khal vs ETAR
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted calendar & contacts options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | khal | ETAR |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Calendar & Contacts | Calendar & Contacts |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,039 | ★ 2,565 |
| First released | 2013 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Google Calendar | Google Calendar |
Why pick each one
Choose khal if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is khal or ETAR better?
Neither is universally better. khal has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are khal and ETAR free and open-source?
Yes. khal is licensed under MIT and ETAR under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run khal and ETAR with Docker?
khal: check the project docs for container support. ETAR: yes.