Lychee vs MyPhotoShare
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Lychee | MyPhotoShare |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,303 | ★ 15 |
| First released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, Flickr | Google Photos, Flickr |
What are Lychee and MyPhotoShare?
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
MyPhotoShare
MyPhotoShare is a self-hosted, lightweight photo gallery generator that creates a static web gallery from a folder of photos and videos. It produces a fast, responsive browsing experience with no database or server-side code needed.
- Static photo gallery generator
- No database needed
- Responsive browsing
- Video support
Lychee vs MyPhotoShare: key differences
Lychee is written in PHP, while MyPhotoShare is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Lychee versus GPL-3.0 for MyPhotoShare. MyPhotoShare is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Lychee. Lychee is the more established project (first released 2012), while MyPhotoShare arrived in 2014. Lychee has the considerably larger community, at 4,303 GitHub stars versus 15. Lychee lists first-class Docker deployment; MyPhotoShare does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Lychee if…
- Simple and attractive
- Easy to host
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No AI features
- Basic search
Choose MyPhotoShare if…
- Fast static output
- Low maintenance
Watch out for
- No upload interface
- Regeneration required for changes
Frequently asked questions
Is Lychee or MyPhotoShare better?
Lychee is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider MyPhotoShare if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Lychee and MyPhotoShare free and open-source?
Yes. Lychee is licensed under MIT and MyPhotoShare under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lychee and MyPhotoShare with Docker?
Lychee: yes. MyPhotoShare: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Lychee or MyPhotoShare?
MyPhotoShare has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Lychee. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.