immich vs Lychee
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Immich is a self-hosted photo and video management solution that allows users to store, manage, and share their media files. It provides a simple and intuitive interface for uploading, organizing, and accessing media files, and supports various file formats.
Lychee is an open‑source, server‑based photo management solution that lets you organize, share, and view your images from any web browser. It runs on your own hosting environment, giving you full control over privacy and storage. Designed with simplicity in mind, Lychee offers an intuitive interface for uploading, tagging, and creating albums, while supporting high‑resolution previews and easy sharing links. It’s free to use and maintained by a vibrant community.
- Self-hosted and open-source, providing control and customization options
- Supports various file formats and provides a simple interface
- Allows for file sharing and collaboration features
- Customizable and extensible architecture through plugins and APIs
- Fully self‑hosted, giving complete data control
- Free and open‑source with active community support
- Simple, clean web UI that requires no client software
- Easy to set up on standard LAMP/LEMP stacks
- May require technical expertise to set up and configure
- Limited support for advanced media editing features
- May not be suitable for very large media collections
- Requires a PHP server with a MySQL/MariaDB database rather than a single binary
- No native mobile app, only browser access
- Statistics, watermarking, user groups and anonymous uploads are locked to the paid EUR 5/month Supporter Edition
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View all →The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataimmich offers a richer, extensible media platform with mobile access but needs more technical setup; Lychee is simpler to install and use but lacks native mobile app and advanced features.
Key differences
- •immich includes a mobile app for on‑the‑go access; Lychee is web‑only.
- •Lychee provides built‑in facial recognition and smart albums; immich does not.
- •immich’s ecosystem is TypeScript‑based with plugin APIs; Lychee relies on PHP/MySQL and has fewer extensibility options.
- •Lychee’s free tier is freemium with paid add‑ons for advanced features; immich is completely free.
Pricing & value
immich is fully free; Lychee’s advanced features require a paid EUR 5/month Supporter Edition.
Ease of use / learning curve
Lychee installs on standard LAMP/LEMP stacks and has a simple web UI; immich needs more technical expertise to set up.
Features & depth
immich supports video, plugins, APIs, and mobile app; Lychee focuses on photos with facial recognition but lacks video.
Integrations & ecosystem
immich integrates with Nextcloud, Plex and offers extensible plugins; Lychee has limited integration beyond basic web access.
Collaboration
immich includes file sharing, collaboration, and album/tag sharing; Lychee’s collaboration is limited to password‑protected albums.
Scalability
Lychee’s chunked uploads and background worker mode better handle very large photo imports; immich may struggle with very large collections.
Support & community
Both provide community support (GitHub/Docs for immich; GitHub Issues/Forum for Lychee) with no official paid support.
Choose immich if…
Tech‑savvy individuals or small teams needing video support, mobile access, and extensibility.
Choose Lychee if…
Photographers or hobbyists wanting a quick, low‑maintenance photo gallery with facial recognition.
Common questions
Is there any cost to use either platform?
immich is completely free; Lychee is free but locks advanced features behind a EUR 5/month Supporter Edition.
Can I access my media from a smartphone?
Yes, immich provides a native mobile app; Lychee only offers browser‑based access.
Do either tools support video files?
immich supports video formats like MP4; Lychee is photo‑only and does not handle video.