immich vs Lychee
Self-hosted photo management compared
immich and Lychee both let you manage photos on infrastructure you control. immich covers photos and videos with mobile and web apps, while Lychee focuses on photo management through a web interface.
immich: Self-Host Photo and Video Management
Immich is a self-hosted system for backing up, organizing, and browsing photos and videos across mobile and web apps. It suits people who want a feature-rich alternative to hosted photo libraries while keeping control of their own server and files.
Lychee: Manage and Share Photos on Your Own Server
Lychee is a self-hosted photo-management application for uploading, organizing, and sharing photos through a web interface. It suits individuals and groups who want control over their photo library and storage.
| immich | Lychee | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Stars | 116k | 4.3k |
| Forks | 7.1k | 381 |
| Last analyzed | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 |
Key differences
- immich supports photo and video backup, browsing, and organization; Lychee describes a web-based workflow for uploading, managing, and sharing photos.
- immich includes mobile backup and mobile offline support alongside web features; Lychee is presented as a web application.
- immich is written in TypeScript and uses the AGPL-3.0 license; Lychee is written in PHP and uses the MIT license.
- Lychee documents Docker Compose deployment, pre-built releases, and source installation; immich requires self-hosted server and storage, with deployment and maintenance responsibility on the operator.
- immich lists 116k stars and 7.1k forks, compared with Lychee's 4.3k stars and 381 forks.
Choose immich if you…
- need mobile and web access for a library of photos and videos.
- want features such as metadata, face, and object search, or map browsing.
- need multi-user accounts, album sharing, or mobile backup options.
Choose Lychee if you…
- want a self-hosted photo gallery managed through a web interface.
- prefer a PHP application with an MIT license.
- plan to deploy with Docker Compose or install from a release or source.
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This comparison is generated with AI from the OSRepos analyses of both projects. Always check each project's repository and documentation before choosing.