digiKam vs Ente Photos
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?
digiKam
Professional photo management with advanced metadata tools
VS
Ente Photos
End-to-end encrypted photo storage and backup
| Feature | digiKam | Ente Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,200 | ★ 28,201 |
| First released | 2002 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Adobe Lightroom, Google Photos | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is digiKam or Ente Photos better?
Neither is universally better. Ente Photos has the larger community, while digiKam is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are digiKam and Ente Photos free and open-source?
Yes. digiKam is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Ente Photos under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run digiKam and Ente Photos with Docker?
digiKam: check the project docs for container support. Ente Photos: yes.