Damselfly vs Danbooru
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?
Damselfly
Server-based photo management for large libraries
VS
Danbooru
Self-hostable tag-based image board and gallery
| Feature | Damselfly | Danbooru |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C# | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,781 | ★ 2,776 |
| First released | 2020 | 2005 |
| Replaces | Google Photos | Pinterest, Eagle |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Damselfly or Danbooru better?
Neither is universally better. Danbooru has the larger community, while Damselfly is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Damselfly and Danbooru free and open-source?
Yes. Damselfly is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Danbooru under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Damselfly and Danbooru with Docker?
Damselfly: yes. Danbooru: yes.