Immich vs Photoview
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
VS
Photoview
Simple photo gallery for personal servers
| Feature | Immich | Photoview |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 72 · Good |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 114,920 | ★ 6,535 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Google Photos |
What are Immich and Photoview?
Immich
Immich is a high-performance, self-hosted photo and video backup solution with mobile apps, AI search, and face recognition. It targets users wanting a private Google Photos alternative. It is deployed via Docker Compose.
- Automatic phone backup
- AI-powered search and face recognition
- Timeline and album views
- Multi-user with sharing
Photoview
Photoview is a simple, user-friendly photo gallery designed to work with photos stored directly on the filesystem. It targets users wanting a lightweight gallery over an existing folder structure. It is deployed via Docker.
- Works on existing photo folders
- Face recognition
- Timeline and albums
- RAW and video support
Immich vs Photoview: key differences
Immich is written in TypeScript, while Photoview is built with Go. Photoview is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Immich. Photoview is the more established project (first released 2019), while Immich arrived in 2022. Immich has the considerably larger community, at 114,920 GitHub stars versus 6,535.
Why pick each one
Choose Immich if…
- Excellent mobile apps
- Fast and feature-rich
- Very active development
Watch out for
- Resource intensive
- Breaking changes still occur
Choose Photoview if…
- Uses your folder structure
- Lightweight
- Easy setup
Watch out for
- Fewer features than Immich
- Slower development
Frequently asked questions
Is Immich or Photoview better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community, while Photoview is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Immich and Photoview free and open-source?
Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Photoview under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Immich and Photoview with Docker?
Immich: yes. Photoview: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Immich or Photoview?
Photoview has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Immich. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.