Immich vs PiGallery2
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
PiGallery2
Fast directory-based photo gallery with search and maps
| Feature | Immich | PiGallery2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 114,920 | ★ 2,283 |
| First released | 2022 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Google Photos |
What are Immich and PiGallery2?
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
PiGallery2
PiGallery2 is a fast, directory-driven photo gallery server that does not move or modify your files. It supports faces, geolocation maps, and a powerful search syntax with a lightweight footprint.
- Directory-based galleries
- Geolocation maps
- Powerful search syntax
- Read-only on your files
Immich vs PiGallery2: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Immich versus MIT for PiGallery2. PiGallery2 is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Immich. PiGallery2 is the more established project (first released 2016), while Immich arrived in 2022. Immich has the considerably larger community, at 114,920 GitHub stars versus 2,283.
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 PiGallery2 if…
- Does not touch your files
- Runs well on a Raspberry Pi
Watch out for
- No editing features
- Limited multi-user support
Frequently asked questions
Is Immich or PiGallery2 better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community, while PiGallery2 is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Immich and PiGallery2 free and open-source?
Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PiGallery2 under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Immich and PiGallery2 with Docker?
Immich: yes. PiGallery2: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Immich or PiGallery2?
PiGallery2 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.