Lutim vs darktable
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Lutim
Privacy-focused image hosting with auto-expiration
VS
darktable
Open-source photography workflow and RAW developer
| Feature | Lutim | darktable |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, binary, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 12,904 |
| First released | 2015 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Imgur | Adobe Lightroom |
Why pick each one
Choose darktable if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 12.9k GitHub stars
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Lutim or darktable better?
Neither is universally better. darktable has the larger community, while Lutim is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lutim and darktable free and open-source?
Yes. Lutim is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and darktable under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lutim and darktable with Docker?
Lutim: yes. darktable: check the project docs for container support.