head to head · open source
koreader vs Lector
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars, 2,019 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Lector has 1,556 stars, 207 forks, 52 open issues and last shipped 4 months ago. koreader leads on adoption by 1,881% (30,818 vs 1,556 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; Lector is written in Python under GPL-3.0. koreader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Lector 13%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (djvu, ebook, ebook-reader, 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 | Lector | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Lua | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-07-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 207 |
| 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 Lector if
- You want the Lector 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 Lector 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 Lector
Qt based ebook reader Currently supports: pdf epub djvu fb2 mobi azw / azw3 / azw4 cbr / cbz md Contribute Paypal Bitcoin: 17jaxj26vFJNqQ2hEVerbBV5fpTusfqFro Requirements Needed Optional Support When reporting issues: Make sure you're at the latest commit. Run with $EXECUTABLEPATH debug . Include the log /.local/share/Lector/Lector.log AND terminal output. If you're having trouble with a book while the rest of the application / other books work, please link to a copy of the book itself. If nothing is working, please make sure the requirements mentioned above are all installed, and are at least at the version…
read the full Lector overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or Lector more popular?
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars and Lector has 1,556. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and Lector free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Lector under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and Lector?
koreader is written in Lua and Lector 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, koreader or Lector?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (30,818 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Lector if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.