OwnPhotos 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 | OwnPhotos | PiGallery2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 22 · At risk | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Jupyter Notebook | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,758 | ★ 2,283 |
| First released | 2017 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Photos | Google Photos |
What are OwnPhotos and PiGallery2?
OwnPhotos
OwnPhotos is a self-hosted alternative to Google Photos with automatic face recognition and object detection. It builds albums based on people, places, and things found in your library.
- Face recognition
- Object detection
- Auto-generated albums
- Self-hosted Google Photos clone
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
OwnPhotos vs PiGallery2: key differences
OwnPhotos is written in Jupyter Notebook, while PiGallery2 is built with TypeScript. PiGallery2 is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OwnPhotos.
Why pick each one
Choose OwnPhotos if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Jupyter Notebook
Watch out for
- Project is now inactive
- Predecessor to LibrePhotos
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 OwnPhotos or PiGallery2 better?
Neither is universally better. OwnPhotos has the larger community, while PiGallery2 is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OwnPhotos and PiGallery2 free and open-source?
Yes. OwnPhotos is licensed under MIT and PiGallery2 under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OwnPhotos and PiGallery2 with Docker?
OwnPhotos: yes. PiGallery2: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OwnPhotos or PiGallery2?
PiGallery2 has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OwnPhotos. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.