Lychee review
A capable self-hosted photo library with original downloads, albums, and controlled sharing.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Lychee is a free, open-source, self-hosted web application for photographers and individuals who want to store and manage photos on their own server. It handles photos and video files, with nested albums, customizable layouts, sorting, metadata, tagging, favorites, public galleries, and sharing with registered users. Original files and original-resolution downloads are supported, making Lychee a fit for people who want direct control over their media library rather than a cloud-only service.
The Free plan includes unlimited users, albums, tags, and photo uploads. The €5-per-month Supporter Edition adds statistics, user groups and upload quotas, anonymous uploads, secured image links, watermarking, and extended customizations. This makes the free tier suitable for core organization and sharing, while the paid tier is aimed at libraries that need more control over contributors, links, presentation, or usage tracking. There is no need to choose a higher storage allowance within the listed plans; Lychee is deployed on infrastructure managed by the user.
Lychee’s standout depth is its combination of organization, metadata, and sharing controls. It supports EXIF, IPTC, and GPS metadata, imports from a local computer, server, URL, or Dropbox, and offers facial recognition with people grouping and person albums. Facial recognition is a Lychee v8 feature, disabled by default, and requires a separate AI Vision microservice. Deployment is available through Docker or source installation. Choose Lychee if self-hosting, original files, nested albums, and controlled sharing are priorities. Consider another option if you need a managed cloud service or a native platform beyond the web.
Lychee pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Nested albums, customizable layouts, and original-resolution downloads
- Password-protected sharing, download controls, and secured image links
- Rich metadata, Dropbox import, tagging, favorites, and facial recognition
- Where it doesn't
- Available through web and self-hosted deployments only
- Supporter Edition costs €5 per month for advanced features
- Facial recognition requires a separate AI Vision microservice and is disabled by default
Lychee fact sheet, pricing and score →
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