Self-Hosted Immich Guide: The Best Google Photos Alternative (2025)

Introduction

Google Photos recently announced price increases and storage limitations that have many users looking for alternatives. If you're tired of paying subscription fees or concerned about privacy, Immich is the answer. This open-source, self-hosted photo management solution has exploded in popularity, becoming the most discussed application on r/selfhosted.

Immich offers a Google Photos-like experience with features including automatic mobile backup, facial recognition, machine learning-powered search, and a beautiful web interface—all running on your own hardware. Best of all, it works wonderfully on low-power home servers like the Intel N100.

In this guide, we'll walk you through deploying Immich on your home server using Docker Compose, configuring mobile backup, and optimizing performance for hardware transcoding.

Why Choose Immich Over Google Photos?

Complete Data Ownership

With Immich, your photos and videos stay on your hardware. No third-party company can access, analyze, or monetize your personal memories. This is particularly important for family photos and sensitive documents.

No Subscription Fees

While Google Photos charges $2.99/month for 100GB or $9.99/month for 2TB, Immich is completely free. As one Reddit user shared after migrating:

"I just finished removing aaaaall photos from Google Photos. It took probably a year since I fancy the idea of moving to Immich. I did a couple of installs, prepared some hard drives, my server, etc." — r/immich

Google Photos-Like Features

Immich provides features you'd expect from Google Photos:

• Automatic mobile backup (iOS and Android)
• Facial recognition and people grouping
• Object and scene detection via machine learning
• Timeline view with memories
• Albums and sharing
• Map view for geotagged photos
• OCR text search (new in v2.3.0)

Active Development

Immich is under rapid development with frequent updates. The v2.3.0 release brought OCR improvements, while upcoming features include workflow automation and a built-in editor.

Hardware Requirements

Immich uses machine learning for smart features, so hardware requirements are higher than basic file storage:

Low-Power Server Compatibility

Immich runs well on Intel N100 mini PCs, which offer:

• Hardware transcoding via Intel Quick Sync
• Low idle power (10-15W typical)
• Sufficient performance for small to medium libraries

Community members report successful deployments on Raspberry Pi 5 as well, though the Intel N100 provides better machine learning performance.

Docker Compose Installation

Prerequisites

1. A Linux server (Debian/Ubuntu recommended)
2. Docker Engine 25+ and Docker Compose installed
3. At least 4GB RAM available

Step 1: Create Project Directory

mkdir ~/immich-app
cd ~/immich-app

Step 2: Download Configuration Files

# Download the latest docker-compose.yml
wget -O docker-compose.yml https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/docker-compose.yml

# Download the example environment file
wget -O .env https://github.com/immich-app/immich/releases/latest/download/example.env

Step 3: Configure Environment Variables

Edit the .env file to set your storage locations:

nano .env

Key settings to configure:

# Where your photos/videos will be stored
UPLOAD_LOCATION=/path/to/your/photos

# Database location (use SSD for better performance)
DB_DATA_LOCATION=/path/to/postgres

# Timezone
TZ=America/New_York

Important: Use an SSD for DB_DATA_LOCATION for best performance. The photo library (UPLOAD_LOCATION) can be on slower HDD storage.

Step 4: Start Immich

docker compose up -d

Wait a few minutes for all containers to initialize. You can monitor progress with:

docker compose logs -f

Step 5: Initial Setup

1. Open your browser to http://your-server-ip:2283
2. Click "Getting Started"
3. Register your admin account (first user becomes admin)
4. Configure your library settings

Mobile App Setup

Installing the App

Download the Immich app from:

• iOS: App Store
• Android: Google Play or F-Droid

Configuring Automatic Backup

1. Open the app and enter your server URL (http://your-server-ip:2283)
2. Log in with your credentials
3. Go to Settings → Backup
4. Enable Background Backup
5. Select which albums to back up
6. Configure Wi-Fi only or cellular backup

Remote Access Options

To access Immich outside your home network, the community recommends:

• Tailscale: Simple, secure VPN (most recommended)
• Cloudflare Tunnel: Free, no port forwarding needed
• Reverse proxy (Traefik/Nginx): For advanced users

