Coppermine vs Damselfly Web
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?
Coppermine
Multi-purpose, full-featured web picture gallery
VS
Damselfly Web
Server-based digital asset manager for large photo libraries
| Feature | Coppermine | Damselfly Web |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 73 | ★ 700 |
| First released | 2002 | 2011 |
| Replaces | Flickr | Flickr, YouTube |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Coppermine or Damselfly Web better?
Neither is universally better. Damselfly Web has the larger community, while Coppermine is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Coppermine and Damselfly Web free and open-source?
Yes. Coppermine is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Damselfly Web under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Coppermine and Damselfly Web with Docker?
Coppermine: check the project docs for container support. Damselfly Web: yes.