head to head · open source
koreader vs Booktype
koreader has 29,761 GitHub stars, 1,908 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Booktype has 961 stars, 195 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. koreader leads on adoption by 2,997% (29,761 vs 961 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; Booktype is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. koreader has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Booktype 20%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| koreader | Booktype | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 961 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Lua | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-02-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 195 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick koreader if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Booktype if
- You want the Booktype feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Booktype fits your workflow better
About koreader
KOReader is a free, AGPL 3.0 licensed document viewer written in Lua that runs on e ink readers from Cervantes, Kindle, Kobo and PocketBook, on reMarkable, and on Android and desktop Linux, aimed at readers who want broader format support, finer typesetting control and better performance than the reading software shipped with their device.
read the full koreader overview →
About Booktype
Booktype is a free, open source, AGPL 3.0 licensed publishing platform that lets authors, companies and organisations edit, proofread and produce books formatted for print, Amazon, iBooks and almost any ereader from a single HTML source.
read the full Booktype overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or Booktype more popular?
koreader has 29,761 GitHub stars and Booktype has 961. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and Booktype free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Booktype under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and Booktype?
koreader is written in Lua and Booktype in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, koreader or Booktype?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (29,761 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Booktype if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.