Immich vs OwnPhotos
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?
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
VS
OwnPhotos
Self-hosted Google Photos clone with face recognition
| Feature | Immich | OwnPhotos |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Jupyter Notebook |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 109,945 | ★ 2,760 |
| First released | 2022 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Google Photos |
Why pick each one
Choose OwnPhotos if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Jupyter Notebook
Frequently asked questions
Is Immich or OwnPhotos better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Immich and OwnPhotos free and open-source?
Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and OwnPhotos under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Immich and OwnPhotos with Docker?
Immich: yes. OwnPhotos: yes.