Lychee vs Photonix

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureLycheePhotonix
CategoryPhoto ManagementPhoto Management
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 4,255★ 1,954
First released20122019
ReplacesGoogle Photos, FlickrGoogle Photos

Why pick each one

Choose Lychee if…

  • Simple and attractive
  • Easy to host
  • Lightweight
Lychee details

Choose Photonix if…

  • Strong AI tagging
  • Good search experience
Photonix details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lychee or Photonix better?

Lychee is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Photonix if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Lychee and Photonix free and open-source?

Yes. Lychee is licensed under MIT and Photonix under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lychee and Photonix with Docker?

Lychee: yes. Photonix: yes.

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