AgenDAV vs khal
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted calendar & contacts options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | AgenDAV | khal |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 69 · Good |
| Category | Calendar & Contacts | Calendar & Contacts |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 826 | ★ 3,054 |
| First released | 2011 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Google Calendar | Google Calendar |
What are AgenDAV and khal?
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
khal
khal is a standards-based command-line calendar program that reads and writes iCalendar files and works with vdirsyncer to synchronize against self-hosted CalDAV servers. It offers an interactive console interface.
- Command-line CalDAV calendar
- Works with vdirsyncer
- Interactive console interface
AgenDAV vs khal: key differences
AgenDAV is written in PHP, while khal is built with Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for AgenDAV versus MIT for khal. Khal is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for AgenDAV. AgenDAV is the more established project (first released 2011), while khal arrived in 2013. Khal has the considerably larger community, at 3,054 GitHub stars versus 826. AgenDAV lists first-class Docker deployment; khal 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 khal if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is AgenDAV or khal better?
Neither is universally better. khal has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are AgenDAV and khal free and open-source?
Yes. AgenDAV is licensed under GPL-3.0 and khal under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run AgenDAV and khal with Docker?
AgenDAV: yes. khal: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, AgenDAV or khal?
khal has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for AgenDAV. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.