Shotwell Server 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?
Shotwell Server
Digital photo organizer with tagging and event grouping
VS
darktable
Open-source photography workflow and RAW developer
| Feature | Shotwell Server | darktable |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Vala | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | bare-metal, binary, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 400 | ★ 12,904 |
| First released | 2009 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, Apple Photos | 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 Shotwell Server or darktable better?
Neither is universally better. darktable has the larger community, while Shotwell Server is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Shotwell Server and darktable free and open-source?
Yes. Shotwell Server is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and darktable under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Shotwell Server and darktable with Docker?
Shotwell Server: check the project docs for container support. darktable: check the project docs for container support.