App comparisons
A photo vault you pay for once: what is the better deal?
Compare one-time photo vault pricing, see how annual payments add up, and learn what a lifetime unlock does and does not buy. Vault Max costs $19.99 once.
Our one-time-payment pick is Vault Max at a published U.S. price of $19.99. You get the paid capacity for a local encrypted collection with a working calculator, separate vault credentials and private notes. There is no app account, app telemetry or recurring payment requirement for Lifetime Unlock.
We publish Vault Max. This buying guide compares identified offers and useful ownership decisions, rather than claiming to be an independent survey of every App Store price. Official competitor sources were checked October 23, 2026. Prices can vary with region, eligibility and promotions; the actual purchase sheet remains the offer to read.
Start with the term, then the package
“Pro,” “Premium” and “Upgrade” do not establish whether a payment renews. A smaller feature pack may also cost less than an entire capacity bundle. The table keeps those distinctions attached to the number.
| App | Named one-time offer | Package detail to retain |
|---|---|---|
| Vault Max — our pick | $19.99 Lifetime Unlock | Paid capacity: unlimited counted items and eight total vaults per device |
| Photo Vault - Vaultaire | $39.99 individual Pro Lifetime | Individual plan; family offers are separate |
| Obscura Photo Vault | $39.99 outright Pro | Publisher explicitly identifies no-renewal purchase |
| Inner Gallery | $34.99 one-time Pro Bundle; $99.99 Lifetime | Pro Bundle and Lifetime include different sets; individual packs cost less |
| PV - Secret Photo Album | $41.99 PV Permenent Membership | Exact listing label; separately priced cloud capacity is a different purchase |
Vault Max's published plans, Vaultaire's individual listing, Obscura's pricing, Inner Gallery's packages and PV's listing support those named comparisons. Vault Max is $20 below each $39.99 offer. Its $19.99 price is the lowest full paid-capacity offer in this table, without turning every smaller pack or ambiguous label into a comparable lifetime plan.
See the arithmetic with Vaultaire
- Vault Max
- $44.973 × $14.99
- Vaultaire
- $59.973 × $19.99
Vault Max costs $15.00 less in this example.
Prices checked against published individual plans on October 23, 2026. Assumes unchanged annual renewal prices and continuous use. No discounting, tax, regional offers or future availability assumed. Lifetime refers to the plan entitlement; it does not promise perpetual app or OS support. Sources and backup responsibilities are explained below.
Both products document local encryption and separate vaults. The calculator above compares the stated individual prices, with the plan and years visible. It does not assume identical backup services or forecast future prices. Our Vaultaire comparison explains the credential, privacy-setting and recovery details behind the purchase.
Within Vault Max's own plans, one annual payment costs $14.99, less than the $19.99 upfront purchase. Two unchanged annual payments total $29.98: $9.99 more than Lifetime Unlock. Three total $44.97. If you expect to keep using the app, paying once avoids another annual decision.
That is not a universal claim that annual plans are expensive. Calculator# names a $4.99 Yearly Subscription. Four unchanged payments total $19.96, three cents below Vault Max's one-time price; a fifth makes $24.95. Its separate $4.99 Premium Features Pack does not establish a lifetime entitlement. A useful comparison preserves both the lower annual price and the uncertain pack term.
Buy the collection you have already tried
Vault Max's free plan includes security features, 50 counted media/files per vault, one extra vault and unlimited notes within available device storage. You can practice importing, calculator entry, ordinary credentials and encrypted writing before deciding whether more capacity is worth paying for.
Sample Vault Max library. Select a screen for a closer look.
Try a photo, a video and a private note. Lock the app and find them again. Then export something harmless and identify where it went. These small tasks tell you more about a purchase than counting advertised tools you may never open. The first-import guide provides a practical starting point.
One-time rivals share real features
Obscura describes a working calculator, separate vaults and encrypted exports, as well as local storage without an app account or analytics. We do not present those as Vault Max exclusives. Its $39.99 outright price is supported by the publisher's current pricing page, which identifies the purchase as nonrenewing.
Publisher-supplied screenshots. Source material, not a hands-on test.
Obscura advertises separate vaults and a decoy. Compare their setup and recovery responsibilities rather than counting those as unique features.
