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Comparison · Collab

Immich vs Nextcloud

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Immich and Nextcloud — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

Immich vs Nextcloud: at a glance

FeatureImmichNextcloud
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesself-hosted, photo-management, backups, authenticationself-hosted, file-sharing, security-patches, performance
Last editorial update3d ago10h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Immich?

Immich's 3.4 candidate brings passkeys to the phone app

Immich is in its v3.4 release-candidate cycle. rc.1 added passkey sign-in, built-in backups through FUTO Backups (restic-based), JPEG XL support and mobile tags, with a batch of security fixes; rc.2 was bug fixes only. rc.3 on 6 November extends passkeys to the mobile apps and improves the backup integration.

Read the full Immich trajectory →

What is Nextcloud?

Nextcloud's November patches lean on preview speed and sharing fixes across three branches.

Nextcloud released 35.0.3, 34.0.6 and 33.0.11 on November 12, a month after the previous patch round. 35.0.3 is the largest, with about a dozen calendar and contacts sync fixes, faster cold preview generation, a cached mimetype table, share expiration times that are kept, share-by-mail passwords sent readable instead of hashed, and sharing with remote owners. The two older lines get the same sharing, encryption and audit-log backports.

Read the full Nextcloud trajectory →

Immich vs Nextcloud: editorial side-by-side

I
Immich
COLLAB
5.0

Immich's 3.4 candidate brings passkeys to the phone app

◆ Current state

Immich is in its v3.4 release-candidate cycle. rc.1 added passkey sign-in, built-in backups through FUTO Backups (restic-based), JPEG XL support and mobile tags, with a batch of security fixes; rc.2 was bug fixes only. rc.3 on 6 November extends passkeys to the mobile apps and improves the backup integration.

◆ Where it's heading

Each Immich cycle runs three or four candidates in a few weeks, and 3.4 is adding the account and data-safety features a self-hosted photo library needs before households rely on it. Passkeys reaching mobile completes the sign-in change across clients.

◆ Prediction

A stable v3.4.0 is the likely next entry, with the draft release notes already published.

N
Nextcloud
COLLAB
5.0

Nextcloud's November patches lean on preview speed and sharing fixes across three branches.

◆ Current state

Nextcloud released 35.0.3, 34.0.6 and 33.0.11 on November 12, a month after the previous patch round. 35.0.3 is the largest, with about a dozen calendar and contacts sync fixes, faster cold preview generation, a cached mimetype table, share expiration times that are kept, share-by-mail passwords sent readable instead of hashed, and sharing with remote owners. The two older lines get the same sharing, encryption and audit-log backports.

◆ Where it's heading

Since the 35.0 major in September, Nextcloud has returned to its monthly three-branch patch rhythm. The fixes concentrate on sharing correctness, CalDAV/CardDAV sync and performance on large instances, with few new features. The 35 line receives small additions, such as remote share owners, that the older branches do not.

◆ Prediction

The next patch round should land in mid-December on the same three branches; the entries do not show when 36 development will surface.

Alternatives to Immich and Nextcloud

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Immich or Nextcloud.

See all Immich alternatives → · See all Nextcloud alternatives →

Recent activity from Immich and Nextcloud

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 2d agoNextcloudNextcloud 34.0.6: sharing, encryption and upload backports
  2. 2d agoNextcloudNextcloud 33.0.11: sharing and legacy DAV auth backports
  3. 2d agoNextcloudNextcloud 35.0.3: faster previews, sync and sharing fixes
  4. 7d agoImmichv3.4 RC3 brings passkeys to mobile and refines backups
  5. 9d agoImmichv3.4 RC2 is bug fixes only ahead of the stable release
  6. 14d agoImmichv3.4 RC adds passkeys, built-in backups and JPEG XL
  7. 1mo agoNextcloudNextcloud 35.0.2: webhook metadata, sharing fixes, report API
  8. 1mo agoNextcloudNextcloud 34.0.5: share CSRF fix, log redaction, sharing backports
  9. 1mo agoNextcloudNextcloud 33.0.10: share CSRF fix and sharing backports
  10. 1mo agoImmichv3.3 RC2 refines person sharing before release
  11. 1mo agoImmichv3.3 RC1 continues person-sharing work
  12. 1mo agoImmichv3.3 RC adds people management and TensorRT-RTX

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Immich and Nextcloud?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. Immich and Nextcloud are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Immich better than Nextcloud?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Immich and Nextcloud are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Immich?

Top Immich alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Immich alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/immich for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Nextcloud?

Top Nextcloud alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Nextcloud alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/nextcloud for the full list with editorial commentary on each.