exifr vs Photonix
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?
exifr
Fast JavaScript EXIF and metadata reader for photos
VS
Photonix
Self-hosted photo gallery with face and location detection
| Feature | exifr | Photonix |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,245 | ★ 1,954 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Commercial metadata APIs | Google Photos |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is exifr or Photonix better?
Neither is universally better. Photonix has the larger community, while exifr is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are exifr and Photonix free and open-source?
Yes. exifr is licensed under MIT and Photonix under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run exifr and Photonix with Docker?
exifr: check the project docs for container support. Photonix: yes.