nanogallery2 vs Piwigo
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Piwigo
Open-source photo gallery for the web
| Feature | nanogallery2 | Piwigo |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 12 · At risk | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 791 | ★ 3,862 |
| First released | 2017 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Flickr, SmugMug | Flickr, Google Photos |
What are nanogallery2 and Piwigo?
nanogallery2
nanogallery2 is an open-source JavaScript photo and video gallery library that builds responsive, touch-enabled galleries from images stored on your own server. It runs fully client-side and is self-hosted on any static web host.
- Responsive image galleries
- Touch and swipe support
- Lightbox display
- Multiple data sources
Piwigo
Piwigo is a mature open-source photo gallery application for organizing, sharing, and showcasing photo collections. It targets photographers and organizations managing large galleries. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Large gallery management
- Plugin and theme ecosystem
- Granular access control
- Upload from desktop and mobile
nanogallery2 vs Piwigo: key differences
Nanogallery2 is written in JavaScript, while Piwigo is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for nanogallery2 versus GPL-2.0 for Piwigo. Nanogallery2 is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Piwigo. Piwigo is the more established project (first released 2002), while nanogallery2 arrived in 2017. Piwigo has the considerably larger community, at 3,862 GitHub stars versus 791. Piwigo lists first-class Docker deployment; nanogallery2 does not.
Why pick each one
Choose nanogallery2 if…
- Fully client-side
- Easy to embed
Watch out for
- Library, not a full app
- No upload management
Choose Piwigo if…
- Very mature and stable
- Extensible
- Good for big collections
Watch out for
- Interface feels classic
- No modern AI search
Frequently asked questions
Is nanogallery2 or Piwigo better?
Neither is universally better. Piwigo has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are nanogallery2 and Piwigo free and open-source?
Yes. nanogallery2 is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Piwigo under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run nanogallery2 and Piwigo with Docker?
nanogallery2: check the project docs for container support. Piwigo: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, nanogallery2 or Piwigo?
nanogallery2 has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Piwigo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.