Updated October 6, 2026: added Grimmory, BookOrbit, and Calibre-Web-Automated, and refreshed versions, prices, star counts, and the comparison table.
If you're looking for a self-hosted way to manage your ebook collection, there are more good options than ever. Whether you want a simple web frontend for your Calibre library, a full-featured manga reader, or an audiobook server with mobile apps, there's something here for you.
Here are seven tools worth considering — each with a different focus. Versions, prices, and star counts are as of October 2026.
1. Calibre-Web — best for existing Calibre users
If you already manage your ebooks in Calibre, this is the easiest path. Calibre-Web puts a clean browser interface on top of your existing Calibre database. You get OPDS feeds, Kobo sync, send-to-Kindle, and multi-user support without changing your workflow.
The tradeoff: you need an existing Calibre library — you can't build one from scratch in the web UI. Performance can also slow down past ~20,000 books. But if you're already a Calibre user, nothing else comes close in terms of compatibility.
Many people now deploy Calibre-Web-Automated (CWA) instead, a fork that bundles Calibre itself. It creates a library if you don't have one, watches an ingest folder and converts new files to your preferred format on the way in, and adds KOReader progress sync, OIDC login, Hardcover metadata, and an EPUB fixer for files Amazon's Send-to-Kindle rejects. It's GPL-3.0, funded by Ko-fi donations, and has 6.4k stars. Bulk imports are its weak spot: in an independent mid-2026 benchmark, it processed about 1,100 of 10,000 books in 91 minutes before the test was stopped.
Supports: EPUB, PDF, MOBI, AZW3, and 50+ formats via Calibre conversion Deploy: Docker (LinuxServer.io image) · GitHub · 18.3k stars
2. Kavita — best for books, comics, and manga in one place
Kavita handles ebooks, manga, comics, and light novels in a single app — no Calibre dependency required. Point it at your files and it auto-organizes everything into series.
The built-in reader supports single page, dual page, and webtoon scroll modes. You get reading progress sync across devices, two-way progress sync with KOReader, send-to-Kindle by email, full-text search, smart filters, and OIDC authentication. It doesn't sync with Kobo's built-in reader, and it doesn't handle audiobooks. In the same mid-2026 benchmark, it was a close second on import speed and used the least memory of any app up to 100,000 books.
There's an optional Kavita+ subscription ($4/month; the code FIRSTTIME takes $2 off the first month) that adds metadata download, progress scrobbling to Hardcover, AniList, MyAnimeList, and MangaBaka, external reviews and ratings, recommendations, and MAL stack import. Since v0.9.1 (August 2026) that covers books too, through Hardcover — before, metadata download was manga and light novels only. One license covers every user on your server. The core app is fully functional without it, and the developer has committed that no base feature will ever move behind the subscription.
Supports: EPUB, PDF, CBZ, CBR, CB7, image folders Deploy: Docker · kavitareader.com · 11.8k stars
3. Komga — best for comics and manga
If your collection is primarily comics or manga, Komga is purpose-built for you. It has first-class Tachiyomi/Mihon integration, OPDS v1.2 and v2.0, Kobo sync for EPUBs, KOReader progress sync, and excellent metadata management. It's built with Kotlin/Spring Boot and runs as a single Docker container or standalone JAR.
Komga is mature (v1.28), MIT-licensed, funded by donations through Open Collective and GitHub Sponsors, and rock-solid. It doesn't try to do everything — it does comics extremely well and handles ebooks as a secondary feature.
Supports: CBZ, CBR, PDF, EPUB Deploy: Docker or standalone JAR · komga.org · 6.7k stars
4. Audiobookshelf — best for audiobooks (obviously)
Audiobookshelf is in a category of its own. It's a full audiobook and podcast server with on-the-fly streaming, chapter management, and its own mobile apps: an Android app on Google Play and an iOS app on TestFlight, both still labeled beta. The iOS beta is full (Apple caps TestFlight at 10,000 testers), but several solid third-party iOS clients exist — ShelfPlayer and SoundLeaf are the two most commonly recommended, and both shipped updates in the past two months. It still has the broadest mobile coverage on this list.
It streams audio without transcoding, syncs playback progress across devices, scrapes metadata from Google Books and Open Library, generates personal RSS feeds per user, and can send ebooks to a Kindle. Ebook support (EPUB, PDF, comics) exists but is basic, and there's no OPDS feed — this is first and foremost an audiobook tool.
Supports: MP3, M4B, M4A, FLAC, OGG (audio); EPUB, PDF, CBR, CBZ (ebooks) Deploy: Docker · audiobookshelf.org · 14.6k stars
5. Grimmory — the community successor to BookLore
Grimmory is what BookLore's former contributors built after its March 2026 blow-up (see the note on BookLore below). They forked the codebase on March 12, 2026, and kept what people liked about it: smart shelves with rule-based filters, metadata from Google Books, Open Library, and Amazon, a browser reader for EPUB, PDF, and comics with highlights and annotations, and a BookDrop folder that detects, enriches, and queues new files for import. It handles audiobooks too.
For devices, it syncs with Kobo, serves OPDS, syncs reading progress with KOReader, and can email a book to a Kindle. It also speaks Komga's API, so Komga clients like Mihon and Komelia can read from it. Accounts are multi-user, with per-user shelves and OIDC login.
