Compare · 025.04
Koha, Evergreen, FOLIO, SLiMS and PMB are serious systems built by serious communities. Here is where each is strongest, where Lumina is different, and when you should choose something else.
The matrix
Twenty-six capabilities across six systems. Lumina leads where it was designed to (mobile, rooms and events, online payments, desk ergonomics) and trails where mature communities have had decades (consortia, standards, translations).
| Capability | Koha | Evergreen | FOLIO | SLiMS | PMB | Lumina |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MARC21 cataloguing | Strong or native | Strong or native | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| UNIMARCPlanned in Lumina. | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Strong or native | Absent or weak |
| Consortium and union catalogueLumina has library groups; shared catalogue and inherited policy are later work. | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Title-level holds on any copy | Strong or native | Strong or native | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| Metarecord (any edition) holds | Absent or weak | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak |
| Floating collections | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak |
| Self-checkout and kioskLumina has a browser kiosk flow; SIP2 hardware support is planned. | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| RFIDPlanned in Lumina. | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak |
| Room and equipment booking | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| Events and registration | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| Reading challenges and clubsThe engagement module is early; some pieces are Planned in the parity table. | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Modern public catalogue UIPartly a matter of taste; see the screenshots. | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| Digital lending integrationsPlanned in Lumina. | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak |
| Dashboards and analytics | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| SMS, WhatsApp and push notices | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| Online paymentsRazorpay (UPI) with a sandbox in Lumina. | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| Staff mobile app | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| Patron mobile app | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| WCAG 2.2 AALumina is built WCAG-minded but has had no independent audit. | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Indic scripts and collation | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Interlibrary loan | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Course reserves and reading lists | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| E-resource management (licences, KBART, COUNTER) | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Partial, add-on or early |
| Open APIs and webhooks | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native |
| Offline circulation | Partial, add-on or early | Strong or native | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native |
| Time to first value (install to working) | Partial, add-on or early | Absent or weak | Absent or weak | Strong or native | Partial, add-on or early | Partial, add-on or early |
Strong or native Partial, add-on or early Absent or weak
Based on vendor documentation, community pages and our own review as of October 2026. Ratings are judgements; spot-check any cell that matters to you. The Lumina column reflects code that exists today, not its roadmap.
In depth
Lumina vs Koha
The flagship comparison: all 188 Koha features reviewed, filterable, with where Koha is ahead and where Lumina is.
Open the tableLumina vs Evergreen
Open source, consortium-first (used by PINES and Sitka).
Read the comparisonLumina vs FOLIO
Open source microservices platform (EBSCO ecosystem).
Read the comparisonLumina vs SLiMS
GPL, PHP and MySQL (from Indonesia).
Read the comparisonLumina vs PMB
CeCILL licence, PHP and MySQL (from France).
Read the comparisonAlso on our list but not compared in depth: commercial platforms (Alma and Primo, Symphony, Polaris and Vega, Destiny) and India's SOUL, NewGenLib and Libsys.
Next step
See your library in Lumina.
Thirty minutes, your questions, and a walk through the desk, the catalogue and the Koha import. No slides.