Head-to-Head Comparison · Alternative to SmugMug · 📷 photo editing
SmugMug vs Lychee
Clean albums, passworded shares, metadata, and downloads from your own storage; no print lab, sales engine, or hand-holding. Here is how Lychee ($0/mo open source) stacks up against SmugMug ($20/mo) across cost, hosting, data privacy, and real-world trade-offs.
SmugMug vs Lychee Specification Matrix
facts verified 2026-08-11
| Dimension | SmugMug (Paid) | Lychee (Replacement) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $20 / mo | $0 / mo |
| 1-Year Cost (1 seat) | $240 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $240) |
| 1-Year Cost (5 seats) | $1,200 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $1,200) |
| 1-Year Cost (10 seats) | $2,400 / yr | $0 / yr (Save $2,400) |
| Source & License | Proprietary SaaS | open source MIT |
| Where It Runs | Vendor Cloud | Self-host (your server) |
| Platforms | Web / Cloud | webself-hosteddocker to self-host |
| GitHub Stars | — | ★ 4.3k (active jul 2026) |
Deep Dive: Switching from SmugMug to Lychee
Trade-offs, installation & data architecture
What you trade away
It can publish attractive private albums, but it has no SmugMug print lab, storefront, client proofing, sales fulfillment or managed hosting support.
How to deploy Lychee
Docker Compose with the Lychee image and MariaDB; prebuilt and source installs also exist
What it takes to run
Docker Compose, writable persistent volumes, a database, an APP_KEY, and domain/TLS setup for remote sharing
Where your data lives
Uploaded originals and derivatives live in persistent uploads storage; albums, users, metadata and settings live in MariaDB (or another configured database), with separate logs and temporary-data volumes
Why fork Lychee instead of vibe-coding a SmugMug clone?
A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For SmugMug, publish a self-hosted client gallery from user-owned photo storage. The hard boundary is image hosting, global delivery, print commerce, client proofing, and support, plus image pipeline quality, models, and workflow polish.
SmugMug vs Lychee FAQ
Is Lychee a good free alternative to SmugMug?+
Yes. Lychee is a verified open-source (MIT) replacement for SmugMug. Clean albums, passworded shares, metadata, and downloads from your own storage; no print lab, sales engine, or hand-holding.
What is the catch when switching from SmugMug to Lychee?+
It can publish attractive private albums, but it has no SmugMug print lab, storefront, client proofing, sales fulfillment or managed hosting support.
How much do you save switching from SmugMug to Lychee?+
SmugMug costs $20/mo ($240/yr) per seat, whereas Lychee is $0/mo. Switching saves $240/yr for a solo user, $1,200/yr for a 5-person team, and $2,400/yr for a 10-person team.
How do I install or self-host Lychee instead of SmugMug?+
Install: Docker Compose with the Lychee image and MariaDB; prebuilt and source installs also exist. Setup: Docker Compose, writable persistent volumes, a database, an APP_KEY, and domain/TLS setup for remote sharing
