Chevereto vs Zenphoto
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Chevereto
Self-hosted image hosting and sharing platform
VS
Zenphoto
Open-source CMS for photo galleries and multimedia
| Feature | Chevereto | Zenphoto |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 66 · Good |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | Proprietary | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 995 | ★ 318 |
| First released | 2013 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Imgur, Flickr | SmugMug, Flickr |
What are Chevereto and Zenphoto?
Chevereto
Chevereto is a self-hosted image hosting platform for uploading, organizing, and sharing images with the public or privately. It targets users who want their own image-sharing site. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Image upload and sharing
- User accounts and albums
- API for integrations
- Moderation tools
Zenphoto
Zenphoto is an open-source gallery and content management system focused on multimedia. It supports albums, theming, and plugins, making it suitable for personal photo websites and portfolios.
- Photo gallery CMS
- Theming and plugins
- Albums and tagging
- Multimedia support
Chevereto vs Zenphoto: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — Proprietary for Chevereto versus GPL-3.0 for Zenphoto. Zenphoto is the more established project (first released 2006), while Chevereto arrived in 2013. Chevereto has the considerably larger community, at 995 GitHub stars versus 318.
Why pick each one
Choose Chevereto if…
- Good Imgur-style site
- Multi-user
- API available
Watch out for
- Paid for full version
- Not open source
Choose Zenphoto if…
- Mature project
- Good for portfolios
Watch out for
- Dated in places
- Requires LAMP stack
Frequently asked questions
Is Chevereto or Zenphoto better?
Chevereto is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Zenphoto if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Chevereto and Zenphoto free and open-source?
Yes. Chevereto is licensed under Proprietary and Zenphoto under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Chevereto and Zenphoto with Docker?
Chevereto: yes. Zenphoto: yes.