head to head · open source
koreader vs Calibre-Web-Automated
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars, 2,019 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Calibre-Web-Automated has 6,537 stars, 565 forks, 443 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. koreader leads on adoption by 371% (30,818 vs 6,537 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; Calibre-Web-Automated is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. koreader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Calibre-Web-Automated 9%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (ebook, epub, kindle, kobo), 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 | Calibre-Web-Automated | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Lua | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 565 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick koreader if
- You weight community size — 31K 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 Calibre-Web-Automated if
- You want the Calibre-Web-Automated feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Calibre-Web-Automated fits your workflow better
About koreader
KOReader is a document viewer primarily aimed at e ink readers. [![AGPL Licence][badge license]](COPYING) [![Latest release][badge release]][link gh releases] [![Gitter][badge gitter]][link gitter] [![Mobileread][badge mobileread]][link forum] [![Build Status][badge circleci]][link circleci] [![Coverage Status][badge coverage]][link coverage] [![Weblate Status][badge weblate]][link weblate] Download • User guide • Wiki • Developer docs Main features portable : runs on embedded devices (Cervantes, Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, reMarkable), Android and Linux computers. Developers can run a KOReader emulator in Linux…
read the full koreader overview →
About Calibre-Web-Automated
Calibre Web Automated (formerly Calibre Web Automator) Making Calibre Web your dream , all in one self hosted digital library solution. Supporting the Project ❤️ CWA is and always will be free and open source. If it makes your library life easier and you're able to support development, contributions go directly to: Testing hardware (ereader devices & tablets ect.) Development tools and infrastructure Coffee ☕ (lots of coffee) Quick Access Features 🪄 Releases 🆕 Roadmap 🛣️ How to Install: 📖 Quick Install 🚀 Docker Compose 🐋⭐(Recommended) Users Migrating from stock Calibre Web 🔄 Post Install Tasks 🏁 Default…
read the full Calibre-Web-Automated overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or Calibre-Web-Automated more popular?
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars and Calibre-Web-Automated has 6,537. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and Calibre-Web-Automated free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Calibre-Web-Automated under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and Calibre-Web-Automated?
koreader is written in Lua and Calibre-Web-Automated 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 Calibre-Web-Automated?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (30,818 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Calibre-Web-Automated if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.