Alf.io vs calcurse
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted calendar & contacts options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | Alf.io | calcurse |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Calendar & Contacts | Calendar & Contacts |
| License | GPL-3.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Java | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 16 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,601 | ★ 1,301 |
| First released | 2025 | 2004 |
| Replaces | — | Google Calendar |
Why pick each one
Choose Alf.io if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.6k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 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 Alf.io or calcurse better?
Neither is universally better. Alf.io has the larger community, while calcurse is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Alf.io and calcurse free and open-source?
Yes. Alf.io is licensed under GPL-3.0 and calcurse under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Alf.io and calcurse with Docker?
Alf.io: check the project docs for container support. calcurse: check the project docs for container support.