Damselfly 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?
Damselfly
Server-based photo management for large libraries
VS
darktable
Open-source photography workflow and RAW developer
| Feature | Damselfly | darktable |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal, binary, snap |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,781 | ★ 12,904 |
| First released | 2020 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Google 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 Damselfly or darktable better?
Neither is universally better. darktable has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Damselfly and darktable free and open-source?
Yes. Damselfly is licensed under GPL-3.0 and darktable under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Damselfly and darktable with Docker?
Damselfly: yes. darktable: check the project docs for container support.