Ente Photos vs LibrePhotos
Both are alternatives to Google Photos. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as LibrePhotos vs Ente Photos — same comparison, one verdict.
LibrePhotos keeps your data local by default and Ente Photos keeps it in the vendor's cloud — for most teams that single fact decides it.
Ente Photos
End-to-end encrypted photo backup, open-source and self-hostable.
Ente Photos is an open-source photo service whose defining feature is end-to-end encryption: your library is encrypted on your device before it ever reaches a server, so even the host cannot see your photos. It offers polished apps across iOS, Android, web, macOS, Windows, and Linux with automatic background backup, face recognition, albums, and shared links. Most people use Ente's audited paid cloud, but the same server is fully open-source and can be self-hosted for those who want to run everything themselves.
LibrePhotos
A permissively licensed, fully self-hosted photo manager.
LibrePhotos is a self-hosted photo management service, originally inspired by the discontinued Google PhotoScan/Google Photos experience, offering timeline browsing, face recognition, object and scene tagging, and search over your own library. Its MIT license makes it the most permissively licensed option here, and it is a community-driven project. It is capable but less polished than Immich or PhotoPrism, with a smaller community and a slower development pace.
Side by side
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Ente Photos | LibrePhotos | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 90 | 80 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | No | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Pricing | 10 GB free on the hosted cloud; paid plans for more storage; self-host free and open-source | Free and open-source (self-host) |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 2 GB for the server components | 6 GB, and it will use more during face recognition |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $15–30/mo plus object storage | $30–50/mo for a moderate library |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 2–3 hours — it is the most involved of the three | 2 hours |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | Moderate. Self-hosting is supported but the hosted product is the main path. | Active. The project is volunteer-driven and moves in bursts. |
Ente Photos edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.
Weighing both against staying on Google Photos? Is Google Photos free? What it actually costs →
Ente Photos
Strengths
- +End-to-end encrypted by design — the host cannot read your photos
- +Independently audited (Cure53, Symbolic Software, Fallible)
- +Polished apps on every major platform with automatic backup
- +Fully open-source (AGPL-3.0) and self-hostable
Trade-offs
- −Self-hosting is more involved — multiple containers plus object storage
- −The most frictionless path is the paid hosted cloud, not self-hosting
- −Encrypted design means photos aren't plain browsable files on disk
- −Free hosted tier is 10 GB
LibrePhotos
Strengths
- +Permissive MIT license
- +Face recognition, tagging, and search on your own server
- +Photos remain files on hardware you own
- +Community-driven and free to run
Trade-offs
- −Smaller community and slower development than Immich or PhotoPrism
- −Rougher, less polished interface
- −Resource-hungry during initial scanning and training
- −No first-party mobile backup app as seamless as Immich's
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Ente Photos
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and end-to-end encrypted by design — the host cannot read your photos.
Choose LibrePhotos
if your data should stay on machines you control, and permissive MIT license.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — self-hosting is more involved — multiple containers plus object storage, and smaller community and slower development than Immich or PhotoPrism. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Ente Photos vs LibrePhotos — common questions
Is Ente Photos a better fit than LibrePhotos for photos & media?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Ente Photos scores 90 to LibrePhotos's 80 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. LibrePhotos earns its place on a different axis — permissive MIT license. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
LibrePhotos keeps its data local or in open formats, so leaving is an export rather than a negotiation. Ente Photos is still self-hostable, so the files stay on your server either way — but it is not local-first by design, so check what its export produces before you rely on it.
Can I self-host Ente Photos or LibrePhotos?
Both can be self-hosted. The difference is what it costs you in time rather than whether it is possible — see the setup and maintenance rows above.
Are Ente Photos and LibrePhotos both alternatives to Google Photos?
Yes — both appear in our Google Photos comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Google Photos and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
More Google Photos head-to-heads
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-05. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.