Kavita vs Paperless-ngx

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?
FeatureKavitaPaperless-ngx
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC#Python
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 11,431★ 44,077
First released20212022
ReplacesKindle, ComiXologyEvernote, DEVONthink

Why pick each one

Choose Kavita if…

  • Great mixed-media support
  • Fast and modern
  • Active development
Kavita details

Choose Paperless-ngx if…

  • Excellent for paperless offices
  • Very active community
Paperless-ngx details

Frequently asked questions

Is Kavita or Paperless-ngx better?

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

Are Kavita and Paperless-ngx free and open-source?

Yes. Kavita is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Paperless-ngx under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Kavita and Paperless-ngx with Docker?

Kavita: yes. Paperless-ngx: yes.

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