Lychee vs PiGallery2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
PiGallery2
Fast directory-based photo gallery with search and maps
| Feature | Lychee | PiGallery2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 89 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,303 | ★ 2,283 |
| First released | 2012 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, Flickr | Google Photos |
What are Lychee and PiGallery2?
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
PiGallery2
PiGallery2 is a fast, directory-driven photo gallery server that does not move or modify your files. It supports faces, geolocation maps, and a powerful search syntax with a lightweight footprint.
- Directory-based galleries
- Geolocation maps
- Powerful search syntax
- Read-only on your files
Lychee vs PiGallery2: key differences
Lychee is written in PHP, while PiGallery2 is built with TypeScript. Lychee is the more established project (first released 2012), while PiGallery2 arrived in 2016.
Why pick each one
Choose Lychee if…
- Simple and attractive
- Easy to host
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- No AI features
- Basic search
Choose PiGallery2 if…
- Does not touch your files
- Runs well on a Raspberry Pi
Watch out for
- No editing features
- Limited multi-user support
Frequently asked questions
Is Lychee or PiGallery2 better?
Neither is universally better. Lychee has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Lychee and PiGallery2 free and open-source?
Yes. Lychee is licensed under MIT and PiGallery2 under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lychee and PiGallery2 with Docker?
Lychee: yes. PiGallery2: yes.