Calibre WebvsPhoton
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Calibre Web | Photon | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 54/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 7 in E-book Management | #16 of 85 in Feed Reader |
| GitHub stars | 18 488 | 557 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +248 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 2 | 9 |
| Latest release | 0.6.27 · 8 Aug 2026 | v2.4.3 · 30 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Fluent | Svelte |
Which one should you pick?
Calibre Web scores 78/100 against 54/100 for Photon, so it is the safer default.
Photon ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 2 for Calibre Web.
If you want the quickest setup, Calibre Web is easier to run; Photon needs more configuration.
Calibre Web is growing faster right now (+248 stars in 30 days).
Calibre Web details →Photon details →
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