Which Aura Digital Frame Should You Choose? We Rank Them Here

Digital frames have changed the way we display and share photos, giving us a modern way to showcase our favorite memories at home and in the office.

Both PhotoSpring and Aura are popular choices for anyone shopping for a digital picture frame, but there are several factors to weigh. In this post, we'll compare design and functionality, pricing, and customer service, and show why you may want to consider PhotoSpring's bestsellers. To make the comparison concrete, we'll put PhotoSpring side by side with Aura's most popular models.

PhotoSpring vs Aura at a Glance

Aura Carver vs PhotoSpring: Let's Talk About Built-In Batteries

Let's start with the PhotoSpring View and the Aura Carver. The PhotoSpring frame has a sleek, modern design, while the Aura Carver has a wooden frame that resembles a traditional picture frame. Both offer high-quality displays with great resolution and color accuracy. PhotoSpring stands out with its user-friendly, touchscreen design that makes it easy to add and display photos—something the Aura Carver, which has no touchscreen, can't match.

Pricing is where the gap really shows. The PhotoSpring View is priced at $129.90, while Aura's bestselling Carver Mat costs $143. So the View actually comes in under the Aura Carver Mat—and still adds a built-in battery.

That battery eliminates the need to constantly plug and unplug the frame, which is especially helpful if you want to display it on a bookshelf, pass it around the room, or set it somewhere an outlet isn't handy. Every Aura model, by contrast, has to stay plugged in.

Aura Mason vs PhotoSpring: Finding Quality on a Budget

PhotoSpring frames combine advanced features and wide customization options with genuinely affordable pricing—which is exactly why budget-conscious buyers love them.

Take the price comparison between the PhotoSpring View and the Aura Mason. The View is $129.90 and includes a user-friendly touchscreen and a built-in battery, while the Aura Mason runs $199. If you want to spend even less, the PhotoSpring Lite starts at just $79.90.

We also place a high priority on transparent pricing. There are no subscription fees and no hidden costs—and shipping is free.

Why Customer Service Matters

Customer service is another important factor when deciding which digital picture frame is right for you. Let's be honest—navigating digital frames and apps can be tricky, especially for anyone who isn't very tech-savvy.

If you run into issues with the Aura Frames app or need troubleshooting help, Aura has a dedicated Help Center that covers the basics.

At PhotoSpring, we place great value on customer support. We offer support via email and phone, and we provide a detailed guide for our frames. Our user guide is full of useful information and answers to common questions.

Making our customers happy is our top priority, and we're proud to have earned many positive reviews on both Amazon and our own website. What truly brings us joy is the community of satisfied customers we've built along the way.

Overall Impressions: PhotoSpring — The Top Choice for Customer Service and Affordability

PhotoSpring stands out for its user-friendly design, built-in battery option, and transparent pricing. If aesthetics matter most to you, Aura Frames are worth a look—though keep in mind their models range from about $143 up to $299. For an affordable yet high-quality digital picture frame, PhotoSpring starts at just $79.90, so you won't have to sacrifice quality for value.

The PhotoSpring View has a clear edge with its built-in battery—good for around four hours per charge—while every Aura model has to stay plugged in.

Add in PhotoSpring's responsive customer service, which makes navigating frames and apps easier even for less tech-savvy users, and the value is hard to beat.

Still weighing your options? See how PhotoSpring stacks up against the rest of the field in our roundup of the best digital photo frames.

Customer Review:

Customer Service is ABOVE AND BEYOND

We got this frame as a memorial frame for our beloved cat who passed in 2021. After much research for a frame that would play pictures AND videos in an automatic slideshow, we decided on the PhotoSpring. Setup was easy, and we were both able to send our memories from our various phones to the frame without issues. It ran perfectly for over a year. Last week (Feb 2023) it was getting an automatic update and got stuck at 0% installing. There was no way to force a reset and no easy instructions for factory default settings. Hard reboots just kept bringing up the same stuck screen. I reached out to customer service and was told to send the frame back for warranty repair so they could swap the memory. Sounds okay to me—I packaged it up nice and safe and left it in my car to drop off the next time I got a chance. Customer support's response was prompt and courteous. Here's where they blew me away, though. A couple of days later I got another email from customer service. They said they might have a way to remotely fix the frame if I hadn't already sent it out. I was surprised they were still working on my issue after two days! Luckily I'd procrastinated on mailing it off, so I unpacked it, plugged it in as instructed, and waited. I was told the dev team would work on it in a few hours. This morning I woke up and the frame was back to normal. That was insane. They didn't have to keep working on my issue, but the team took the time to do so—for just me. Or at least it felt like it was just for me, and that's what counts for customer service: making each individual customer feel special. That felt like ABOVE AND BEYOND to me. TL;DR: the frame is great, and in the rare event you encounter anything wrong with it, I highly encourage reaching out to PhotoSpring. They've got you and will take care of you.

Minh A. Do, February 10, 2023

Amazon Review