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fgallery vs Nextcloud Photos

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?
FG fgallery Archived Minimalist static photo gallery generator VS NE Nextcloud Photos Photo timeline and album app for Nextcloud
FeaturefgalleryNextcloud Photos
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectUnder-an-hour setup
Health score9 · At risk76 · Good
StatusArchivedActively maintained
CategoryPhoto ManagementPhoto Management
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 248★ 721
First released20132020
ReplacesFlickr, Google PhotosGoogle Photos, iCloud Photos

What are fgallery and Nextcloud Photos?

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

Nextcloud Photos

Nextcloud Photos is the official photo management app for Nextcloud, offering a timeline view, albums, and tagging of images stored in your Nextcloud. It works alongside file sync to provide a self-hosted photo experience.

  • Timeline photo view
  • Albums and tagging
  • Nextcloud integration
  • Mobile auto-upload

fgallery vs Nextcloud Photos: key differences

The biggest difference is maintenance: fgallery's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Nextcloud Photos is actively maintained. Both projects are written in JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for fgallery versus AGPL-3.0 for Nextcloud Photos. Fgallery is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Nextcloud Photos. Fgallery is the more established project (first released 2013), while Nextcloud Photos arrived in 2020. Nextcloud Photos has the considerably larger community, at 721 GitHub stars versus 248. Nextcloud Photos lists first-class Docker deployment; fgallery does not.

Why pick each one

Choose fgallery if…

  • Clean simple design
  • Privacy respecting

Watch out for

  • Command-line only
  • Minimal features
fgallery details

Choose Nextcloud Photos if…

  • Leverages existing Nextcloud
  • Official app

Watch out for

  • Requires Nextcloud
  • Fewer AI features than Memories
Nextcloud Photos details

Frequently asked questions

Is fgallery or Nextcloud Photos better?

Neither is universally better. Nextcloud 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 fgallery and Nextcloud Photos free and open-source?

Yes. fgallery is licensed under MIT and Nextcloud Photos under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run fgallery and Nextcloud Photos with Docker?

fgallery: check the project docs for container support. Nextcloud Photos: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, fgallery or Nextcloud Photos?

fgallery has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Nextcloud Photos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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