head to head · open source
koodo-reader vs citadel
koodo-reader has 28,699 GitHub stars, 2,148 forks, 271 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. citadel has 1,311 stars, 27 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped yesterday. koodo-reader leads on adoption by 2,089% (28,699 vs 1,311 stars). koodo-reader is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; citadel is written in Rust under MIT. koodo-reader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, citadel 2%. citadel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ebook, epub), 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
| koodo-reader | citadel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 27 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick koodo-reader if
- You weight community size — 29K 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 citadel if
- You want the citadel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and citadel fits your workflow better
About koodo-reader
简体中文 हिंदी Português Indonesian English Türkçe Koodo Reader A cross platform ebook reader Download Preview Roadmap Document Plugins Preview Features Format support: EPUB ( .epub ) PDF ( .pdf ) DRM free Mobipocket ( .mobi ) and Kindle ( .azw3 , .azw ) Plain text ( .txt ) FictionBook ( .fb2 ) Comic book archive ( .cbr , .cbz , .cbt , .cb7 ) Rich text ( .md , .docx ) HyperText ( .html , .xml , .xhtml , .mhtml , .htm ) Platform support: Windows , macOS , Linux , Android , iOS and Web Sync and backup your data with OneDrive , Google Drive , Dropbox , iCloud , MEGA , pCloud , Yandex Disk , Box , FTP , SFTP , WebDAV…
read the full koodo-reader overview →
About citadel
Citadel Manage your ebook library with Citadel. Backwards compatible with Calibre. Project goals Backwards compatible with Calibre : Calibre must be able to read any library that Citadel has edited. Good UX : Citadel must be easy to use and look good. Performant : Citadel must feel much faster than Calibre, and never slower. Non goals Ebook reader : Citadel is not an ebook reader. There are already excellent ereader apps: Citadel will open your files in your default apps. ...or editor : If you're editing ebook content (not metadata like titles), Citadel will not be a replacement for you. 100% feature parity…
read the full citadel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koodo-reader or citadel more popular?
koodo-reader has 28,699 GitHub stars and citadel has 1,311. koodo-reader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koodo-reader and citadel free?
Both are open source. koodo-reader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and citadel under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koodo-reader and citadel?
koodo-reader is written in JavaScript and citadel in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, koodo-reader or citadel?
Choose koodo-reader if you want the larger community (28,699 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose citadel if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.