Self-hosted alternatives to Kindle
Want e-book library and reader without handing your data to Kindle? These 18 open-source apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calibre | Actively maintained | 26.3k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Calibre Web | Actively maintained | 18.5k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Audiobookshelf | Actively maintained | 14.9k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Kavita | Actively maintained | 12k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Komga | Actively maintained | 6.8k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Calibre Web Automated | Actively maintained | 6.5k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Grimmory | Actively maintained | 4.6k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Bookwyrm | Actively maintained | 2.8k | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Stump | Actively maintained | 2.8k | MIT | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Kapowarr | Actively maintained | 1.1k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| kiwix-serve | Actively maintained | 984 | GPL-3.0 | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| BookLogr | Actively maintained | 637 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Tome | Actively maintained | 109 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Bindery | Actively maintained | 65 | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Atsumeru | Maintained | 195 | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| MyMangaDB | Actively maintained | 31 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Inkheart | Actively maintained | 23 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Ubooquity | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
The options in detail
1. Calibre
E-book library manager that can view, convert, and catalog e-books in most of the major e-book formats and provides a built-in Web server for remote clients.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-03. Latest release v9.17.0 (2026-10-23). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Calibre Web
Browse, read and download eBooks using an existing Calibre database.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-09-20. Latest release 0.6.27 (2026-08-08). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. 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 →
4. Kavita
Cross-platform e-book/manga/comic/pdf server and web reader with user management, ratings and reviews, and metadata support.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release v0.9.1.4 (2026-09-02). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. Komga
Media server for comics/mangas/BDs with API and OPDS support, a modern web interface for exploring your libraries, as well as a web reader.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release 1.29.2 (2026-10-28). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Calibre Web Automated
All-in-one solution, combining the modern lightweight web UI from Calibre-Web with the robust, versatile feature set of Calibre (fork of Calibre Web).
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-01. Latest release v4.0.8 (2026-09-28). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. 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 →
8. Bookwyrm
Social network for tracking your reading, talking about books, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release v0.9.4 (2026-10-29). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Stump
Fast comics, manga and digital book server with OPDS support.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release v0.1.12 (2026-11-01). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
10. Kapowarr
Build and manage a comic book library. Download, rename, move and convert issues of the volume to your liking.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-09-14. Latest release V1.3.2 (2026-09-14). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. kiwix-serve
HTTP daemon for serving wikis from ZIM files.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release 3.8.2 (2026-03-02). Needs roughly 512 MB RAM. How to run it →
12. BookLogr
Manage your personal book library with ease.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-09-12. Latest release v1.12.0 (2026-09-07). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. Tome
Ebook and manga library server with web reader, OPDS and metadata fetching. A KOReader plugin records every reading session and syncs positions both ways, powering streaks, pace, heatmaps and per-book stats.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-01. Latest release v2.8.0 (2026-10-24). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Bindery
Folder-watching converter for e-books and comics. EPUB to Kobo KEPUB via kepubify, CBZ/CBR/PDF via Kindle Comic Converter, with per-device profiles, ComicInfo.xml naming, chapter-to-volume bundling and a web UI.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-09-09. Latest release v4.3.2 (2026-09-09). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. Atsumeru
Manga/comic/light novel media server with clients for Windows, Linux, macOS and Android.
Maintained Last activity 2026-07-08. Latest release 2.2 (2026-07-08). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
16. MyMangaDB
Manga collection manager with automatic metadata, MyAnimeList import and detailed collection statistics.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-27. Latest release v2.8.4 (2026-10-27). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Inkheart
Lightweight PDF library and reader.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-30. Latest release 1.5.0 (2026-10-30). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
18. Ubooquity
Free to use, versatile, lightweight, multi-platform, and secure home server for your comic and e-book library.
Health unknown Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Kindle?
- 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
Kindle is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.