Evergreen ILS

Highly scalable open source library software

As of 30 August 2026, Evergreen ILS is free to use. Evergreen is an open source integrated library system originally developed for the Georgia PINES consortium. Softwr lists it under Libraries. Evergreen ILS is made by Evergreen Community, launched in 2006, available on Web, Windows, macOS, API.

Visit siteVisit Evergreen ILS

Overview

What Evergreen ILS does

Evergreen is an open source integrated library system originally developed for the Georgia PINES consortium. It is designed to be highly scalable, supporting hundreds of libraries with millions of patrons. Evergreen includes a powerful OPAC, circulation, cataloging, serials, and acquisitions modules.

What people use it for

Running a consortium-scale library catalogue and circulation system
Self-hosting an open source integrated library system across multiple branches

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Evergreen ILS.

Server installation is supported only on Debian 10, 11, 12 and 13 and Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04
PostgreSQL 14 is the minimum supported version
OpenSRF 3.3.0 or later must be installed separately before Evergreen itself
Installation is a manual multi-service process requiring a dedicated PostgreSQL superuser account and shell access

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of Evergreen ILS

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

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Pricing

What Evergreen ILS costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Self-Hosted

Free

Full ILS functionality
Circulation system
OPAC
Cataloging
Acquisitions
Serials

Hosted (via partners)

$200 /mo

Everything in Self-Hosted
Managed hosting
Professional support
Regular updates
Migration services
Training

Capabilities

Features

Circulation management
MARC cataloging
Acquisitions
Serials management
OPAC with faceted search
Patron management
Offline circulation
Consortia support
SIP2/NCIP support
SIP2
Integration with SIP2
NCIP
Integration with NCIP
Z39.50
Integration with Z39.50

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is Evergreen ILS free?

Yes, Evergreen ILS is a free open source library management system. The software is available at no cost for libraries and organizations to install, deploy, and customize according to their needs.

Source

Does Evergreen ILS offer commercial support or hosting?

Evergreen ILS website does not list commercial hosting or support services. As an open source project, it relies on community contributions and institutional deployments. Libraries may arrange custom support through integrators or consultants, but no official commercial offerings are detailed on the website.

Source

Behind it

Who makes Evergreen ILS

Company: Evergreen Community
Based in: Global (Community-driven)

Keep looking

Where to go from Evergreen ILS

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Evergreen ILS, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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