Lychee vs Mylio Photos
Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, ratings, and alternatives.
Lychee is an open‑source, server‑based photo management solution that lets you organize, share, and view your images from any web browser. It runs on your own hosting environment, giving you full control over privacy and storage. Designed with simplicity in mind, Lychee offers an intuitive interface for uploading, tagging, and creating albums, while supporting high‑resolution previews and easy sharing links. It’s free to use and maintained by a vibrant community.
Mylio Photos is a photo management application that pulls scattered photos and videos from phones, computers, and external drives into a single, searchable library without forcing users into a single cloud provider. Its offline-first design means the full library, including thumbnails and metadata, stays browsable and searchable even without an internet connection.
- Fully self‑hosted, giving complete data control
- Free and open‑source with active community support
- Simple, clean web UI that requires no client software
- Easy to set up on standard LAMP/LEMP stacks
- Does not lock users into a single cloud storage provider
- Full offline access to a synced library, useful for photographers without reliable connectivity
- Strong deduplication tools for cleaning up large, messy libraries
- Available across desktop and mobile platforms
- Requires a PHP server with a MySQL/MariaDB database rather than a single binary
- No native mobile app, only browser access
- Statistics, watermarking, user groups and anonymous uploads are locked to the paid EUR 5/month Supporter Edition
- Initial sync and indexing of large libraries can take significant time
- Interface has more setup complexity than simpler consumer photo apps
- Optional cloud storage add-on pricing is not transparently listed on the marketing site
More alternatives & similar tools
Alternatives to Lychee
View all →
The Verdict
AI-generated from listing dataMylio Photos offers offline‑first, cross‑device syncing with strong deduplication but requires a desktop app, while Lychee provides a self‑hosted, open‑source web gallery with easier setup but no native mobile apps.
Key differences
- •Mylio syncs across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS with offline access; Lychee is accessed via browser only.
- •Mylio stores media locally or on optional cloud add‑on; Lychee requires a self‑hosted server with PHP/MySQL.
- •Mylio is closed‑source desktop software; Lychee is open‑source PHP application with community support.
- •Deduplication and facial‑recognition are built‑in for Mylio; Lychee’s facial recognition is limited to free tier and other advanced features require paid plan.
- •Mylio has a freemium model with unspecified cloud pricing; Lychee is freemium with a paid €5/month tier for extra features.
Pricing & value
Both are freemium, but Lychee’s paid features are clearly €5/month; Mylio’s cloud add‑on pricing is not listed.
Ease of use / learning curve
Lychee runs in a browser with simple UI; Mylio requires desktop installation and complex initial sync.
Features & depth
Mylio provides offline full‑library access, strong deduplication, facial recognition, and selective sharing; Lychee lacks native mobile apps and some features are paid.
Integrations & ecosystem
Mylio syncs across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS; Lychee only integrates via web and needs LAMP/LEMP stack.
Collaboration
Mylio supports permission‑controlled album sharing; Lychee’s sharing is limited to password‑protected albums and paid add‑ons.
Scalability
Mylio handles large libraries with offline sync and deduplication; Lychee depends on server resources and may need manual scaling.
Support
Lychee offers community GitHub issues and forum; Mylio’s support details not provided.
Security & privacy
Lychee is self‑hosted, giving full data control; Mylio stores data locally but optional cloud adds unknown privacy terms.
Migration / lock‑in
Lychee’s open‑source code allows export; Mylio is closed‑source, potentially harder to migrate.
Choose Lychee if…
Users who want full data control via self‑hosting, prefer a web UI, and accept limited mobile support.
Choose Mylio Photos if…
Photographers needing offline, cross‑device access and robust deduplication, willing to install desktop apps.
Common questions
Can I use either solution on my phone without installing anything?
Mylio has native iOS and Android apps; Lychee is only accessible through a mobile browser.
What are the ongoing costs?
Mylio’s cloud add‑on price is not listed; Lychee charges €5/month for advanced features, otherwise free.
Is my photo library locked to a vendor?
Mylio stores files locally and does not lock you to a cloud provider; Lychee is self‑hosted, giving full control over data.