Kavita vs Komga
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kavita
Fast self-hosted digital library for all reading
VS
Komga
Media server for comics, manga and e-books
| Feature | Kavita | Komga |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 91 · Excellent |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | C# | Kotlin |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,728 | ★ 6,688 |
| First released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Kindle, ComiXology | ComiXology, Kindle |
What are Kavita and Komga?
Kavita
Kavita is a fast, self-hosted digital library that handles e-books, comics, manga, and magazines with a polished reader. It targets readers with mixed digital collections. It is deployed via Docker.
- Handles books, comics and manga
- Fast polished web reader
- Collections and reading lists
- OPDS support
Komga
Komga is a self-hosted media server focused on comics, manga, BD, and e-books with a clean web reader and OPDS support. It targets comic and manga collectors. It is deployed via Docker.
- Comic and manga focused
- Web reader with OPDS
- Metadata and collections
- REST API
Kavita vs Komga: key differences
Kavita is written in C#, while Komga is built with Kotlin. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Kavita versus MIT for Komga. Komga is the more established project (first released 2019), while Kavita arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose Kavita if…
- Great mixed-media support
- Fast and modern
- Active development
Watch out for
- No metadata editing
- Library organization is folder-based
Choose Komga if…
- Excellent for comics
- Good metadata handling
- OPDS for apps
Watch out for
- Less ideal for plain e-books
- Niche focus
Frequently asked questions
Is Kavita or Komga better?
Neither is universally better. Kavita has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Kavita and Komga free and open-source?
Yes. Kavita is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Komga under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kavita and Komga with Docker?
Kavita: yes. Komga: yes.