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Lychee alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Oct 25, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

Common reasons people leave Lychee: no automatic phone backup, and no AI tagging or face search. We ranked 5 alternatives by how directly each one replaces Lychee, then by reviews, real visits and how recently each app's facts were checked against its own website. Piwigo currently ranks first.

Quick comparison

#AppPricingOpen sourcePlatformsVerified factsScore
1Piwigo logoPiwigoOpen sourceYesWeb, iOS, Android +14 of 466.5
2Immich logoImmichOpen sourceYesWeb, iOS, Android +14 of 459.6
  1. Piwigo logo

    1. PiwigoTop pick

    Best for: Organisations and photographers sharing large, permission-controlled collections

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, iOS, Android, Self-hosted

    66.5

    score / 100

    Why switch from Lychee

    More mature permissions and plugins for large galleries.

    Pros

    • Free self-hosted version with no feature limits
    • Fine-grained user and group permissions
    • Large plugin and theme library

    Cons

    • Not an automatic phone backup
    • Hosted plans are billed annually
    • Default themes look dated
    Visit Piwigo Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.3100
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Piwigo a good Lychee alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    Open source
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026piwigo.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Hosted Pro plan
    €32/month excl. VAT, billed annually
    Checked Oct 25, 2026piwigo.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Pro plan storage
    10 GB included
    Checked Oct 25, 2026piwigo.com(opens source in a new tab)
    Self-hosting
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026piwigo.com(opens source in a new tab)
  2. Immich logo

    2. Immich

    Best for: Self-hosters who want Google Photos features on their own server

    Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, iOS, Android, Self-hosted

    59.6

    score / 100

    Why switch from Lychee

    Adds automatic phone backup and AI search.

    Pros

    • Feature set close to Google Photos
    • Automatic phone backup with local AI search
    • Free, with no paywalled features

    Cons

    • Needs a server with decent RAM and CPU
    • You are responsible for backups and updates
    • Fast development means occasional breaking changes
    Visit Immich Details and reviews
    How this score is calculated
    Editorial fit ×0.377
    Reviews ×0.363
    Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
    Freshness ×0.1585
    Votes ×0.150

    0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula

    Is Immich a good Lychee alternative?

    Verified facts

    4 of 4 verified
    License
    GNU AGPL v3
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab)
    Paywalled features
    None promised
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab)
    Mobile apps
    Android and iOS
    Checked Oct 25, 2026immich.app(opens source in a new tab)
    Face recognition
    Yes
    Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab)

The best Lychee alternative for…

The highest-ranked app in this list for each need.

Piwigo logo

Best Lychee alternative for most people

Piwigo

More mature permissions and plugins for large galleries.

Photoview logo

Best Lychee alternative for a free option

Photoview

Another lightweight self-hosted gallery, with RAW support.

Flickr logo

Best Lychee alternative for a free plan you can upgrade

Flickr

Hosted alternative if you no longer want to run a server.

Immich logo

Best Lychee alternative for open source

Immich

Adds automatic phone backup and AI search.

PhotoPrism logo

Best Lychee alternative for self-hosting

PhotoPrism

Adds AI tagging and maps for big archives.

Piwigo logo

Best Lychee alternative for iPhone and Android

Piwigo

More mature permissions and plugins for large galleries.

Piwigo logo

Best Lychee alternative for working in the browser

Piwigo

More mature permissions and plugins for large galleries.

Lychee alternatives: common questions

What is the best alternative to Lychee?

Piwigo ranks first right now. More mature permissions and plugins for large galleries. Photoview and Immich follow it in our ranking.

Is there a free alternative to Lychee?

Yes. Piwigo (open source), Photoview (open source), Immich (open source) and PhotoPrism (open source) have a free option. Check each app's verified facts for current plan limits.

Is there an open-source alternative to Lychee?

Yes: Piwigo, Photoview, Immich and PhotoPrism. Piwigo, Photoview and Immich can also be self-hosted.

Why do people switch from Lychee?

The complaints we hear most: no automatic phone backup; no AI tagging or face search; you must keep the PHP stack patched.

How is this list ranked?

Every app is scored with the same published formula: how directly it replaces Lychee, reviews (weighted by verification), visits from AppBreakup, how recently its facts were checked against its own website, and reader votes.