{"id":32215,"date":"2026-07-23T08:17:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T06:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/contabo.com\/blog\/?p=32215"},"modified":"2026-07-23T09:27:45","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T07:27:45","slug":"immich-vs-photoprism-vs-ente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/contabo.com\/blog\/immich-vs-photoprism-vs-ente\/","title":{"rendered":"Immich vs PhotoPrism vs Ente: Which Should You Self-Host in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In short.<\/strong> Immich is the closest thing to a self-hosted Google Photos replacement: 108K GitHub stars, native iOS and Android apps with background backup, CLIP-based smart search, face recognition, and a polished web UI, all free. PhotoPrism trades mobile backup for deeper indexing, WebDAV, and a lighter RAM footprint. Ente is the only option with true end-to-end encryption, meaning its server never sees your decrypted photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choosing between Immich and its alternatives comes down to one question before anything else: what are you actually replacing? If the answer is Google Photos, you want automatic phone backup, a face library, and a search bar that understands “beach 2023 with kids.” If the answer is a bulky local library with poor search, you want smart indexing and metadata editing. If the answer is cloud trust itself, you want encryption your server cannot break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immich, PhotoPrism, and Ente each solve a different version of that problem. All three run on Docker and deploy on a standard Linux VPS. None of them requires a hyperscaler account, vendor lock-in, or a usage-based bill. This comparison covers features, hardware requirements, AI capabilities, self-hosting complexity, and which one fits which workload in July 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a Glance: Feature Comparison<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The table below covers the dimensions that matter most when choosing a self-hosted photo app. The Immich vs Google Photos comparison gets answered by the “mobile backup” and “AI search” row alone for most users. “Self-host difficulty” reflects the number of containers, required configuration, and community documentation depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dimension<\/th>Immich<\/a><\/th>PhotoPrism<\/a><\/th>Ente<\/a><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
GitHub stars<\/td>~108K<\/td>~40K<\/td>~27k<\/td><\/tr>
License<\/td>AGPL-3.0, free (paid Supporter version with no additional features)<\/td>AGPL-3.0 CE, free Community version or paid Essentials\/Plus for additional features<\/td>AGPL-3.0, fully open-sourced with option for paid plans with benefits<\/td><\/tr>
Mobile backup<\/td>Native iOS + Android apps<\/td>PWA only (no auto-upload agent)<\/td>Native iOS + Android apps<\/td><\/tr>
AI search<\/td>Search options free<\/td>Search options on all plans<\/td>On-device MobileCLIP, free<\/td><\/tr>
Face recognition<\/td>Yes, free<\/td>Yes, free<\/td>Yes, free (must be manually enabled)<\/td><\/tr>
E2E encryption<\/td>No<\/td>No<\/td>Yes (zero-knowledge)<\/td><\/tr>
Minimum RAM<\/td>6\u20138 GB recommended<\/td>at least 4 GB<\/td>at least 1 GB<\/td><\/tr>
Docker support<\/td>Yes (4 containers)<\/td>Yes (2 containers)<\/td>Yes (3 containers + S3)<\/td><\/tr>
Self-host difficulty<\/td>Medium<\/td>Low to Medium<\/td>Medium to High<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

“Immich alternatives” is a fair search term here: there are genuine alternatives, and the right one depends on what Immich lacks for your use case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immich: Best Overall for a Google Photos Replacement<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Immich<\/a> self hosted is the closest thing to Google Photos on your own hardware that actually earns that description by shipping the features. The project crossed 108K GitHub stars in July 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing open-source projects on the internet, and the v3.0.0 major release landed on July 1, 2026, backed by full-time development under FUTO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The headline features in v3.0 are Workflows, a plugin-based automation preview for actions across your library, and HLS real-time video transcoding, which streams video without waiting for a full transcode. Non-destructive photo editing and a new integrity reporting tool (filesystem vs. database checksum comparison) also shipped with the release. Mobile editing parity reached full completion with v3.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stack runs four Docker containers: the main server, a machine learning service, PostgreSQL with VectorChord, and Valkey. CLIP-based semantic search, facial recognition, map view, partner sharing, shared albums, and RAW support all come free, with no paid tier. The iOS and Android apps handle background backup automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best for:<\/strong> anyone looking for a Google Photos alternative self hosted on their own server who wants full feature parity, including automatic phone backup, smart search, and a UI that non-technical family members can use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not ideal for:<\/strong> setups where RAM is tight (the ML container is the main cost), or where true end-to-end encryption is a hard requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hardware:<\/strong> 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM is the practical floor for responsive ML processing. An entry-level Core VPS<\/a> handles Immich comfortably for a personal or family library. For larger libraries with frequent indexing, larger plans remove the constraint entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PhotoPrism: Best for Search and Privacy-First Indexing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

