Koodo Reader
E-books & Media LibraryCross-platform ebook reader with annotations and sync
Replaces Calibre, Apple Books
Best Multi-User E-books & Media Library for self-hosting
The 26 best Multi-User e-books & media library you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Calibre-Web
E-books & Media LibraryWeb app to browse and read your Calibre library
Replaces Kindle, Goodreads
Kavita
E-books & Media LibraryFast self-hosted digital library for all reading
Replaces Kindle, ComiXology
Ladder
E-books & Media LibraryBypass paywalls as 12ft.io does
Replaces 12ft, 13ft
Open Library
E-books & Media LibraryOpen, editable catalog and library platform for books
Replaces Goodreads
Komga
E-books & Media LibraryMedia server for comics, manga and e-books
Replaces ComiXology, Kindle
Calibre-Web Automated
E-books & Media LibraryCalibre-Web with automatic ingest and conversion
Replaces Kindle
Librum
E-books & Media LibraryModern e-book reader with self-hostable sync
Replaces Kindle, Goodreads
BookWyrm
E-books & Media LibraryFederated social reading and book review platform
Replaces Goodreads, StoryGraph
Storyteller
E-books & Media LibrarySelf-hosted server that syncs ebooks with audiobooks
Replaces Audible, Kindle
BookLore
E-books & Media LibrarySelf-hosted web app for organizing and reading ebooks and PDFs
Replaces Kindle, Goodreads
Kapowarr
E-books & Media LibraryBuild and manage a comic book library
BookLogr
E-books & Media LibraryManage your personal book library with ease
Koha
E-books & Media LibraryEnterprise-class ILS with modules for acquisitions, circulation,
Upvote RSS
E-books & Media LibraryGenerate rich RSS feeds from Reddit, Hacker News, Lemmy, Mbin
Tinyfeed
E-books & Media LibraryGenerate a static HTML page from a collection of feeds
Replaces Feedly, Google Reader
Booksonic-Air
E-books & Media LibrarySelf-hosted audiobook streaming server with Subsonic API
Replaces Audible
Atsumeru
E-books & Media LibraryManga/comic/light novel media server with clients for Windows, Linux,
Evergreen
E-books & Media LibraryHighly-scalable software for libraries that helps library patrons find
RERO ILS
E-books & Media LibraryLarge-scale ILS that can be run as a service with consortial features,
MangAdventure
E-books & Media LibrarySelf-hosted manga reader and online manga catalog
Replaces Commercial manga sites
MyMangaDB
E-books & Media LibraryManga collection manager with automatic metadata, MyAnimeList import
Readflow
E-books & Media LibraryTrack your Kobo reads on Anilist.co and Hardcover.app using
Inkheart
E-books & Media LibraryLightweight PDF library and reader
Petrolette
E-books & Media LibraryThe news reader that doesn't know you
Replaces Netvibes
Ubooquity
E-books & Media LibraryFree to use, versatile, lightweight, multi-platform, and secure home
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koodo Reader | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 28,496 |
| Calibre-Web | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | GPL-3.0 | 18,382 |
| Kavita | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 512 MB | GPL-3.0 | 11,850 |
| Ladder | Read-the-docs project | Easy | 20 MB | GPL-3.0-only | 9,174 |
| Open Library | Under-an-hour setup | Hard | 4,096 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 6,744 |
| Komga | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 512 MB | MIT | 6,740 |
| Calibre-Web Automated | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 512 MB | GPL-3.0 | 6,414 |
| Librum | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | GPL-3.0 | 5,316 |
| BookWyrm | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 2,048 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 2,795 |
| Storyteller | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 1,024 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 1,500 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: Koodo Reader (28,496 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: Ladder (from 20 MB RAM, against 4,096 MB for the heaviest here).
- Licensing: 9 of 26 use GPL-3.0; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Multi-User within the e-books & media library category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.