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Comparison · Collab

Komga vs Readarr

A side-by-side editorial comparison of Komga and Readarr — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.

Shared themes:self-hosted

Komga vs Readarr: at a glance

FeatureKomgaReadarr
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score6.30.0
Sparks · 30d10
Top themesself-hosted, frontend-rewrite, comics-manga, archive-formatsbook-management, self-hosted, maintenance-only, dormant
Last editorial update6d ago12d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Komga?

Komga is rewriting its web UI in the open, shipping the beta alongside the old one.

Komga's release cadence is dominated by NextUI, a ground-up rewrite of the web interface that landed in beta with 1.26.0 and is served next to the existing UI at /next rather than replacing it. The three patch releases that followed within 48 hours were almost entirely NextUI shakedown work — scroll restoration, selection behavior, stylesheets failing to load under Tomcat. Underneath the interface work the server keeps widening format support, with rar5 handling in plain Java and solid rar4 archives earlier in the summer.

Read the full Komga trajectory →

What is Readarr?

Six releases of small fixes and translations, then nothing since June 2025.

Readarr's last six entries run from March to June 2025 and are uniformly small: a truncated root-folder path, remote image links for posters and covers, NLog message templating, disabled SelectInput options, Weblate translation batches. Every entry opens with the same instructions about switching to the develop branch and not updating inside a running Docker container. Nothing in this window adds capability, and no entry has appeared in over a year.

Read the full Readarr trajectory →

Komga vs Readarr: editorial side-by-side

K
Komga
COLLAB
6.3

Komga is rewriting its web UI in the open, shipping the beta alongside the old one.

◆ Current state

Komga's release cadence is dominated by NextUI, a ground-up rewrite of the web interface that landed in beta with 1.26.0 and is served next to the existing UI at /next rather than replacing it. The three patch releases that followed within 48 hours were almost entirely NextUI shakedown work — scroll restoration, selection behavior, stylesheets failing to load under Tomcat. Underneath the interface work the server keeps widening format support, with rar5 handling in plain Java and solid rar4 archives earlier in the summer.

◆ Where it's heading

The project is running a long, deliberately cautious frontend migration: both UIs ship in the same binary, the feature gap is tracked publicly in an issue, and users opt in by URL. That arrangement should persist across several minor versions before the old WebUI is retired. The parallel v2 referential API suggests the rewrite is also being used to revise the server contract rather than only restyle the client.

◆ Prediction

Near-term releases should keep closing the NextUI feature gap issue by issue, with patch releases landing within days of each other. The old WebUI is unlikely to be removed before NextUI reaches parity and browser refresh stops falling back to it.

R
Readarr
COLLAB
0.0

Six releases of small fixes and translations, then nothing since June 2025.

◆ Current state

Readarr's last six entries run from March to June 2025 and are uniformly small: a truncated root-folder path, remote image links for posters and covers, NLog message templating, disabled SelectInput options, Weblate translation batches. Every entry opens with the same instructions about switching to the develop branch and not updating inside a running Docker container. Nothing in this window adds capability, and no entry has appeared in over a year.

◆ Where it's heading

The pattern is a project in caretaker mode: auto-generated commit lists, incremental UI corrections, and internal work like using ReflectionOnly types to avoid loading assemblies unnecessarily. Volume held steady at roughly one release every one to two weeks until it stopped entirely. The entries themselves give no reason for the halt.

◆ Prediction

The changelog offers no signal of resumed development; without new entries there is nothing here to project forward beyond the fact that the feed went quiet after 0.4.18.

Alternatives to Komga and Readarr

Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Komga or Readarr.

See all Komga alternatives → · See all Readarr alternatives →

Recent activity from Komga and Readarr

Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.

  1. 7d agoKomgaTranslation updates and a release tooling fix
  2. 7d agoKomgaNextUI beta fixes: scroll, selection, and loading states
  3. 9d agoKomgaNextUI beta: a parallel rewrite of the Komga web interface
  4. 9d agoKomgaFix missing NextUI stylesheets when served from Tomcat
  5. 1mo agoKomgaSolid RAR4 archive support
  6. 3mo agoKomgaFixes for EPUB parsing, Kobo, KOReader, and OPDS2
  7. 1y agoReadarr0.4.18.2805 avoids loading unnecessary assemblies
  8. 1y agoReadarr0.4.17.2801 returns remote image links for posters and covers
  9. 1y agoReadarr0.4.16.2793 fixes a truncated root folder path
  10. 1y agoReadarr0.4.15.2787 switches log messages to templates
  11. 1y agoReadarr0.4.14.2782 fixes adding an author before root folders load
  12. 1y agoReadarr0.4.13.2760 improves author status and loading-error display

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Komga and Readarr?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Komga better than Readarr?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 0.0), with 1 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.

What are the best alternatives to Komga?

Top Komga alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Komga alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/komga for the full list with editorial commentary on each.

What are the best alternatives to Readarr?

Top Readarr alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Readarr alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/readarr for the full list with editorial commentary on each.