Continuous decentralized peer-to-peer file synchronization program
High performance self-hosted photo and video management solution.
Recommended VPS & Hardware Sizing
Estimated Hosting: $10 - $15/mo (e.g. Hetzner CPX21 or Linode)Immich vs Google Photos / Apple Photos Comparison Matrix
| Evaluation Criteria | Immich (Open Source) | Google Photos / Apple Photos (Proprietary) |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy & Training | 100% On-Premise; zero external telemetry | Photos scanned for cloud advertising/AI models |
| Storage Fees | $0 software license; unlimited disk capacity | $9.99/mo per 2TB ongoing rental |
| Compression | Pixel-perfect RAW & 4K 60FPS original fidelity | Forced lossy compression on free/budget tiers |
| Multi-User Sharing | Unlimited multi-tenant family accounts | Per-account Google One family limits |
Financial Impact: Migrating from Google Photos / Apple Photos to Self-Hosted Immich
* Excludes enterprise SSO add-ons & usage overages
* Commodity Hetzner / DigitalOcean compute instance
Compare Immich Head-to-Head
Comprehensive benchmark comparing Immich against proprietary Google Photos / Apple Photos licensing and features.
S3-Compatible Object Storage on Any Server vs AWS Egress Bandwidth Bills
Sovereign File Sync & Office Collaboration vs Google Workspace Ecosystem
Decentralized P2P Continuous Sync vs Centralized Cloud Storage
Core Capabilities & Features
Self-Host Immich with Docker Compose
Tweak configuration ports, secrets, and volumes live. Download or copy your ready-to-run container file:
1-Click Docker Compose Generator
Generate production-ready container definitions with customizable ports and volumes.
High performance self-hosted photo and video backup solution with on-device machine learning
version: '3.8'
services:
immich-server:
container_name: immich_server
image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-server:release
command: [ "start.sh" ]
volumes:
- ${UPLOAD_LOCATION:-./library}:/usr/src/app/upload
- /etc/localtime:/etc/localtime:ro
environment:
- NODE_ENV=production
- DB_HOSTNAME=immich-database
- DB_USERNAME=${DB_USERNAME:-postgres}
- DB_PASSWORD=${DB_PASSWORD:-postgres_password}
- DB_DATABASE_NAME=${DB_DATABASE_NAME:-immich}
- REDIS_HOSTNAME=immich-redis
ports:
- "${SERVER_PORT:-2283}:2283"
depends_on:
- immich-redis
- immich-database
restart: always
immich-machine-learning:
container_name: immich_machine_learning
image: ghcr.io/immich-app/immich-machine-learning:release
volumes:
- model-cache:/cache
restart: always
immich-redis:
container_name: immich_redis
image: redis:6.2-alpine
restart: always
immich-database:
container_name: immich_database
image: tensorchord/pgvecto-rs:pg14-v0.2.1
environment:
POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD:-postgres_password}
POSTGRES_USER: ${DB_USERNAME:-postgres}
POSTGRES_DB: ${DB_DATABASE_NAME:-immich}
volumes:
- pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql/data
restart: always
volumes:
model-cache:
pgdata:Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Hosting Immich
How do I self-host Immich using Docker Compose?
You can deploy Immich (immich-app/immich) on any Linux server by copying the docker-compose.yml template on this page, configuring your desired host port and persistent volume directory, and running 'docker compose up -d'.
How does Immich compare to Google Photos / Apple Photos?
Immich is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to Google Photos / Apple Photos built with TypeScript, Flutter, Python, PostgreSQL with pgvector, Redis. Unlike Google Photos / Apple Photos ($2.99 - $9.99 / month (Google One / iCloud)), Immich has zero per-user licensing fees and keeps 100% of your data on your own infrastructure.
What are the minimum VPS RAM and CPU requirements for Immich?
For production self-hosting (Medium difficulty tier), we recommend at least 4 GB RAM (minimum 2 GB), 2 vCPU, and 25 GB SSD storage, which typically costs $10 - $15/mo (e.g. Hetzner CPX21 or Linode).
Is Immich free for commercial business use under the AGPL-3.0 license?
Yes. Distributed under the AGPL-3.0 license, Immich can be self-hosted internally by businesses and engineering teams of any size without per-seat royalties.
Embed Official Immich Badge in GitHub README
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