PhotoPrism<\/a> has been in development since 2018 and takes a different approach: index what you have and where it already lives, rather than asking you to migrate everything into a new app. It speaks WebDAV natively, meaning Windows Explorer and macOS Finder can connect directly to your library as if it were a network drive. Self-hosted photo management with PhotoPrism runs on a lighter stack than Immich, and that difference matters on constrained hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most important thing to know about PhotoPrism’s licensing is where the paid tier actually begins. The Community Edition is AGPL and free, but some features like enhanced geocoding or vector graphics support sit behind a paid Plus License. Good news: facial recognition is included in every edition including the free one. The Community Edition handles AI tagging, CLIP-style scene search, and WebDAV without cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The self-hosted stack runs two Docker containers (the app and MariaDB). Official requirements are 2 CPU cores and 4 GB of physical memory at minimum. A Core VPS<\/a> entry-level plan fits PhotoPrism without any overhead anxiety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PhotoPrism does not ship a native mobile backup agent. The PWA works well for browsing, but automatic phone backup requires a third-party WebDAV client, which adds setup friction for non-technical users. Releases ship as date-stamped builds rather than semantic versioning, at a slower cadence than Immich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best for:<\/strong> photographers with large existing RAW libraries, users who need WebDAV integration with existing tools, and anyone who wants lower RAM requirements without giving up AI search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not ideal for:<\/strong> families where non-technical members need automatic phone backup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ente: Best for End-to-End Encryption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Among the Immich alternatives discussed here, Ente<\/a> is the only one where the server cannot read your photos. Its zero-knowledge architecture processes all machine learning on-device using ONNX Runtime with MobileCLIP for semantic search and MobileFaceNet for face recognition. The encrypted blobs that reach the server are indecipherable without the keys that stay on your devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ente completed its open-source journey in March 2024 by releasing the server source code (called Museum), matching the always-open client code. The self-hosted stack is Go (Museum) plus PostgreSQL plus MinIO or any S3-compatible storage. Idle RAM sits around 130\u2013500 MB for the server component, making it the lightest of the three on the hosting side. A security audit funded through CERN landed in October 2025 and a security review of Ente’s new pure Rust cryptography layer followed in April 2026, conducted by winfunc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The self-hosting story is slightly newer than Immich or PhotoPrism, and the community is smaller. Ente’s Docker Compose stack bundles MinIO, but configuring the bucket, credentials, and museum.yaml<\/code> settings adds complexity that PhotoPrism and Immich’s simpler two-container setups do not require. The mobile apps (Flutter-based, iOS and Android) ship on a two-week cadence and handle background backup automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best for:<\/strong> users who want cryptographic proof that their photos stay private. Ente’s zero-knowledge architecture means only you hold the keys, making it the right pick for journalists, activists, and anyone who needs that guarantee regardless of who operates the server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not ideal for:<\/strong> users who rely on a wide ecosystem of third-party guides and community support, or setups where configuring S3-compatible object storage alongside the server adds too much complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Is Right for You?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The decision tree below covers the most common scenarios. These are the questions that separate Immich alternatives from each other in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just switching from Google Photos?<\/strong> Go with Immich. Install it on a VPS with 8 GB of RAM, install the Immich app on your phone, and you have a local Google Photos. The v3.0 feature set covers everything Google Photos does for personal use, with no subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need privacy-first indexing of an existing library, with WebDAV?<\/strong> Go with PhotoPrism. It plugs into your current file organization without forcing a migration, runs on less RAM, and the AI tagging is genuinely good without a paid tier for most use cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Require end-to-end encryption?<\/strong> Go with Ente. It is the only option of the three with a cryptographic guarantee that the server holds ciphertext only – both Immich and PhotoPrism store photos in plaintext on the server filesystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Need face recognition free?<\/strong> Immich or Ente. PhotoPrism CE gates face recognition behind the paid Plus tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running on tight hardware (2 GB RAM)?<\/strong> Ente works. PhotoPrism is an option, though you will want swap configured for indexing. Immich’s ML container makes 2 GB an uncomfortable fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hosting Any of These on Contabo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All three apps deploy on a standard Linux VPS with Docker Compose. Running Immich on a VPS is the standard self-hosting path, and the RAM tier you choose determines how smoothly the ML pipeline runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immich needs 4 vCPU and 8 GB RAM as a practical floor. The entry-level Core VPS 4<\/a> (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM) covers a personal or small family library; for a larger library with heavy indexing or several concurrent users, the Core VPS 8<\/a> (8 vCPU, 24 GB RAM) removes the constraint. For larger shared libraries or faster ML indexing, the Performance VPS<\/a> line adds Gen 4 NVMe and dedicated AMD EPYC cores. PhotoPrism runs comfortably on any Core VPS<\/a> plan. Ente’s Museum server uses under 500 MB at idle, so it fits on any plan – MinIO adds its own overhead, making 4 GB RAM a safe starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immich stores photos on the local filesystem, so library size maps directly to disk: size the VPS storage tier for your current library with room to grow. A photo library with 10 years of phone backups can reach several hundred gigabytes, and 4K video accelerates that. If media volume is the primary concern, the Storage VPS<\/a> line trades compute headroom for significantly larger SSD allocations at the same price points as Core VPS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAQ: Immich vs Alternatives<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Is Immich better than PhotoPrism?<\/strong>

For most people switching from Google Photos, yes. Immich includes free face recognition, semantic search, and native mobile backup in one stack. PhotoPrism is the better pick when you have a large existing RAW library, need WebDAV desktop access, or are running on hardware with under 6 GB of RAM. The real question: do you need a phone backup app (Immich) or a library indexing tool (PhotoPrism)?<\/p> <\/div>

Does Ente work without an internet connection?<\/strong>

Ente’s mobile apps cache thumbnails for offline browsing, but uploads and sync require a network connection to the Museum server. For a self-hosted setup on a local network, “internet” is your LAN. Full offline-first use is not a design goal. Ente prioritizes encrypted sync across devices, not local-only operation, so a live connection to Museum is expected for active use.<\/p> <\/div>

What is the best self-hosted Google Photos alternative?<\/strong>

In July 2026, Immich is the closest match for feature parity: automatic mobile backup, semantic search, face recognition, map view, and shared albums. The tradeoffs are the 8 GB RAM floor and no end-to-end encryption. For setups with a hard encryption requirement, Ente is the right answer. For photographers indexing large existing RAW libraries, PhotoPrism fits better than either.<\/p> <\/div> <\/div>\n\n\n\n

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