Foliate vs Stump
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Stump
Fast, low-resource comic and ebook media server
| Feature | Foliate | Stump |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,757 | ★ 2,712 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Kindle | Kindle, ComiXology |
What are Foliate and Stump?
Foliate
Foliate is an open-source ebook reader for the Linux desktop built with GTK. It reads EPUB and other ebook formats with a clean paginated view, customizable themes, annotations, and offline reading. It is a desktop app, not a server.
- Ebook reading
- EPUB and PDF support
- Annotations and highlights
- Offline reading
Stump
Stump is a free, open-source comic, manga, and ebook server built with Rust for speed and low resource use. It implements the OPDS standard and offers a modern web interface for browsing and reading.
- Comic and ebook serving
- OPDS support
- Modern web reader
- Very low resource use
Foliate vs Stump: key differences
Foliate is written in JavaScript, while Stump is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Foliate versus MIT for Stump. Foliate is the more established project (first released 2019), while Stump arrived in 2022. Foliate has the considerably larger community, at 8,757 GitHub stars versus 2,712.
Why pick each one
Choose Foliate if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 8.8k GitHub stars
Watch out for
- Primarily a desktop reader
- See Foliate desktop app
Choose Stump if…
- Fast and lightweight
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Still pre-1.0
- Fewer features than Komga
Frequently asked questions
Is Foliate or Stump better?
Neither is universally better. Foliate has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Foliate and Stump free and open-source?
Yes. Foliate is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Stump under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Foliate and Stump with Docker?
Foliate: yes. Stump: yes.