Immich vs Rawback

Immich is a free, open-source app for backing up photos and videos from Android and iOS devices to a server users manage themselves. Uploads can come through the mobile app, browser, or command-line interface; external libraries can be added as read-only folders. The web app opens in a browser at the server address on port 2283. Albums, hierarchical tags, maps, memories, favorites, and a folder view help organize media. Smart Search accepts natural-language phrases, and facial recognition detects and groups faces. Users can share libraries with friends and family, create public links for collections, or share with partners. Immich supports OAuth identity providers, API keys, and Prometheus monitoring. Deployment documentation covers Docker Compose and Kubernetes, with community NAS guides also available. The documentation recommends a 64-bit Linux or Unix-like system, requires Docker Compose, and gives minimum server resources of 6 GB RAM and 2 CPU cores. Automatic database backups contain metadata only, so uploaded photos and videos need separate backups. The listed plan is free, with a self-hosted server required.

Rawback is an AI platform for photographers to preserve, understand, organize, and create from photo libraries. Its tools include image analysis and ratings, people recognition, conversational editing, Dream recaps, travel stories, gear and places features, and album-story drafting. Camera transfers can use FTP, FTPS, or SFTP; accepted formats include JPEG, PNG, HEIC/HEIF, WebP, and several RAW formats. Originals do not expire by default while they remain within the plan’s storage allowance, and users can set auto-archiving and optional deletion periods. The desktop client monitors local libraries and supports background uploads on Apple silicon Macs and Windows 10/11 x64. The iPhone app requires iOS 26 or later and is marked as coming soon. AI features start off and require consent; when enabled, images or related content may be sent to listed providers depending on the feature and settings. The free plan is free with 5 GB storage; Lite is $4.99 a month with 200 GB and an MCP connector for Claude and ChatGPT. Listed platforms are API, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows.