PHOTO STORAGE DECISION
Immich vs Google Photos: what are you actually choosing?
The biggest difference is not the interface. It is who runs the infrastructure. Google Photos is a hosted service; Immich runs on hardware or hosting that you control.
| Question | Immich | Google Photos |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the server? | You | |
| Who plans storage capacity? | You | Google account storage |
| Who maintains the software? | You | |
| Can it run on your own hardware? | Yes | No |
| Do you need your own backup plan? | Yes | You should still decide what independent copy you want to keep |
Google Photos is the simpler operational choice
Google handles the servers, application updates and infrastructure. Current Google guidance says Google Accounts include up to 15 GB of storage shared across services, with more storage available separately. Photos and videos backed up in Original quality count towards that storage; Storage saver also counts for newer uploads, while reducing file size.
Immich gives you more infrastructure control
With Immich, the original media, generated files and database live on storage you choose. That can be attractive if you want to control where the library sits or integrate it into a larger home-server setup. It also means you decide when storage is expanded and how the server is backed up.
Self-hosting is not automatically cheaper
Immich itself is open source, but your system still has costs: disks, backup copies, electricity, replacement hardware and your time. A hosted service bundles much of that responsibility into the service price.
Think about failure, not just features
If Google Photos is unavailable, Google operates the recovery infrastructure. If your Immich server fails, your own recovery plan matters. Immich recommends backing up both the uploaded photo/video files and the database.
The useful question
Do you want the convenience of a managed photo service, or do you specifically value control enough to maintain the storage, backups and software yourself?
Estimate your own library size with the photo storage calculator, then read what hardware Immich needs.