Self-hosted alternatives to Audible
Want audiobooks and podcasts without handing your data to Audible? These 5 open-source apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $5/month.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audiobookshelf | Actively maintained | 14.9k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Grimmory | Actively maintained | 4.6k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Pinepods | Actively maintained | 1k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Audioserve | Actively maintained | 863 | MIT | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| vod2pod-rss | Actively maintained | 390 | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
The options in detail
1. Audiobookshelf
Audiobook and podcast server. It streams all audio formats, keeps and syncs progress across devices. Comes with apps for Android and iOS.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release v2.37.2 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Grimmory
Library for ebooks, comics and audiobooks with a built-in reader, metadata lookup, multi-user support, OPDS, and Kobo/KOReader sync.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v3.5.0 (2026-09-21). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Pinepods
Podcast management system with multi-user support. Pinepods utilizes a central database so aspects like listen time and themes follow from device to device.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-30. Latest release 0.9.0 (2026-06-26). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Audioserve
Simple personal server to serve audio files from directories (audiobooks, music, podcasts...). Focused on simplicity and supports sync of play position between clients.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v0.30.1 (2026-05-23). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. vod2pod-rss
Convert YouTube and Twitch channels to podcasts, no storage required. Transcodes VoDs to MP3 192k on the fly, generates an RSS feed to use in podcast clients.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-30. Latest release v1.2.5 (2026-09-09). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Audible?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Actively maintained and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Audible is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.