Immich vs Jellyfin

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureImmichJellyfin
CategoryPhoto ManagementMedia Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptC#
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM2,048 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 109,945★ 55,528
First released20222018
ReplacesGoogle Photos, iCloud PhotosPlex, Emby

Why pick each one

Choose Immich if…

  • Excellent mobile apps
  • Fast and feature-rich
  • Very active development
Immich details

Choose Jellyfin if…

  • No subscription or account needed
  • Active community development
  • Wide client support
Jellyfin details

Frequently asked questions

Is Immich or Jellyfin better?

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

Are Immich and Jellyfin free and open-source?

Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Jellyfin under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Immich and Jellyfin with Docker?

Immich: yes. Jellyfin: yes.

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