Calibre / Audiobookshelf: hardware requirements
Your ebook and audiobook library — Calibre, Audiobookshelf, Kavita.
Hardware tiers
| Tier | CPU | RAM | Storage | GPU | VRAM | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum sensible | 1 cores | 2 GB | 1 TB (hdd) | None | — | 1 GbE |
| Recommended | 2 cores | 4 GB | 4 TB (hdd) | None | — | 1 GbE |
| Comfortable | 4 cores | 8 GB | 16 TB (hdd) | None | — | 1 GbE |
| Overkill | 7 cores | 13 GB | 32 TB (hdd) | None | — | 1 GbE |
- Minimum sensible: The smallest build that genuinely works — tight, focused, no fluff.
- Recommended: The sweet spot: handles the service plus the usual side-services.
- Comfortable: Real headroom — this service will never be the bottleneck.
- Overkill: More than you will ever use for this service alone — spend the money elsewhere.
Beyond Comfortable — 4 cores, 8 GB RAM, 16 TB: headroom you will never use for this service alone.
Runs well with
Music server, Plex, File storage
Frequently asked questions
How much RAM does Calibre / Audiobookshelf need?
2 GB is the sensible minimum, 4 GB covers most real setups, and 8 GB gives comfortable headroom.
How many CPU cores does Calibre / Audiobookshelf need?
1 cores are the minimum, 2 cores the sweet spot, and 4 cores comfortable when shared with other services.
Can I run several services on one machine?
Yes — most services share resources. Use the planner and select several services; the engine sums and overlaps the requirements instead of stacking them.
What if I already have hardware?
Register it in My hardware and the analysis shows exactly which services your current system can comfortably run — including an honest “do nothing”.