head to head · open source
EasySpider vs x-reader
EasySpider has 44,765 GitHub stars, 5,392 forks, 271 open issues and last shipped yesterday. x-reader has 988 stars, 97 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. EasySpider leads on adoption by 4,431% (44,765 vs 988 stars). EasySpider is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; x-reader is written in Python under MIT. EasySpider has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, x-reader 10%. EasySpider 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
| EasySpider | x-reader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 45K | ★ 988 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.4K | ⑂ 97 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick EasySpider if
- You weight community size — 45K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick x-reader if
- You want the x-reader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and x-reader fits your workflow better
About EasySpider
易采集/EasySpider: Visual Code Free Web Crawler 一个 完全免费 （ 包括商业使用和二次开发 ）的可视化浏览器自动化测试/数据采集/爬虫软件，可以使用图形化界面，无代码可视化的设计和执行任务。只需要在网页上选择自己想要操作的内容并根据提示框操作即可完成任务的设计和执行。同时软件还可以单独以命令行的方式进行执行，从而可以很方便的嵌入到其他系统中。 A completely free (including for commercial use and secondary development) visual browser automation test/data collection/crawler software, which can be used to design and execute tasks in a code free visual way. You only need to select the content you want to operate on the web page and follow the prompts to complete the design and execution of the task. At the same time, the software can also be executed separately in…
read the full EasySpider overview →
About x-reader
x reader Universal content reader — fetch, transcribe, and digest content from any platform. Give it a URL (article, video, podcast, tweet), get back structured content. Works as CLI, Python library, MCP server, or Claude Code skills. 简体中文： README.zh.md / README.zh CN.md What It Does The Python layer handles text fetching and YouTube subtitle extraction. The Claude Code skills (optional) add full Whisper transcription for video/podcast and AI powered content analysis. Three Layers x reader is composable. Use the layers you need: Layer 1: Python CLI Layer 2: Claude Code Skills Requires cloning the repo (not…
read the full x-reader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is EasySpider or x-reader more popular?
EasySpider has 44,765 GitHub stars and x-reader has 988. EasySpider has the larger community by that measure.
Are EasySpider and x-reader free?
Both are open source. EasySpider is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and x-reader under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between EasySpider and x-reader?
EasySpider is written in JavaScript and x-reader in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, EasySpider or x-reader?
Choose EasySpider if you want the larger community (44,765 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose x-reader if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.