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 Calibre
Two self-hosted Document Management - E-books apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Audiobookshelf | Calibre | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Audiobook and podcast server. It streams all audio formats, keeps and syncs progress across devices. Comes with apps for Android and iOS. | 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. |
| GitHub stars | 14,963 | 26,397 |
| Forks | – | – |
| Open issues | – | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 454 | 3.1k |
| Last activity | 2026-11-09 | 2026-11-09 |
| Latest release | v2.37.2 (2026-10-23) | v9.18.0 (2026-11-06) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language / platform | Docker, deb, Nodejs | Python, deb |
| Docker Hub image | advplyr/audiobookshelf | – |
| Docker pulls | 6459.6k | – |
| 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 | Document Management - E-books |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Calibre is more popular on GitHub: 26.4k stars vs 15k for Audiobookshelf.
- Calibre had more commits in the last 12 months (3,075 vs 454).
- Calibre published a release more recently (v9.18.0 on 2026-11-06; Audiobookshelf's latest is v2.37.2 on 2026-10-23).
- Both are licensed under GPL-3.0.
- Audiobookshelf is written in Nodejs; Calibre in Python.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Audiobookshelf: Docker, deb; Calibre: deb.
- Only Audiobookshelf has a Docker Hub image that we detected (advplyr/audiobookshelf).
Summary: Audiobookshelf leads on Docker Hub availability; Calibre leads on GitHub popularity and 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 2026-11-15. 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 Calibre more popular?
Calibre has more GitHub stars (26,397 vs 14,963 for Audiobookshelf, as of 2026-11-15). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Audiobookshelf or Calibre?
Calibre had more commits over the last 12 months (3,075 vs 454). Both had repository activity on 2026-11-09. Releases in the past year: Audiobookshelf 10+, Calibre 10+. Our health labels: Audiobookshelf is “Active”, Calibre is “Active”.
What licenses do Audiobookshelf and Calibre use?
Both use GPL-3.0.
Can I run Audiobookshelf and Calibre with Docker?
Audiobookshelf has a Docker Hub image (advplyr/audiobookshelf). We did not find one for Calibre; check its documentation for install options.
Read more
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.
Browse all self-hosted Document Management - E-books apps.