Memories vs Nextcloud Photos
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
VS
Nextcloud Photos
Photo timeline and album app for Nextcloud
| Feature | Memories | Nextcloud Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 76 · Good |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,843 | ★ 721 |
| First released | 2022 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Photos, iCloud Photos | Google Photos, iCloud Photos |
What are Memories and Nextcloud Photos?
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
Nextcloud Photos
Nextcloud Photos is the official photo management app for Nextcloud, offering a timeline view, albums, and tagging of images stored in your Nextcloud. It works alongside file sync to provide a self-hosted photo experience.
- Timeline photo view
- Albums and tagging
- Nextcloud integration
- Mobile auto-upload
Memories vs Nextcloud Photos: key differences
Memories is written in PHP, while Nextcloud Photos is built with JavaScript. Nextcloud Photos is the more established project (first released 2020), while Memories arrived in 2022. Memories has the considerably larger community, at 3,843 GitHub stars versus 721.
Why pick each one
Choose Memories if…
- Leverages existing Nextcloud
- Polished mobile experience
Watch out for
- Requires Nextcloud
- AI features need extra setup
Choose Nextcloud Photos if…
- Leverages existing Nextcloud
- Official app
Watch out for
- Requires Nextcloud
- Fewer AI features than Memories
Frequently asked questions
Is Memories or Nextcloud Photos better?
Neither is universally better. Memories has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Memories and Nextcloud Photos free and open-source?
Yes. Memories is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Nextcloud Photos under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Memories and Nextcloud Photos with Docker?
Memories: yes. Nextcloud Photos: yes.