Baïkal vs Davis
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted groupware options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Baïkal | Davis |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 85 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known in 0.12.1 | None known in v5.5.0 |
| Category | Groupware | Groupware |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,333 | ★ 757 |
| First released | 2012 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Calendar, iCloud | Google Calendar, iCloud |
What are Baïkal and Davis?
Baïkal
Baïkal is a lightweight CalDAV and CardDAV server built on the sabre/dav library, providing calendar and contact synchronization with a simple web admin panel. It suits individuals and small teams.
- CalDAV and CardDAV server
- Web-based administration
- SQLite or MySQL storage
- Standards-compliant sync
Davis
Davis is a simple, modern web administration interface for a sabre/dav-based CalDAV and CardDAV server. It makes managing calendars, address books, and users straightforward.
- Modern admin UI for sabre/dav
- CalDAV and CardDAV support
- User and resource management
- Docker-ready deployment
Baïkal vs Davis: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Baïkal versus MIT for Davis. Baïkal is the more established project (first released 2012), while Davis arrived in 2020. Baïkal has the considerably larger community, at 3,333 GitHub stars versus 757.
Why pick each one
Choose Baïkal if…
- Simple and lightweight
- Easy admin interface
Watch out for
- No web calendar interface
- Admin tool, not full groupware
Choose Davis if…
- Cleaner UI than Baikal
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Admin tool only
- No calendar viewing UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Baïkal or Davis better?
Neither is universally better. Baïkal has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Baïkal and Davis free and open-source?
Yes. Baïkal is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Davis under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Baïkal and Davis with Docker?
Baïkal: yes. Davis: yes.