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Comparison · Collab

Komga vs Paperless-ngx

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

Shared themes:self-hosted

Komga vs Paperless-ngx: at a glance

FeatureKomgaPaperless-ngx
SectorCollabCollab
Velocity score5.05.0
Sparks · 30d00
Top themesself-hosted, frontend-rewrite, comics-manga, ebook-syncdocument-management, self-hosted, workflows, security
Last editorial update3h ago1h ago
WebsiteVisit →Visit →

What is Komga?

Komga's NextUI beta keeps gaining features while the old UI gets only translations.

Komga ships every one to two weeks, and almost all feature work lands in NextUI, the rewritten web interface served at /next. The third NextUI beta in 1.28.0 added contextual navigation, such as moving between books in a series or read list, and 1.29.0 added Notable Entities metadata that only NextUI shows. The latest patches fix page counts and KOReader hashes and carry dependency and translation updates.

Read the full Komga trajectory →

What is Paperless-ngx?

Paperless-ngx shipped seven releases in October, two of them for security

Paperless-ngx ran from 3.3.0 to 3.4.1 in October. 3.3.0 added stored barcode contents and more control over LLM requests, 3.3.2 fixed a reported security issue, and 3.3.4 updated dependencies for the eMudhra CA incident plus Pillow and aiohttp vulnerabilities. 3.4.0 brought custom fields in workflow title templates, relative-date custom field queries, skipping local 2FA for trusted OIDC logins, poppler thumbnails and markdown in AI chat. The other releases were fixes, many around document versions and search.

Read the full Paperless-ngx trajectory →

Komga vs Paperless-ngx: editorial side-by-side

K
Komga
COLLAB
5.0

Komga's NextUI beta keeps gaining features while the old UI gets only translations.

◆ Current state

Komga ships every one to two weeks, and almost all feature work lands in NextUI, the rewritten web interface served at /next. The third NextUI beta in 1.28.0 added contextual navigation, such as moving between books in a series or read list, and 1.29.0 added Notable Entities metadata that only NextUI shows. The latest patches fix page counts and KOReader hashes and carry dependency and translation updates.

◆ Where it's heading

NextUI is moving from preview to the main interface: each minor release adds features exclusive to it, and the old web UI now receives only translations and dependency bumps. The server side keeps adding API checks and Kobo sync fixes underneath.

◆ Prediction

Expect further NextUI betas with editing and navigation features, and eventually a release that makes NextUI the default; the entries don't give a date.

P5.0

Paperless-ngx shipped seven releases in October, two of them for security

◆ Current state

Paperless-ngx ran from 3.3.0 to 3.4.1 in October. 3.3.0 added stored barcode contents and more control over LLM requests, 3.3.2 fixed a reported security issue, and 3.3.4 updated dependencies for the eMudhra CA incident plus Pillow and aiohttp vulnerabilities. 3.4.0 brought custom fields in workflow title templates, relative-date custom field queries, skipping local 2FA for trusted OIDC logins, poppler thumbnails and markdown in AI chat. The other releases were fixes, many around document versions and search.

◆ Where it's heading

The AI features introduced in 3.x are being refined rather than expanded, while workflows and search get steady quality-of-life work.

◆ Prediction

Another 3.4.x patch for UI regressions is likely, following the 3.3.x pattern of several fix releases after each minor.

Alternatives to Komga and Paperless-ngx

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 Paperless-ngx.

See all Komga alternatives → · See all Paperless-ngx alternatives →

Recent activity from Komga and Paperless-ngx

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

  1. 2d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.4.1 fixes UI regressions from 3.4.0
  2. 3d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.4.0 adds relative-date queries and OIDC 2FA skip
  3. 5d agoKomgaPage count and KOReader hash fixes
  4. 10d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.4 updates dependencies for security fixes
  5. 13d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.3 fixes search layout and subpath redirects
  6. 17d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.2 fixes a permissions security issue
  7. 19d agoKomgaRelease 1.29.1
  8. 20d agoPaperless-ngxPaperless-ngx 3.3.1 fixes document version permissions
  9. 21d agoKomgaRelease 1.29.0
  10. 1mo agoKomgaNextUI login, sorting and search fixes
  11. 1mo agoKomgaThird NextUI beta adds contextual navigation
  12. 1mo agoKomgaAPI restriction checks and a Kobo re-download fix

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Komga and Paperless-ngx?

Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Collab. Komga and Paperless-ngx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.

Is Komga better than Paperless-ngx?

Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Komga and Paperless-ngx are shipping at a similar cadence (velocity 5.0 vs 5.0, both within Sparkpulse's "active" band). 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 Paperless-ngx?

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