Mango 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.
Stump
Fast, low-resource comic and ebook media server
| Feature | Mango | Stump |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 87 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Crystal | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,777 | ★ 2,714 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | ComiXology | Kindle, ComiXology |
What are Mango and Stump?
Mango
Mango is a self-hosted manga server and reader written in Crystal, designed to be fast and lightweight. It supports multi-user accounts, reading progress tracking, and an OPDS feed for external readers.
- Manga library and reader
- Multi-user accounts
- Reading progress tracking
- OPDS feed support
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
Mango vs Stump: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Mango's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Stump is actively maintained. Mango is written in Crystal, while Stump is built with TypeScript. Mango is the more established project (first released 2020), while Stump arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Mango if…
- Very lightweight
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- Slower development
- Manga-focused only
Choose Stump if…
- Fast and lightweight
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Still pre-1.0
- Fewer features than Komga
Frequently asked questions
Is Mango or Stump better?
Neither is universally better. Stump has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mango and Stump free and open-source?
Yes. Mango is licensed under MIT and Stump under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mango and Stump with Docker?
Mango: yes. Stump: yes.