head to head · open source
Invidious vs BookWyrm
Invidious has 25,830 GitHub stars, 2,896 forks, 480 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BookWyrm has 2,808 stars, 346 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Invidious leads on adoption by 820% (25,830 vs 2,808 stars). Invidious is written in Crystal under AGPL-3.0; BookWyrm is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. Invidious has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, BookWyrm 12%. Invidious 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
| Invidious | BookWyrm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Crystal | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 346 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Invidious if
- You weight community size — 26K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Crystal
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick BookWyrm if
- You want the BookWyrm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and BookWyrm fits your workflow better
About Invidious
Invidious An open source alternative front end to YouTube Website • Instances list • FAQ • Documentation • Contribute • Donate Chat with us: Screenshots Features User features Lightweight No ads No tracking No JavaScript required Light/Dark themes Customizable homepage Subscriptions independent from Google Notifications for all subscribed channels Audio only mode (with background play on mobile) Support for Reddit comments Available in many languages, thanks to our translators Data import/export Import subscriptions from YouTube, NewPipe and FreeTube Import watch history from YouTube and NewPipe Export…
read the full Invidious overview →
About BookWyrm
BookWyrm Welcome to the codebase! BookWyrm is a social network for tracking your reading, talking about books, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next. Federation allows BookWyrm users to join small, trusted communities that can connect with one another, and with other ActivityPub services like Mastodon and Pleroma. 👋 Meaningful human interaction is the whole point: please feel welcome to participate regardless of your experience level with programming. We would love to help! By the same token, please do not submit any AI generated code or content. Links Project homepage Support Documentation About…
read the full BookWyrm overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Invidious or BookWyrm more popular?
Invidious has 25,830 GitHub stars and BookWyrm has 2,808. Invidious has the larger community by that measure.
Are Invidious and BookWyrm free?
Both are open source. Invidious is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and BookWyrm has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Invidious and BookWyrm?
Invidious is written in Crystal and BookWyrm 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, Invidious or BookWyrm?
Choose Invidious if you want the larger community (25,830 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose BookWyrm if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.