AgenDAV vs calcurse
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted calendar & contacts options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | AgenDAV | calcurse |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Calendar & Contacts | Calendar & Contacts |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | PHP | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 16 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 826 | ★ 1,303 |
| First released | 2011 | 2004 |
| Replaces | Google Calendar | Google Calendar |
What are AgenDAV and calcurse?
AgenDAV
AgenDAV is a CalDAV web client that lets users manage and share calendars stored on a CalDAV server. It provides a responsive Ajax interface with drag-and-drop event editing.
- CalDAV web frontend
- Drag-and-drop event editing
- Calendar sharing
calcurse
calcurse is a text-based personal organizer with a calendar, an appointments list, and a to-do manager, all in a curses interface. It supports CalDAV synchronization so it can connect to self-hosted calendar servers.
- Text-based calendar and to-do
- CalDAV synchronization
- Very low resource use
AgenDAV vs calcurse: key differences
AgenDAV is written in PHP, while calcurse is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for AgenDAV versus BSD-2-Clause for calcurse. Calcurse is the lighter option, starting around 16 MB of RAM against 128 MB for AgenDAV. Calcurse is the more established project (first released 2004), while AgenDAV arrived in 2011. AgenDAV lists first-class Docker deployment; calcurse does not.
Why pick each one
Choose AgenDAV if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose calcurse if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.3k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is AgenDAV or calcurse better?
calcurse is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider AgenDAV if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are AgenDAV and calcurse free and open-source?
Yes. AgenDAV is licensed under GPL-3.0 and calcurse under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AgenDAV and calcurse with Docker?
AgenDAV: yes. calcurse: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, AgenDAV or calcurse?
calcurse has the smaller minimum footprint at 16 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for AgenDAV. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.