As discussed on r/immich, avoid exposing Immich directly to the internet:

"I would like help... I want to be able to see the entire Immich library from outside the local network. I know it can be done with Tailscale or some VPN service." — r/immich discussion

Hardware Transcoding (Intel N100)

Enabling Quick Sync

For Intel N100 or similar processors, enable hardware acceleration:

1. Edit your docker-compose.yml
2. Find the immich-machine-learning service
3. Uncomment the extends section and set it to openvino:

immich-machine-learning:
  extends:
    file: hwaccel.ml.yml
    service: openvino  # For Intel processors

Verify Hardware Acceleration

Check if Quick Sync is working:

docker exec -it immich_server intel_gpu_top

You should see GPU activity during video transcoding.

Backup Strategy

Database Backups

The PostgreSQL database is critical—it contains all your metadata, facial recognition data, and album organization. Immich v2.3+ includes improved backup features:

# Manual backup
docker exec -t immich_postgres pg_dumpall -c -U postgres > immich_backup.sql

# Restore from backup
cat immich_backup.sql | docker exec -i immich_postgres psql -U postgres

As one user shared their experience:

"My install was set to default. After some fumbling online with AI for an hour, I decided to face the postgres backup... Thank you for Postgres backups!" — r/immich

Photo Library Backups

Your UPLOAD_LOCATION contains all original files. Use your preferred backup solution:

• rsync to external drive
• Restic/Borg for deduplicated backups
• Syncthing for real-time sync to another server

Performance Optimization

For Low-Power Servers

1. Limit concurrent jobs: In Admin → Jobs, reduce concurrent face detection/recognition tasks
2. Use external SSD: Place database on faster storage
3. Schedule ML tasks: Run intensive tasks during off-hours
4. Disable unused features: Turn off facial recognition if not needed

Storage Optimization

Thumbnails and transcoded videos can increase storage by 10-20%. Tips:

• Use efficient codecs (HEVC/H.265)
• Set appropriate thumbnail quality
• Consider all-SSD storage for best performance

Common Issues & Solutions

Issue: High Memory Usage

Solution: Limit machine learning workers in docker-compose.yml:

immich-machine-learning:
  environment:
    - MACHINE_LEARNING_WORKERS=1

Issue: Slow Face Recognition

Solution: Enable hardware acceleration (OpenVINO for Intel, CUDA for NVIDIA) or reduce concurrent jobs in Admin settings.

Issue: Mobile App Won't Connect

Solution:

• Verify server URL includes port (:2283)
• Check firewall allows traffic on port 2283
• For remote access, use Tailscale or Cloudflare Tunnel

Issue: Files Not Appearing After Upload

Solution:

• Check file permissions on upload directory
• Verify the user has upload permissions in Admin panel
• Run a library scan from Admin → Jobs

Migrating from Google Photos

Using Google Takeout

1. Request your data from Google Takeout
2. Select only Google Photos
3. Download all archives
4. Extract to a folder
5. Use Immich CLI or web upload to import

Preserving Metadata

Google Takeout exports include JSON files with metadata. Immich can parse these to preserve:

• Original dates
• GPS locations
• Album organization

Cost Comparison

*Hardware costs: ~$150-300 for N100 mini PC, ~$50-100 per TB storage

Break-even point: 12-18 months vs. cloud subscriptions.

Conclusion

Immich has matured into a genuine Google Photos replacement. With features like automatic backup, facial recognition, and smart search, you get the convenience of cloud services while maintaining complete control of your data.

The Intel N100 platform makes an excellent host—low power consumption means you can run Immich 24/7 for just a few dollars per year in electricity. Combined with the eliminated subscription fees, self-hosting your photos just makes sense.

Key Takeaways:

• ✅ Full-featured Google Photos alternative
• ✅ Runs great on low-power Intel N100 servers
• ✅ Active development with frequent updates
• ✅ Break even on hardware costs in 12-18 months
• ✅ Complete privacy and data ownership

Additional Resources

• Official Immich Documentation
• Immich GitHub Repository
• r/immich Community
• Docker Compose Guide
• Hardware Requirements

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This guide was compiled from official documentation and community experiences on r/selfhosted and r/immich.