Open the full-size source imageThe collection view makes the shared browsing job visible. Its marketing security language is separate from the documented designs and limits discussed in the article.
Open the full-size source imageInner Gallery's one-time $34.99 Pro Bundle combines its Space, Media, Panic and Cloud Sync packs. Its $99.99 Lifetime offer additionally includes icons and future features; a $9.99 Media Pack alone is not the same purchase. Its publisher also documents no app account or analytics and optional encrypted sync. Read the Inner Gallery comparison with those package boundaries intact.
The reason we recommend Vault Max is the combined collection and its clear price: encrypted media and notes, flexible private credentials, a working calculator, no app account or telemetry, and $19.99 for paid capacity. A screenshot can make an interface visible; it cannot independently verify a cipher, restore process or future support commitment.
What Lifetime Unlock actually buys
Vault Max's paid capacity allows unlimited counted items and eight total vaults per device. “Unlimited” remains subject to available storage; it does not add disk space to an iPhone. Lifetime Unlock is the nonrenewing purchase entitlement, not a hosted photo-storage subscription.
It also does not guarantee perpetual app availability, operating-system compatibility or recovery of a forgotten vault credential. If you choose a subscription instead, existing content remains available to open, export, delete and back up after expiry; limits apply to further additions. Learn the access and capacity rules before selecting a plan.
Restoring a purchase and restoring files are different operations. The first restores an eligible entitlement through Apple's purchase system. It does not download a Vault Max library from our servers, because we do not host one. Your encrypted archive and its password are what you prepare for file recovery.
Do not guess a billing period from a cheap number
Keepsafe's subscriptions documentation describes a lifetime option, but the checked sources did not establish a current, clearly labeled public lifetime price. Private Photo Vault's generic Premium and Upgrade entries likewise do not establish a matched term.
Secret Photo Vault Lock Photos shows a lower $6.99 Pro Version entry. Its label does not establish the full benefit or purchase type, so we do not relabel it lifetime to force a comparison. Ask what renews, what capacity changes and whether a separate storage purchase is involved.
Think through your next phone before choosing a plan
Suppose you replace the iPhone next year. There are three things to carry forward: the purchase entitlement, the collection and the credentials. Put them in separate lines of your plan. “I bought lifetime” answers the billing question; it does not establish that a recent archive exists or that you still know its password.
Before moving, make a current encrypted archive, check its destination and retain the old phone until you have verified the restored collection. Open representative photos, play a video and check a note, rather than accepting a familiar app icon as proof that everything transferred. The new-iPhone backup guide explains the Vault Max preparation.
Keep your regular vault credential and the archive password straight. A separately protected archive is useful because it has its own protection; it also means the two credentials are not interchangeable. Do not leave the only record of the archive password inside the collection you might need that archive to recover.
This exercise also clarifies the purchase. Confirm whether the offer is an individual entitlement, a family plan, a capacity pack or a storage service, and read its restore instructions. Vaultaire's family offers are separate from the individual prices in this guide. PV's cloud-capacity purchases are separate from its membership. Keeping those distinctions visible prevents a lower headline price from quietly becoming a different package.
Keep the saving; keep a recovery copy too
A paid entitlement cannot replace a missing file. Vault Max exports a separately password-protected archive to a Files destination you choose. A copy kept only on the same phone can disappear with it. A cloud Files destination uses that provider; it is a deliberate encrypted-copy route, separate from the app's local working collection.
Sample Vault Max library. Select a screen for a closer look.
Keep the archive password available away from the phone, check the saved destination and make a fresh copy after important imports. Read the backup instructions before replacing a device. Vault Max is our choice for a complete private collection at a clear one-time price; try that collection free, then buy the capacity you need.
Common questions
What is your pick for a one-time payment iPhone photo vault?
We recommend Vault Max for readers who want local storage, no app account, a working calculator entrance and a low one-time capacity upgrade. Its published U.S. Lifetime Unlock is $19.99. We make Vault Max.
Is lifetime cheaper than annual?
At Vault Max's stated U.S. prices, two $14.99 annual payments total $29.98, compared with $19.99 once. That assumes unchanged annual prices and does not promise future app availability.
Does Lifetime Unlock back up my photos?
No. It is a purchase entitlement for paid capacity. You still need to create and keep a usable backup of your files, along with its separate password.
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