Davis vs Radicale
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted groupware options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Radicale
Simple, lightweight CalDAV and CardDAV server
| Feature | Davis | Radicale |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Groupware | Groupware |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 753 | ★ 5,040 |
| First released | 2020 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Google Calendar, iCloud | Google Calendar, iCloud |
What are Davis and Radicale?
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
Radicale
Radicale is a small, easy-to-run CalDAV and CardDAV server that stores calendars and contacts as plain files. It is ideal for individuals and small groups wanting to sync schedules and address books.
- Plain-file calendar and contact storage
- Very low resource usage
- CalDAV and CardDAV support
- Simple authentication options
Davis vs Radicale: key differences
Davis is written in PHP, while Radicale is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Davis versus GPL-3.0 for Radicale. Radicale is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Davis. Radicale is the more established project (first released 2008), while Davis arrived in 2020. Radicale has the considerably larger community, at 5,040 GitHub stars versus 753.
Why pick each one
Choose Davis if…
- Cleaner UI than Baikal
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Admin tool only
- No calendar viewing UI
Choose Radicale if…
- Extremely easy to deploy
- No database needed
Watch out for
- No web calendar UI
- Minimal feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Davis or Radicale better?
Neither is universally better. Radicale has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Davis and Radicale free and open-source?
Yes. Davis is licensed under MIT and Radicale under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Davis and Radicale with Docker?
Davis: yes. Radicale: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Davis or Radicale?
Radicale has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Davis. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.