head to head · open source
koreader vs parsifal
koreader has 29,761 GitHub stars, 1,908 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. parsifal has 517 stars, 189 forks, 40 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. koreader leads on adoption by 5,656% (29,761 vs 517 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; parsifal is written in Python under MIT. koreader has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, parsifal 37%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | parsifal | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 517 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Lua | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-05-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 189 |
| 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 parsifal if
- You want the parsifal feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and parsifal 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 parsifal
Parsifal is a free, MIT licensed web application that supports researchers in planning, conducting, and reporting systematic literature reviews, and it is aimed at academics, research groups, and reviewers who need to manage that process in software rather than by hand.
read the full parsifal overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or parsifal more popular?
koreader has 29,761 GitHub stars and parsifal has 517. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and parsifal free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and parsifal under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and parsifal?
koreader is written in Lua and parsifal 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 parsifal?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (29,761 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose parsifal if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.