KavitavsPhoton
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Kavita | Photon | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 73/100 | 54/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 14 in Comics | #16 of 85 in Feed Reader |
| GitHub stars | 11 968 | 557 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +232 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 8 | 9 |
| Latest release | v0.9.1.4 · 2 Sept 2026 | v2.4.3 · 30 Jul 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | C# | Svelte |
Which one should you pick?
Kavita scores 73/100 against 54/100 for Photon, so it is the safer default.
Photon ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 8 for Kavita.
If you want the quickest setup, Kavita is easier to run; Photon needs more configuration.
Kavita is growing faster right now (+232 stars in 30 days).
Kavita details →Photon details →
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