Google Photos
7 alternatives - 2 easy, 4 medium, 1 hard
Google Photos reduced free storage to 15GB shared across all Google services. These self-hosted photo management apps let you store unlimited photos on your own hardware with AI-powered search, face recognition, and mobile backup.
Why people leave Google Photos
- Storage limits reduced from unlimited to 15GB shared
- Privacy concerns with AI scanning all photos
- No local/offline access to full library
- Vendor lock-in makes export painful
Comparison
| App | Difficulty | RAM | Docker | Mobile | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ente End-to-end encrypted photo storage and sharing with official self-hosting docs and excellent mobile apps. | medium | 2GB | iOS & Android | Active | ||
| Immich Stable self-hosted photo/video backup with mobile apps, ML-powered search, and facial recognition. | medium | 4GB | iOS & Android | Active | ||
| LibrePhotos Self-hosted photo management with automatic grouping, face recognition, and geolocation. | hard | 4GB | - | Active | ||
| Lychee Simple, lightweight photo management and sharing platform. | easy | 0.5GB | - | Active | ||
| Nextcloud Memories Fast photo timeline, albums, maps, and mobile-friendly gallery experience for Nextcloud. | medium | 1GB | - | iOS & Android | Active | |
| PhotoPrism AI-powered photo management with face recognition and auto-categorization. | medium | 2GB | - | Active | ||
| Piwigo Mature self-hosted photo gallery and album management platform for collections, teams, and communities. | easy | 0.5GB | - | Active |
Detailed Look
EnteTop Pick
End-to-end encrypted photo storage and sharing with official self-hosting docs and excellent mobile apps.
Pros
- + End-to-end encrypted by default
- + Excellent native mobile apps for iOS and Android
- + Automatic photo backup from phone
- + Self-hosted server option with documented quickstart
- + Clean modern interface
Cons
- - Self-hosting setup is more complex than Immich
- - Fewer AI features than Immich or PhotoPrism
- - Smaller self-hosting community
- - Some hosted-service features may need extra configuration when self-hosted
Immich
Stable self-hosted photo/video backup with mobile apps, ML-powered search, and facial recognition.
Pros
- + Excellent mobile app
- + AI-powered search and face recognition
- + Active development with frequent updates
- + Supports RAW photos
Cons
- - Heavy resource usage
- - Major upgrades can still require careful migration
- - Machine learning features need extra CPU/RAM or GPU resources
LibrePhotos
Self-hosted photo management with automatic grouping, face recognition, and geolocation.
Pros
- + Face recognition and auto-grouping
- + Geolocation mapping
- + Timeline view
- + Active development
Cons
- - Heavy resource requirements
- - Slower than Immich at indexing
- - UI less polished than alternatives
- - Initial setup is complex
Lychee
Simple, lightweight photo management and sharing platform.
Pros
- + Very lightweight
- + Simple and clean UI
- + Easy to set up
- + Good sharing features
Cons
- - No mobile app
- - No AI features
- - Limited organization tools
Nextcloud Memories
Fast photo timeline, albums, maps, and mobile-friendly gallery experience for Nextcloud.
Pros
- + Excellent upgrade for photo browsing inside Nextcloud
- + Timeline, maps, albums, and mobile app support
- + Good option for people already using Nextcloud storage
Cons
- - Depends on a healthy Nextcloud installation
- - Not a standalone photo server
- - Advanced indexing can need tuning on large libraries
PhotoPrism
AI-powered photo management with face recognition and auto-categorization.
Pros
- + Powerful AI classification
- + Clean modern UI
- + Good search capabilities
Cons
- - Some features require Pro license
- - No native mobile app for backup
- - Slower indexing on large libraries
Piwigo
Mature self-hosted photo gallery and album management platform for collections, teams, and communities.
Pros
- + Mature gallery workflow with albums, users, and plugins
- + Good for publishing and organizing photo collections
- + Lower resource needs than AI-heavy photo apps
Cons
- - Less modern mobile backup experience than Immich or Ente
- - UI and plugin quality can vary
- - Not focused on ML search or face recognition
FAQ
What is the best self-hosted Google Photos alternative?
Immich is the most popular choice — it has excellent mobile apps, AI-powered search, face recognition, and a Google Photos-like experience. It requires 4GB RAM minimum but is under very active development.
Can I automatically back up my phone photos to a self-hosted server?
Yes. Immich has native iOS and Android apps with automatic background upload, similar to Google Photos. PhotoPrism can also receive uploads but requires a separate sync tool like Syncthing.
How much storage do I need for self-hosted photos?
A typical phone photo is 3-5MB. If you take 1,000 photos per year, that's about 3-5GB annually. A 2TB drive would store roughly 400,000-600,000 photos. RAW photos and videos will need significantly more space.
Can't decide? Compare Ente, Immich, LibrePhotos side by side →