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digiKam vs Hydrus Network: catalog facts
digiKam	Hydrus Network
Free Free and open source, part of the KDE community.	Free Free, with source published on GitHub.
Windows, macOS, Linux	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
Handles libraries of more than 100,000 images without falling over Face detection and tagging to find photos of specific people	Tag-based search across very large collections Imports files and tags from disk and websites
A large, complex application with a correspondingly steep learning curve Its editor is capable but not a substitute for a dedicated raw developer	Takes time to learn compared with ordinary photo libraries Interface is dense and built for power users
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Closed source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later	License: WTFPL
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 20, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 24, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.