LibrePhotos vs Lychee
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | LibrePhotos | Lychee |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,083 | ★ 4,303 |
| First released | 2020 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Google Photos | Google Photos, Flickr |
What are LibrePhotos and Lychee?
LibrePhotos
LibrePhotos is a self-hosted photo management service with face recognition, object detection, and automatic albums. It targets users wanting an open Google Photos alternative. It is deployed via Docker.
- Face and object recognition
- Automatic event albums
- Map of photo locations
- Multi-user support
Lychee
Lychee is a self-hosted photo management tool focused on simple, attractive galleries with quick uploads and sharing. It targets users who want a straightforward photo gallery. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Clean photo galleries
- Quick upload and sharing
- Albums and tags
- EXIF metadata display
LibrePhotos vs Lychee: key differences
LibrePhotos is written in Python, while Lychee is built with PHP. Lychee is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for LibrePhotos. Lychee is the more established project (first released 2012), while LibrePhotos arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose LibrePhotos if…
- Smart organization features
- Permissive license
- Privacy-friendly
Watch out for
- Heavy on resources
- Setup can be fiddly
Choose Lychee if…
- Simple and attractive
- Easy to host
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No AI features
- Basic search
Frequently asked questions
Is LibrePhotos or Lychee better?
Neither is universally better. LibrePhotos has the larger community, while Lychee is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are LibrePhotos and Lychee free and open-source?
Yes. LibrePhotos is licensed under MIT and Lychee under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibrePhotos and Lychee with Docker?
LibrePhotos: yes. Lychee: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LibrePhotos or Lychee?
Lychee has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for LibrePhotos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.