Immich
Trigger.dev
| Feature | Immich | Trigger.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $0/mo | Free / from $0/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.7 / 5 | 4.4 / 5 |
| Best For | self-hosters, families, privacy-focused-users, photographers | typescript-developers, saas-apps, background-processing, serverless-teams |
| Founded | 2022 | 2022 |
| Photo Backup | ✓ | ✗ |
| Facial Recognition | ✓ | ✗ |
| Smart Search | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shared Albums | ✓ | ✗ |
| Memories | ✓ | ✗ |
| Map View | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mobile Apps | ✓ | ✗ |
| Background Jobs | ✗ | ✓ |
| Scheduled Tasks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Event Triggers | ✗ | ✓ |
| Retries | ✗ | ✓ |
| Observability | ✗ | ✓ |
| Concurrency Control | ✗ | ✓ |
| Self Hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Immich Pros
- Full Google Photos replacement (self-hosted)
- AI face recognition and smart search
- Mobile apps with automatic background backup
- Shared albums and partner sharing
✗ Immich Cons
- Self-hosting only (no managed cloud option)
- Resource-intensive (especially ML features)
- Still in active development (breaking changes possible)
✓ Trigger.dev Pros
- Write background jobs in TypeScript (not YAML/config)
- Built-in retries, queues, and concurrency controls
- Excellent developer experience with type safety
- Open-source with self-hosting option
✗ Trigger.dev Cons
- TypeScript only (no Python/Go support)
- Cloud pricing based on compute time
- Newer platform with evolving API
The Verdict
Immich is built for self hosters and families, with a focus on photo-backup and facial-recognition. Trigger.dev targets typescript developers and saas apps and leads with background-jobs and scheduled-tasks.
Both tools come in at similar price points ($0/mo for Immich, $0/mo for Trigger.dev), so pricing won't make the decision for you.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Bottom line: Immich has a slight overall edge — but if write background jobs in typescript (not yaml/config) matters most to you, Trigger.dev may still be the right call.