← Back to home
Comparison · Collab

HedgeDoc vs Komga

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

Shared themes:self-hosted

HedgeDoc vs Komga: at a glance

FeatureHedgeDocKomga
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score2.56.3
Sparks · 30d01
Top themescollaborative-editing, markdown, self-hosted, security-hardeningself-hosted, frontend-rewrite, comics-manga, archive-formats
Last editorial update20d ago6d ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is HedgeDoc?

HedgeDoc 1.x releases are now mostly advisories — security in, features rarely.

The 1.x line ships on a roughly six-to-eight-week rhythm, and almost every release leads with security fixes: HTML injection through an email localpart, YAML frontmatter denial-of-service, CSRF in the Gist export, a rate-limit bypass via the CF-Connecting-IP header, SVG upload script execution. Around that, the recent additions are operator controls — an external-link warning page with a whitelist, configurable login and signup rate limits, an option to restrict uploads to registered users or disable them entirely.

Read the full HedgeDoc trajectory →

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 →

HedgeDoc vs Komga: editorial side-by-side

H
HedgeDoc
COLLAB
2.5

HedgeDoc 1.x releases are now mostly advisories — security in, features rarely.

◆ Current state

The 1.x line ships on a roughly six-to-eight-week rhythm, and almost every release leads with security fixes: HTML injection through an email localpart, YAML frontmatter denial-of-service, CSRF in the Gist export, a rate-limit bypass via the CF-Connecting-IP header, SVG upload script execution. Around that, the recent additions are operator controls — an external-link warning page with a whitelist, configurable login and signup rate limits, an option to restrict uploads to registered users or disable them entirely.

◆ Where it's heading

This reads as a mature collaborative editor in hardening mode. New settings appear where an administrator needed a lever, not where a user asked for a feature, and the one substantial correctness fix in the window — data loss when five or more people edited a document at once — was a repair to the existing operational-transform client rather than new ground. Node 24 support and the removal of dead config options point the same direction: keeping a working product current.

◆ Prediction

Expect the next 1.x release to follow the same shape — one or more advisories plus a small configuration option — since every release in this window has done so.

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.

Alternatives to HedgeDoc and Komga

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 HedgeDoc or Komga.

See all HedgeDoc alternatives → · See all Komga alternatives →

Recent activity from HedgeDoc and Komga

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. 25d agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.11.1
  6. 1mo agoKomgaSolid RAR4 archive support
  7. 2mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.11.0
  8. 3mo agoKomgaFixes for EPUB parsing, Kobo, KOReader, and OPDS2
  9. 4mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.8
  10. 5mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.7
  11. 6mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.6
  12. 8mo agoHedgeDocHedgeDoc 1.10.4

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between HedgeDoc and Komga?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), 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 HedgeDoc better than Komga?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Komga is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 2.5), 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 HedgeDoc?

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

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.