Lychee vs Memories
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Memories
Photo management app for Nextcloud with timeline and AI
| Feature | Lychee | Memories |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,303 | ★ 3,843 |
| First released | 2012 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, Flickr | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
What are Lychee and Memories?
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
Memories
Memories is a photo and video management application that runs as a Nextcloud app, offering a fast timeline view of your media. It supports face recognition, maps, albums, and metadata-aware search.
- Fast timeline view
- Face recognition and maps
- Albums and tagging
- Nextcloud integration
Lychee vs Memories: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — MIT for Lychee versus AGPL-3.0 for Memories. Lychee is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Memories. Lychee is the more established project (first released 2012), while Memories arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Lychee if…
- Simple and attractive
- Easy to host
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No AI features
- Basic search
Choose Memories if…
- Leverages existing Nextcloud
- Polished mobile experience
Watch out for
- Requires Nextcloud
- AI features need extra setup
Frequently asked questions
Is Lychee or Memories better?
Lychee is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Memories if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Lychee and Memories free and open-source?
Yes. Lychee is licensed under MIT and Memories under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lychee and Memories with Docker?
Lychee: yes. Memories: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Lychee or Memories?
Lychee has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Memories. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.