Immich vs Sonarr
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?
Immich
High-performance self-hosted photo and video backup
VS
Sonarr
Series collection manager for Usenet and BitTorrent users
| Feature | Immich | Sonarr |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0-only |
| Language | TypeScript | C# |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 109,945 | ★ 15,005 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Sonarr if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 15k GitHub stars
- Written in C#
Frequently asked questions
Is Immich or Sonarr better?
Neither is universally better. Immich has the larger community, while Sonarr is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Immich and Sonarr free and open-source?
Yes. Immich is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Sonarr under GPL-3.0-only. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Immich and Sonarr with Docker?
Immich: yes. Sonarr: check the project docs for container support.