head to head · open source
glance vs RedReader
glance has 37,981 GitHub stars, 1,506 forks, 318 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RedReader has 2,716 stars, 533 forks, 457 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. glance leads on adoption by 1,298% (37,981 vs 2,716 stars). glance is written in Go under AGPL-3.0; RedReader is written in Java under GPL-3.0. glance has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, RedReader 20%. glance was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (reddit), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| glance | RedReader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 38K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 533 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick glance if
- You weight community size — 38K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick RedReader if
- You want the RedReader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and RedReader fits your workflow better
About glance
Glance Install • Configuration • Discord • Sponsor Community widgets • Preconfigured pages • Themes A lightweight, highly customizable dashboard that displays your feeds in a beautiful, streamlined interface Features Various widgets RSS feeds Subreddit posts Hacker News posts Weather forecasts YouTube channel uploads Twitch channels Market prices Docker containers status Server stats Custom widgets and many more... Fast and lightweight Low memory usage Few dependencies Minimal vanilla JS Single Configuration Configuration is done through YAML files, to learn more about how the layout works, how to add more pages…
read the full glance overview →
About RedReader
RedReader ========= An unofficial, open source Android client for Reddit. Features Free and open source, with no ads or tracking Lightweight and fast Swipe posts left and right to perform customizable actions, such as upvote/downvote, or save/hide Advanced cache management automatically stores past versions of posts and comments Support for multiple accounts Two column tablet mode (can be used on your phone, if it’s big enough) Image and comment precaching (optional: always, never, or Wi Fi only) Built in image viewer, and GIF/video player Multiple themes, including night mode, and ultra black for AMOLED…
read the full RedReader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is glance or RedReader more popular?
glance has 37,981 GitHub stars and RedReader has 2,716. glance has the larger community by that measure.
Are glance and RedReader free?
Both are open source. glance is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and RedReader under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between glance and RedReader?
glance is written in Go and RedReader in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, glance or RedReader?
Choose glance if you want the larger community (37,981 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose RedReader if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.