PhotoPrism
A searchable self-hosted photo library with RAW support, labels, faces, maps, albums, metadata, and share links; library first, social network never.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- AGPL-3.0
- Hosting Model
- Self-host (your server)
- Platforms
- webself-hosteddocker to self-host
- Installation
- Docker Compose with MariaDB recommended, or SQLite for a smaller installation
- Operational Setup
- Docker Compose, persistent originals, storage, and database mounts with correct permissions, several GB of RAM or swap, and a CPU- and storage-heavy first index
- Where Your Data Lives
- Originals remain in the mounted originals folder; sidecars, previews, thumbnails, face embeddings, model assets, and backups live in the storage folder, while indexes, users, albums, and settings live in SQLite or MariaDB
- The Catch / Trade-off
- It is a searchable private library rather than a public photo community, so Flickr's groups, follows, discovery, comments and licensing exposure disappear.
Replaces 2 paid apps
up to $21/mo ($252/yr) in subscriptions
PhotoPrism FAQ
Common questions
Is PhotoPrism free and open source?+
PhotoPrism is an open-source tool licensed under AGPL-3.0 that runs on self-host. A searchable self-hosted photo library with RAW support, labels, faces, maps, albums, metadata, and share links; library first, social network never.
What paid software does PhotoPrism replace?+
PhotoPrism serves as a free replacement for 2 paid SaaS applications: Flickr Pro, Google Photos, saving up to $21/month ($252/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up PhotoPrism?+
Installation: Docker Compose with MariaDB recommended, or SQLite for a smaller installation. Setup notes: Docker Compose, persistent originals, storage, and database mounts with correct permissions, several GB of RAM or swap, and a CPU- and storage-heavy first index
What is the catch or trade-off with PhotoPrism?+
It is a searchable private library rather than a public photo community, so Flickr's groups, follows, discovery, comments and licensing exposure disappear.