Development is spread across several regular contributors rather than one person, the project takes donations through Open Collective, and it publishes a security advisory for each fix — v3.5.0 (September 2026) patched three. The tradeoff is weight: it runs on Java with a MariaDB sidecar, and in the mid-2026 benchmark it used about 1.9 GB of RAM idle with 150,000 books, against about 0.5 GB for BookOrbit. Below a few thousand books, as the benchmark's author notes, none of these differences are noticeable.
Supports: EPUB, MOBI, AZW, AZW3, FB2, PDF, CBZ, CBR, CB7, M4B, M4A, MP3, OPUS Deploy: Docker Compose with MariaDB · grimmory.org · AGPL-3.0 · 4.5k stars
6. BookOrbit — fastest, with an official iPhone app
BookOrbit is the newest entry and the fastest-growing: its repository appeared in May 2026 and had passed Grimmory's star count by October. It's a library and reading server for ebooks, PDFs, comics, and audiobooks, written as a new codebase on NestJS, Vue, and PostgreSQL.
Its standout is sync. Reading progress and highlights move both ways between Kobo devices, KOReader (through its own plugin, which can also browse and download from your library), and the web reader. It can push status, progress, and ratings to Hardcover and The StoryGraph, and new highlights to Readwise. Around that sit 14 metadata providers, OPDS, send-to-Kindle, a drop folder for imports, book requests, multi-user accounts with OIDC, and reading statistics, goals, and achievements. In the mid-2026 benchmark (synthetic EPUBs, up to 150,000 books), it imported fastest at every size and used the least memory at 150,000 books.
It's also the only server here with an official iPhone app, which adds Apple Watch playback for audiobooks. The app is free to use; BookOrbit Premium unlocks unlimited offline downloads, Apple Watch listening, advanced text-to-speech, and deeper reading insights, at $6.99/year, $24.99 for a lifetime license, or $39.99 for a lifetime family license. It needs iOS 26 and BookOrbit v3.0 or later. The server itself is free and AGPL-3.0, with donations through Open Collective and Ko-fi; since September 10, 2026, the license carries additional terms that require a visible "Powered by BookOrbit" notice and bar modified versions from using the name.
Two things to know before you commit. BookOrbit is written by BookLore's original developer, who confirmed it on Reddit in September 2026, apologized for how BookLore ended, and says BookOrbit was started before the March incident. And it is largely one person's project: about 95% of its commits are theirs, and the project's AI policy says many parts of the codebase were written with AI assistance and exempts maintainers from the rules it sets for outside contributors.
Supports: EPUB, KEPUB, MOBI, AZW3, AZW, FB2, PDF, CBZ, CBR, CB7, M4B, MP3, M4A, OPUS, OGG, FLAC Deploy: Docker Compose with PostgreSQL · bookorbit.app · AGPL-3.0 with additional terms · 5.2k stars
7. Stump — one to watch
Stump is a Rust-based comics and ebook server aiming for fast, modern performance. Since the spring it has added Kobo and KOReader sync, OIDC login, and EPUB highlights and annotations, alongside OPDS v1.2 and v2.0 and a clean React UI.
The catch: it's still beta software until v1.0, and the maintainer — a solo developer working on it in spare time — says so plainly. A mobile app is in beta on TestFlight and Google Play; it's planned as a one-time purchase, with $10 the price under consideration. In the mid-2026 benchmark, imports slowed sharply beyond 10,000 books. Not the pick for a large library yet, but worth keeping an eye on if you value performance and a modern tech stack.
Supports: EPUB, PDF, CBZ, CBR Deploy: Docker or prebuilt binaries · GitHub · 2.7k stars
A note on BookLore
If you arrived here looking for BookLore — an option we deliberately left out — here's why. Its solo maintainer lost the community in March 2026 after a cascade of AI-generated PR dumps, an undisclosed "critical" security patch with no CVE, and hints of a retroactive license change and paid-tier split. Former contributors forked the project as Grimmory on 2026-03-12 (entry 5 above). BookLore's repository has since come back online, but the broken trust, not the code, is why it still isn't on this list. Its developer's new project, BookOrbit, is listed above (entry 6) on its own merits, with that history noted.
Quick comparison
| Calibre-Web | Kavita | Komga | Audiobookshelf | Grimmory | BookOrbit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Calibre users | Books + comics | Comics/manga | Audiobooks | Books + audiobooks | Sync + iPhone |
| OPDS | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Kobo sync | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| KOReader sync | CWA only | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Audiobooks | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Official mobile app | No | No | No | Yes (beta) | No | iPhone |
| Send to Kindle | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Requires Calibre | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Paid tier | No | $4/mo optional | No | No | No | iPhone app Premium |
Bottom line
For most people starting fresh with ebooks and comics: Kavita. It's light, doesn't require Calibre, and the free tier covers everything you need.
Already using Calibre? Calibre-Web is the path of least resistance, or Calibre-Web-Automated if you want it to handle imports and conversion too.
Mostly comics/manga? Komga.
Audiobooks first? Audiobookshelf — still the most complete audiobook and podcast server.
Want ebooks and audiobooks in one library with Kobo and KOReader sync? Grimmory if you'd rather rely on a team-run project; BookOrbit if speed and an official iPhone app matter more, knowing it rests on one developer.
All seven are actively maintained and Docker-deployable, each has shipped a release since August 2026, and the servers are free to self-host. You can realistically try each one in under 10 minutes.