoring simplicity over deep customization, the Aura Mason offers limited room for manual control.
❌ You want a portrait frame: The Carver is only designed to stand in landscape orientation and the screen image can’t be rotated.
Classier than most competitors, the Aura Carver stands out with an embossed border and angular, free-standing design. Its 10.1-inch display isn’t as sharp as the slightly pricier Carver Luxe, but we found its 1280x800 panel fine in testing, with pleasant colors and good viewing angles. It helps that the screen can adjust automatically to ambient conditions and go impressively bright, aided by a semi-matte finish.
We think Aura frames have the slickest software out there, and the Carver is no exception. It doesn’t have a touchscreen, but the subtle touch panel on top makes it easy to flick between photos. Other settings are found in the similarly streamlined smartphone app, although we found during our review that customisation options are limited. Friends and family can contribute to your slideshow, but there’s no support for albums.
It’s also worth noting that the Aura Carver requires a consistent Wi-Fi connection to display your photos, and it’s only designed to sit in landscape orientation. But if you want a hassle-free frame with no paywall and unlimited cloud storage, we think the Carver is a fantastic choice.
- Read our in-depth Aura Carver review
The best budget digital photo frame
✅ You want good value: Simple and affordable, the Aeezo Portrait 01 is a bargain photo frame with a decent set of features for the price.
✅ You want an offline frame: Instead of cloud storage, photos are added via SD card, USB stick or the Frameo app to its 16GB of internal storage.
❌ You want a distinctive frame: With a basic, generic plastic build, the Aeezo Portrait 01 won’t win any design awards.
❌ You value a polished interface: The Portrait 01 works fine, but its software isn’t the slickest and the app is less glossy than rivals.
A cheap and cheerful photo frame, the Aeezo Portrait 01 is more flexible than its price tag suggests. Its no-frills, plastic build won’t win any design awards, but it’s neat enough – even if our tests found that its simple stand has limited stability.
We were largely happy with its photo reproduction in our review. Color depth isn’t exceptional, but the 10-inch display strikes a good balance when it comes to detail: hard edges aren’t too soft or too sharp. It is less bright than other frames in the same price bracket, though.
Rather than cloud storage, you can load photos onto its 16GB of internal storage via the Frameo app, or from an SD card or USB stick. That means you’re not reliant on constant Wi-Fi connectivity or third-party servers. We found that the interface isn’t sophisticated and the app is less glossy than others in this list. But like most of the frame, it all works as it should. Overall, the Portrait 01 is good value.
- Read our in-depth Aeezo Portrait 01 review
The best hybrid photo frame for art fans
✅ You want art on your walls: The Netgear Meural offers paid access to a library of art pieces that look great on its paper-like display.
✅ You prefer a larger frame: The Meural dwarfs most of its competitors with a 15.6-inch display that gives images more presence.
❌ You have a sharp eye for quality: With a 1080p resolution spread across 15.6 inches, the Meural’s display quality isn’t the best out there.
❌ You want a compact display: With a big screen and matching border, plus a stand that can’t go flat against the wall, this isn’t a small frame.
The Netgear Meural isn’t like other digital photo frames. By the standards of this category, it’s a pretty high-end purchase – but it’s actually the entry-level model in Netgear’s series of art displays. They scale all the way up to 21.5 inches.
This is a 15.6-inch photo frame that you can orient in portrait or landscape. It gives you a large canvas to work with, and the Meural app includes a huge catalogue of artwork to choose from. You have to pay for a subscription to unlock full access, but a handful are available for free. While this won’t appeal to everyone, we think the option to pick paintings gives Netgear’s frame a unique flourish.
In our time with the Meural, we found its matte display a genuinely appealing way to display art: it doesn’t look like a repurposed tablet or smart display. However, its color depth isn’t perfect and we think a panel sharper than the Meural’s 1080p screen would be better if you want to really inspect your images. Still, it’s a lovely way to creatively enhance a room.
- Read our in-depth Netgear Meural Wi-Fi Photo Frame review
The best realistic frame and mount
✅ You like a classic design: With a responsive glass touchscreen and sizeable border, the Skylight Frame makes an attractive statement.
✅ You want an offline storage option: You need a connection to load photos, but you can run your slideshow from the 8GB of internal storage.
❌ You’re picky about quality: Skylight uses heavy compression to save data, which can cause digital artifacts and give images a soft look.
❌ You don’t want a subscription: Many of the Skylight’s features, including video support, are locked behind an annual subscription paywall.
With a generous border and glass facade, the Skylight Frame is one of the more attractive photo frames we’ve tested. It’s larger than most 10-inch models, but its white surround and classy design give it real presence on a shelf. In use, its responsive touchscreen feels quite a lot like a tablet: you can pinch to zoom and swipe to switch photos. It’s not sophisticated, but it works smoothly and makes it easy to find specific images.
We don’t think the Skylight Frame does a perfect job of representing images. In our time with the frame, we found that its compression software added visible artifacts, softened images and made certain hues look unnatural. That said, its 1280x800 pixel LCD did hold up well against similarly priced rivals, even if its 255-nit brightness is a long way below the Aura Carver.
The frame works fine without Wi-Fi, but key features are only available with a paid subscription, including cloud storage. Despite these reservations, we still think the Skylight Frame is a good choice if you want a statement photo frame.
- Read our in-depth Skylight Frame 10-inch review<