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Media & storage: guides & tutorials

Self-hosted media servers and file storage: Immich for photos, Nextcloud for file sync. Replace Google Photos and iCloud on your own Liquid Web VPS.

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Self-hosting7 min read

5 Self-Hosted Google Photos Alternatives (2026)

· 7 min read
Yassine El Haddad
Yassine El Haddad
Software Developer & Automation Specialist

Google Photos compresses originals on free plans, shares your data with Google's ad systems, and can revoke access or change terms at any time. Self-hosting your photo library keeps originals untouched on hardware you control — no compression, no data harvesting, and no per-photo storage fees beyond your VPS and attached storage.

Self-hosting14 min read

Immich + Authentik + Caddy: Self-Hosted Google Photos Alternative (2026)

· 14 min read
Yassine El Haddad
Yassine El Haddad
Software Developer & Automation Specialist

TL;DR

  • One docker-compose.yml: Immich (server + ML) + pgvecto-rs PostgreSQL + Redis + optional Authentik SSO + Caddy
  • Measured idle RAM: ~2.4 GB (full stack with Authentik); ~1.6 GB without Authentik
  • Minimum Liquid Web tier: 8 GB Managed VPS (~$33–$40/mo) — plus whatever storage you need for photos
  • Google One 2 TB: $9.99/mo. iCloud+ 2 TB: $9.99/mo. This stack: ~$33/mo VPS + full data ownership + face recognition that actually works offline

Google Photos removed its unlimited free tier in 2021, and iCloud keeps your photos locked inside Apple's ecosystem. Immich is a self-hosted photo and video library with a mobile app, automatic backup, face recognition, and a UI that genuinely resembles Google Photos. This guide deploys Immich on a Liquid Web 8 GB Managed VPS, with optional Authentik SSO for teams or families that want centralized login.