digiKam vs Immich
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
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
| Feature | digiKam | Immich |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,200 | ★ 109,945 |
| First released | 2002 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Adobe Lightroom, Google Photos | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is digiKam or Immich better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are digiKam and Immich free and open-source?
Yes. digiKam is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Immich under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run digiKam and Immich with Docker?
digiKam: check the project docs for container support. Immich: yes.