Kavita
Self-hosted digital library and reader for ebooks, PDFs, comics and manga.
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About Kavita
Kavita is an open-source reading server for EPUB, PDF, comics and manga. It scans your folders, parses metadata from filenames and ComicInfo.xml, and gives every user a web reader tuned for each format: paged and webtoon modes for comics, dual-page spreads, and a customisable EPUB reader with highlights and notes that can be shared or exported to Obsidian. It supports OPDS for third-party reading apps, OIDC or built-in logins, per-library and age-rating restrictions, smart filters and reading lists. The server is free under the GPL v3. An optional paid Kavita+ subscription adds extras such as external metadata, scrobbling to tracking sites, progress sync and recommendations. It runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Docker. There is no official native mobile app, so phones use the responsive web reader or OPDS apps, and its handling of very large comic collections can need tuning.
Best for: Readers who want one self-hosted library for ebooks, comics and manga.
Pros and cons
What works
- Readers tailored to EPUB, PDF, comics and webtoons
- Annotations with export to Obsidian
- OPDS and fine-grained user restrictions
Why people leave
- No official native mobile app
- Some metadata and sync features need Kavita+
- Relies on tidy file naming for good metadata
Top Kavita alternatives
See all 4- 1
Komga66.5A comics-first server with Kobo and KOReader sync.
- 2
Calibre-Web62.6A web front end if your ebooks already live in a Calibre library.
- 3
Audiobookshelf59.6The equivalent self-hosted library for audiobooks and podcasts.
- 4
Jellyfin57.2Covers books and comics alongside video, with simpler reading features.
Why people left Kavita
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Reviews
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Kavita: common questions
Is Kavita free?
Yes. Kavita is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.
Is Kavita open source?
Yes. The source code is on GitHub at Kareadita/Kavita. You can also run it on your own server.
What platforms does Kavita run on?
Kavita is available for Self-hosted and Web.
What are the best alternatives to Kavita?
The highest-ranked Kavita alternatives right now are Komga, Calibre-Web and Audiobookshelf. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.