head to head · open source
calibre vs Tangent
calibre has 25,923 GitHub stars, 2,690 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Tangent has 551 stars, 38 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. calibre leads on adoption by 4,605% (25,923 vs 551 stars). calibre is written in Python under GPL-3.0; Tangent is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. calibre has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Tangent 7%. calibre was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| calibre | Tangent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 551 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 38 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick calibre if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Tangent if
- You want the Tangent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Tangent fits your workflow better
About calibre
calibre is the official source code repository for the calibre e book manager, an open source application written in Python and released under GPL 3.0. It lives in the content and publishing ecosystem as a desktop tool for books, and it is cross platform, running on Linux, Windows and macOS. The project has been hosted on GitHub for roughly thirteen years, carries about 25,900 stars and 2,683 forks, and its home on the web is calibre ebook.com, where an About page and a screenshots page document it further.
read the full calibre overview →
About Tangent
Tangent is a local note writing and personal knowledge management tool, distributed as a TypeScript monorepo, for writers, researchers, and personal knowledge management practitioners who want styled, link connected notes stored on their own machine rather than in a hosted service.
read the full Tangent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is calibre or Tangent more popular?
calibre has 25,923 GitHub stars and Tangent has 551. calibre has the larger community by that measure.
Are calibre and Tangent free?
Both are open source. calibre is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Tangent under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between calibre and Tangent?
calibre is written in Python and Tangent in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, calibre or Tangent?
Choose calibre if you want the larger community (25,923 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Tangent if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.