ExifCleaner 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?
ExifCleaner
Cross-platform tool to remove metadata from images
VS
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
| Feature | ExifCleaner | Immich |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Perl | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,552 | ★ 109,945 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Online metadata removers | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is ExifCleaner or Immich better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community, while ExifCleaner is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ExifCleaner and Immich free and open-source?
Yes. ExifCleaner is licensed under MIT and Immich under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ExifCleaner and Immich with Docker?
ExifCleaner: check the project docs for container support. Immich: yes.