head to head · open source
koodo-reader vs HRConvert2
koodo-reader has 28,217 GitHub stars, 2,116 forks, 271 open issues and last shipped yesterday. HRConvert2 has 1,369 stars, 82 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. koodo-reader leads on adoption by 1,961% (28,217 vs 1,369 stars). koodo-reader is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; HRConvert2 is written in PHP under GPL-3.0. koodo-reader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, HRConvert2 6%. koodo-reader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ebook), 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 | HRConvert2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 82 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick koodo-reader if
- You weight community size — 28K 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 HRConvert2 if
- You want the HRConvert2 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and HRConvert2 fits your workflow better
About koodo-reader
Koodo Reader is a cross platform ebook manager and reader written in JavaScript and released under the AGPL 3.0 license. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and the web, and it is distributed both as downloadable desktop and mobile applications and as a hosted web version at web.koodoreader.com. The project lives in the JavaScript ecosystem, is developed with yarn and git, and has been maintained for roughly seven years, with a repository that carries about 28,000 stars and 2,100 forks.
read the full koodo-reader overview →
About HRConvert2
HRConvert2 is an open source, self hosted, resource aware file conversion server written in PHP and released under the GPL 3.0 license. It presents a public facing web workflow in which users drag, drop, convert, and download files without accounts, sessions, databases, cookies, or tracking. The project lives in the self hosted file conversion ecosystem, where it replaces hosted converters by running conversion tools on the operator's own machine.
read the full HRConvert2 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koodo-reader or HRConvert2 more popular?
koodo-reader has 28,217 GitHub stars and HRConvert2 has 1,369. koodo-reader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koodo-reader and HRConvert2 free?
Both are open source. koodo-reader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and HRConvert2 under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koodo-reader and HRConvert2?
koodo-reader is written in JavaScript and HRConvert2 in PHP. 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 HRConvert2?
Choose koodo-reader if you want the larger community (28,217 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose HRConvert2 if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.