fgallery vs Photonix
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | fgallery | Photonix |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 9 · At risk | 63 · Good |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 248 | ★ 1,956 |
| First released | 2013 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Flickr, Google Photos | Google Photos |
What are fgallery and Photonix?
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
Photonix
Photonix is a self-hosted photo manager that organizes and tags your collection automatically. It uses AI to recognize objects, faces, and locations and offers powerful filtered search.
- AI object and face recognition
- Location-based browsing
- Powerful filtered search
- Multi-user support
fgallery vs Photonix: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: fgallery's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Photonix is actively maintained. Fgallery is written in JavaScript, while Photonix is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for fgallery versus AGPL-3.0 for Photonix. Fgallery is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Photonix. Fgallery is the more established project (first released 2013), while Photonix arrived in 2019. Photonix has the considerably larger community, at 1,956 GitHub stars versus 248. Photonix 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
Choose Photonix if…
- Strong AI tagging
- Good search experience
Watch out for
- Resource intensive
- Development can be slow
Frequently asked questions
Is fgallery or Photonix better?
Neither is universally better. Photonix 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 Photonix free and open-source?
Yes. fgallery is licensed under MIT and Photonix under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run fgallery and Photonix with Docker?
fgallery: check the project docs for container support. Photonix: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, fgallery or Photonix?
fgallery has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Photonix. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.