Audiobookshelf
Audiobook and podcast server. It streams all audio formats, keeps and syncs progress across devices. Comes with apps for Android and iOS.
Audiobookshelf vs koel
Two self-hosted Media Streaming - Audio Streaming apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Audiobookshelf | koel | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Audiobook and podcast server. It streams all audio formats, keeps and syncs progress across devices. Comes with apps for Android and iOS. | Personal music streaming server that works. |
| GitHub stars | 14,911 | 17,334 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 447 | 857 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Latest release | v2.37.2 (2026-10-23) | v9.15.0 (2026-09-28) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language / platform | Docker, deb, Nodejs | PHP |
| Docker Hub image | advplyr/audiobookshelf | – |
| Docker pulls | 6350.5k | – |
| Est. server size | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Media Streaming - Audio Streaming, Document Management - E-books | Media Streaming - Audio Streaming |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Audiobookshelf and koel have a similar number of GitHub stars (14.9k vs 17.3k).
- koel had more commits in the last 12 months (857 vs 447).
- Audiobookshelf published a release more recently (v2.37.2 on 2026-10-23; koel's latest is v9.15.0 on 2026-09-28).
- Audiobookshelf is licensed under GPL-3.0, koel under MIT. koel's license is permissive; Audiobookshelf's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
- Audiobookshelf is written in Nodejs; koel in PHP.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Audiobookshelf: Docker, deb; koel: none listed.
- Only Audiobookshelf has a Docker Hub image that we detected (advplyr/audiobookshelf).
Summary: Audiobookshelf leads on Docker Hub availability; koel leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Get the Docker images
Audiobookshelf
docker pull advplyr/audiobookshelfImage on Docker Hub. Ports, volumes and environment variables differ per app; follow the official docs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Audiobookshelf or koel more popular?
They are close: Audiobookshelf has 14,911 GitHub stars and koel has 17,334 (as of 2026-11-05).
Which is more actively maintained, Audiobookshelf or koel?
koel had more commits over the last 12 months (857 vs 447). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for Audiobookshelf and 2026-11-03 for koel. Our health labels: Audiobookshelf is “Active”, koel is “Active”.
What licenses do Audiobookshelf and koel use?
Audiobookshelf: GPL-3.0. koel: MIT. koel's license is permissive; Audiobookshelf's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).
Can I run Audiobookshelf and koel with Docker?
Audiobookshelf has a Docker Hub image (advplyr/audiobookshelf). We did not find one for koel; check its documentation for install options.
Read more
koel
Personal music streaming server that works.
Browse all self-hosted Media Streaming - Audio Streaming apps.