Komf vs KOReader

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

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FeatureKomfKOReader
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseMITAGPL-3.0
LanguageKotlinLua
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdockerbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 691★ 28,800
First released20222012
ReplacesGoodreadsKindle, Pocketbook reader

Why pick each one

Choose Komf if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Kotlin
Komf details

Choose KOReader if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • Mature project with 28.8k GitHub stars
  • Written in Lua
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
KOReader details

Frequently asked questions

Is Komf or KOReader better?

Neither is universally better. KOReader has the larger community, while Komf is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Komf and KOReader free and open-source?

Yes. Komf is licensed under MIT and KOReader under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Komf and KOReader with Docker?

Komf: yes. KOReader: check the project docs for container support.

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