Self-hosted alternatives to Kindle
Want e-book library and reader without handing your data to Kindle? These 18 self-hosted apps run on your own server (most are open source; licenses are listed below). Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $3.5/month.
About Kindle: Amazon's e-book store, reader apps and devices.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calibre | Active | 26.4k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Calibre Web | Active | 18.5k | GPL-3.0 | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Audiobookshelf | Active | 15k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Kavita | Active | 12.1k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Komga | Active | 6.8k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Calibre Web Automated | Active | 6.6k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Grimmory | Active | 4.7k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Bookwyrm | Active | 2.8k | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Stump | Active | 2.8k | MIT | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| Kapowarr | Active | 1.1k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| kiwix-serve | Active | 992 | GPL-3.0 | – | 512 MB | $3.5/mo |
| BookLogr | Active | 637 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Tome | Active | 117 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Bindery | Active | 67 | MIT | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Atsumeru | Maintained | 196 | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| MyMangaDB | Active | 31 | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Inkheart | Active | 23 | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 1 GB | $5/mo |
| Ubooquity | 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v9.18.0 (2026-11-06). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Calibre Web
Browse, read and download eBooks using an existing Calibre database.
Active Last commit 2026-09-20. 2 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 8 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-10. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release 1.30.0 (2026-11-04). 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).
Active Last commit 2026-10-01. 9 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 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.
Active Last commit 2026-09-14. 6 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 2 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-09-12. 7 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-11-08. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v3.0.0 (2026-11-08). 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.
Active Last commit 2026-09-09. 10+ releases in the past year. 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 commit 2026-07-08. 3 releases in the past year. 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.
Active Last commit 2026-10-27. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v2.8.4 (2026-10-27). Needs roughly 1 GB RAM. How to run it →
17. Inkheart
Lightweight PDF library and reader.
Active Last commit 2026-11-13. 4 releases in the past year. 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.
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 Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
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