Ente Photos vs fgallery
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Ente Photos
End-to-end encrypted photo storage and backup
VS
fgallery
Archived
Minimalist static photo gallery generator
| Feature | Ente Photos | fgallery |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 9 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 29,050 | ★ 248 |
| First released | 2022 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Flickr, Google Photos |
What are Ente Photos and fgallery?
Ente Photos
Ente is an end-to-end encrypted photo storage and backup service with apps across platforms and a self-hostable server. It targets privacy-focused users wanting encrypted photo backup. It is deployed via Docker.
- End-to-end encryption
- Apps for all platforms
- Self-hostable server
- Family sharing
fgallery
fgallery is a static photo gallery generator that produces a minimalist, self-contained HTML gallery from a folder of images. The generated gallery is fully static, privacy-respecting, and can be hosted on any web server.
- Minimalist static galleries
- Self-contained output
- Mobile friendly
- No tracking
Ente Photos vs fgallery: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: fgallery's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Ente Photos is actively maintained. Ente Photos is written in Dart, while fgallery is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Ente Photos versus MIT for fgallery. Fgallery is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Ente Photos. Fgallery is the more established project (first released 2013), while Ente Photos arrived in 2022. Ente Photos has the considerably larger community, at 29,050 GitHub stars versus 248. Ente Photos lists first-class Docker deployment; fgallery does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ente Photos if…
- Strong encryption
- Polished apps
- Privacy-first
Watch out for
- Self-hosting is advanced
- Server setup nontrivial
Choose fgallery if…
- Clean simple design
- Privacy respecting
Watch out for
- Command-line only
- Minimal features
Frequently asked questions
Is Ente Photos or fgallery better?
Neither is universally better. Ente Photos has the larger community, while fgallery is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ente Photos and fgallery free and open-source?
Yes. Ente Photos is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and fgallery under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ente Photos and fgallery with Docker?
Ente Photos: yes. fgallery: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Ente Photos or fgallery?
fgallery has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Ente Photos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.