COPS vs Plato
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | COPS | Plato |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 73 · Good | 65 · Good |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 134 | ★ 1,705 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Kindle | Kobo reader app, Kindle |
What are COPS and Plato?
COPS
COPS is a lightweight Calibre OPDS and HTML PHP server that exposes a Calibre library without needing Calibre running. It targets users wanting a minimal way to share their library. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- OPDS and HTML catalog
- Reads Calibre metadata database
- Very lightweight
- No Calibre process needed
Plato
Plato is an open-source document reader built specifically for Kobo e-ink devices, supporting EPUB, PDF, CBZ, and more. It offers a library view, annotations, and connectivity to OPDS catalogs.
- Built for Kobo devices
- Multi-format support
- OPDS catalog access
- Annotations and bookmarks
COPS vs Plato: key differences
COPS is written in PHP, while Plato is built with Rust. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for COPS versus AGPL-3.0 for Plato. COPS is the more established project (first released 2013), while Plato arrived in 2017. Plato has the considerably larger community, at 1,705 GitHub stars versus 134. COPS lists first-class Docker deployment; Plato does not.
Why pick each one
Choose COPS if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to host
- Good OPDS support
Watch out for
- Read-only catalog
- Basic interface
Choose Plato if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is COPS or Plato better?
Neither is universally better. Plato has the larger community, while COPS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are COPS and Plato free and open-source?
Yes. COPS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Plato under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run COPS and Plato with Docker?
COPS: yes. Plato: check the project docs for container support.