Immich

Free, open-source, self-hosted photo and video backup that closely mirrors Google Photos.

Open sourceSelf-hostablePhoto storage and management apps

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 6
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Immich

Immich is a self-hosted photo and video management platform that looks and works much like Google Photos. You run the server on your own hardware, usually with Docker, and the Android and iOS apps back up camera rolls automatically. It offers a timeline, albums and shared links, partner sharing, facial recognition, a map view, memories, and smart search that understands descriptions such as 'dog on a beach', all processed locally by its machine-learning container. External libraries let it index existing photo folders without moving them. Immich is free and open source under the AGPL v3 licence and is backed by FUTO; the team sells an optional supporter licence but has promised that no features will be paywalled. It needs a reasonably capable server, and because you run it, backups of the Immich data itself are your responsibility. It is one of the most active self-hosted projects around.

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

What works

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

Why people leave

Needs a server with decent RAM and CPU
You are responsible for backups and updates
Fast development means occasional breaking changes

Top Immich alternatives

See all 6

1
PhotoPrism
More mature AI tagging and browsing, with a different focus on large archives.
66.5
2
Ente Photos
Hosted encrypted service if you no longer want to run a server.
62.6
3
Google Photos
Zero maintenance and stronger editing, at the cost of privacy.
59.6
4
LibrePhotos
Another self-hosted option, lighter and MIT licensed.
57.2
5
Synology Photos
Ready-made option if you already own a Synology NAS.
55.3

Why people left Immich

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Immich: common questions

Is Immich free?

Yes. Immich is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is Immich open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at immich-app/immich. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Immich run on?

Immich is available for Web, iOS, Android and Self-hosted.

What are the best alternatives to Immich?

The highest-ranked Immich alternatives right now are PhotoPrism, Ente Photos and Google Photos. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Immich alternatives

Immich facts

4 of 4 verified

License: GNU AGPL v3; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab); “open source under the terms of the GNU AGPL v3 License.”
Paywalled features: None promised; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab); “Don't worry, all features will be free, forever!”
Mobile apps: Android and iOS; Checked Oct 25, 2026immich.app(opens source in a new tab); “Download for Mobile Use Immich to backup your photos and videos from your Android and iOS devices.”
Face recognition: Yes; Checked Oct 25, 2026docs.immich.app(opens source in a new tab); “Immich recognizes faces in your photos and videos and groups them together into people.”