Komga vs Stump
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Komga
Media server for comics, manga and e-books
VS
Stump
Fast, low-resource comic and ebook media server
| Feature | Komga | Stump |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Kotlin | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,688 | ★ 2,714 |
| First released | 2019 | 2022 |
| Replaces | ComiXology, Kindle | Kindle, ComiXology |
What are Komga and Stump?
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
Stump
Stump is a free, open-source comic, manga, and ebook server built with Rust for speed and low resource use. It implements the OPDS standard and offers a modern web interface for browsing and reading.
- Comic and ebook serving
- OPDS support
- Modern web reader
- Very low resource use
Komga vs Stump: key differences
Komga is written in Kotlin, while Stump is built with TypeScript. Stump is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Komga. Komga is the more established project (first released 2019), while Stump arrived in 2022. Komga has the considerably larger community, at 6,688 GitHub stars versus 2,714.
Why pick each one
Choose Komga if…
- Excellent for comics
- Good metadata handling
- OPDS for apps
Watch out for
- Less ideal for plain e-books
- Niche focus
Choose Stump if…
- Fast and lightweight
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Still pre-1.0
- Fewer features than Komga
Frequently asked questions
Is Komga or Stump better?
Neither is universally better. Komga has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Komga and Stump free and open-source?
Yes. Komga is licensed under MIT and Stump under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Komga and Stump with Docker?
Komga: yes. Stump: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Komga or Stump?
Stump has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Komga. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.