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Audiobookshelf vs Audioserve: catalog facts
Audiobookshelf	Audioserve
Free Free and open source under the GPL 3.0, including the mobile apps.	Free Free and open source; listed under the MIT licence.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Android, iOS, Web	Android, Web, Self-hosted
Progress syncs per user across web, Android and iOS Podcast search, subscription and automatic episode download	Works directly from folders without a database to curate Syncs playback position between clients
The iOS app is a beta and its test slots fill up The web frontend is mid-rewrite, so Vue pull requests are not being merged	The Android client is old Apple devices need extra configuration
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-3.0	License: MIT
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.