digiKam vs Piwigo
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
Piwigo
Open-source photo gallery for the web
| Feature | digiKam | Piwigo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,200 | ★ 3,836 |
| First released | 2002 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Adobe Lightroom, Google Photos | Flickr, Google Photos |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is digiKam or Piwigo better?
Piwigo is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider digiKam if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are digiKam and Piwigo free and open-source?
Yes. digiKam is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Piwigo under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run digiKam and Piwigo with Docker?
digiKam: check the project docs for container support. Piwigo: yes.