head to head · open source
koodo-reader vs PolyglotPDF
koodo-reader has 28,217 GitHub stars, 2,116 forks, 271 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PolyglotPDF has 1,321 stars, 198 forks, 14 open issues and last shipped 12 months ago. koodo-reader leads on adoption by 2,036% (28,217 vs 1,321 stars). koodo-reader is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0; PolyglotPDF is written in Python under GPL-3.0. koodo-reader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, PolyglotPDF 15%. 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 | PolyglotPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2025-09-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 198 |
| 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 PolyglotPDF if
- You want the PolyglotPDF feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and PolyglotPDF 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 PolyglotPDF
PolyglotPDF is a Python based multilingual eBook and PDF processing tool for translating documents while preserving original layout. It targets scanned and digital PDFs, and it sits in the content publishing ecosystem as an open source layout preserving translator. The README describes specialized techniques for recognizing text, tables, and formulas in PDF documents, with processing typically completed within one second and full document translations usually completed within ten seconds depending on the translation API provider.
read the full PolyglotPDF overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koodo-reader or PolyglotPDF more popular?
koodo-reader has 28,217 GitHub stars and PolyglotPDF has 1,321. koodo-reader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koodo-reader and PolyglotPDF free?
Both are open source. koodo-reader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PolyglotPDF under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koodo-reader and PolyglotPDF?
koodo-reader is written in JavaScript and PolyglotPDF 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, koodo-reader or PolyglotPDF?
Choose koodo-reader if you want the larger community (28,217 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PolyglotPDF if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.