Trove vs 23snaps: Private Journal or Family Newsletter?
Short answer
23snaps got something right that most of this category missed: it is a journal first, private by default, with a growth chart that plots your child's height beside the photos. If that chart is why you are here, take it — Trove has nothing like it. But a journal is something you write in, and Trove is something that goes out. It marks the milestone as it happens, finds every photo of one child by face without you tagging a single one, and every Sunday emails the week to your whole family, none of whom install anything. Free, for unlimited photos, children and recipients. 23snaps keeps your record. Trove keeps your family in it.
23snaps has a clear identity in a crowded category: a genuinely private journal, with no public-facing profile of any kind, that records growth measurements alongside photos. Trove is aimed at a different half of the problem — getting what you have captured to the people who want to see it.
At a glance
| Trove | 23snaps | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Unlimited photos, videos, children, recipients | Free tier available |
| Paid | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr | Paid extras and prints |
| Works without an account for followers | ||
| Delivery | Curated newsletter, emailed weekly | Optional notifications |
| Milestones | First steps, words, tooth, birthdays, custom | Growth measurements |
| Automatic face grouping | ||
| Semantic search by child and date | ||
| AI picks the week's best photos | ||
| Video | Yes, no length cap on free | Limited |
| Reactions and comments | ||
| Multiple contributors | Admin, contributor, viewer, newsletter roles | Followers only |
| Share links with expiry and view caps | ||
| Photo book ordering | Prints | |
| Height and weight tracking | ||
| Public profile | None | None |
What Trove does that 23snaps does not
It delivers. 23snaps can notify followers, but the full experience still expects an account, and a notification only points somewhere. Trove's newsletter has no account step at all — the photos are in the email, laid out, with a written summary. Relatives open an email and they are done.
It organises itself. Faces are grouped automatically, so every photo of one child is one tap away without you tagging anything. The whole archive is semantically searchable and filterable by child and by date. Milestones — first steps, first words, first tooth, birthdays, holidays, graduations, or a label of your own — are marked as moments, lead the weekly newsletter, and come back as flashbacks a year later.
It curates. 23snaps expects you to post. Trove picks the week's best photos itself, which matters because posting is the step people stop doing after a few months.
It is a family space, not a broadcast. Reactions and comments mean relatives talk about the photos. Roles — admin, contributor, viewer, newsletter-only — let several people add to the same timeline while a grandparent simply receives. And it handles video with no per-clip length cap on the free plan.
Where 23snaps genuinely wins
Growth measurements. Recording height and weight beside the photos is a small thing parents of small children value, and Trove does not do it. That is the honest extent of it — on privacy the two are equivalent, since neither has any public profile.
The short version
- Pick Trove ifyou want essentially everything else — free, unlimited, milestones, face grouping, search, video, reactions, and a newsletter relatives receive without an account.
- Pick 23snaps iflogging height and weight is specifically what you came for.
- Both are privateneither has a public profile, so privacy is not the deciding factor here.
Is 23snaps private?+
Yes. 23snaps has no public-facing profile — content is shared only with the family and friends you invite. It is one of the more privacy-forward products in the category by design.
Does 23snaps notify family when I post?+
It can send email notifications to followers. The difference from a newsletter service is that the notification points them somewhere rather than containing the photos, and the full experience still expects an account.
Does Trove track growth and milestones?+
Not height and weight charts — that is 23snaps' one clear advantage. Trove does track milestones as moments: first steps, first words, first tooth, birthdays, holidays, graduations and custom labels, which lead the weekly newsletter and resurface as flashbacks a year later.
No accounts. No app. Just the photos.
Trove emails a curated photo newsletter to your whole family every Sunday. Unlimited recipients, free forever.
Try Trove — FreePricing and features were checked on August 17, 2026. Competitors change their plans — if you spot something out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
