Free Programming Books vs Koha

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureFree Programming BooksKoha
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseCC-BY-4.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePythonPerl
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 393,952★ 583
First released20132020
ReplacesPaid technical book subscriptions

Why pick each one

Choose Free Programming Books if…

  • Enormous free resource
  • Very active
Free Programming Books details

Choose Koha if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Written in Perl
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Koha details

Frequently asked questions

Is Free Programming Books or Koha better?

Free Programming Books is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Koha if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Free Programming Books and Koha free and open-source?

Yes. Free Programming Books is licensed under CC-BY-4.0 and Koha under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Free Programming Books and Koha with Docker?

Free Programming Books: check the project docs for container support. Koha: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons