Hydrus Network vs Photofield

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?
FeatureHydrus NetworkPhotofield
CategoryPhoto ManagementPhoto Management
LicenseWTFPLMIT
LanguagePythonGo
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, binary, sourcedocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 3,148★ 598
First released20112022
ReplacesGoogle Photos, EagleGoogle Photos

Why pick each one

Choose Hydrus Network if…

  • Extremely powerful tagging
  • Handles huge collections
Hydrus Network details

Choose Photofield if…

  • Excellent performance
  • Simple deployment
Photofield details

Frequently asked questions

Is Hydrus Network or Photofield better?

Neither is universally better. Hydrus Network has the larger community, while Photofield is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Hydrus Network and Photofield free and open-source?

Yes. Hydrus Network is licensed under WTFPL and Photofield under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Hydrus Network and Photofield with Docker?

Hydrus Network: check the project docs for container support. Photofield: yes.

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