head to head · open source
Lemmy vs RedReader
Lemmy has 14,659 GitHub stars, 973 forks, 129 open issues and last shipped yesterday. RedReader has 2,716 stars, 533 forks, 457 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. Lemmy leads on adoption by 440% (14,659 vs 2,716 stars). Lemmy is written in Rust under AGPL-3.0; RedReader is written in Java under GPL-3.0. Lemmy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, RedReader 20%. Lemmy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (reddit), 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
| Lemmy | RedReader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 973 | ⑂ 533 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Lemmy if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick RedReader if
- You want the RedReader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and RedReader fits your workflow better
About Lemmy
English Español Русский 汉语 漢語 日本語 Lemmy A link aggregator and forum for the fediverse. Join Lemmy · Documentation · Matrix Chat · Report Bug · Request Feature · Releases · Code of Conduct About The Project Lemmy is similar to sites like Reddit, Lobste.rs, or Hacker News: you subscribe to forums you're interested in, post links and discussions, then vote, and comment on them. Behind the scenes, it is very different; anyone can easily run a server, and all these servers are federated (think email), and connected to the same universe, called the Fediverse. For a link aggregator, this means a user registered on one…
read the full Lemmy overview →
About RedReader
RedReader ========= An unofficial, open source Android client for Reddit. Features Free and open source, with no ads or tracking Lightweight and fast Swipe posts left and right to perform customizable actions, such as upvote/downvote, or save/hide Advanced cache management automatically stores past versions of posts and comments Support for multiple accounts Two column tablet mode (can be used on your phone, if it’s big enough) Image and comment precaching (optional: always, never, or Wi Fi only) Built in image viewer, and GIF/video player Multiple themes, including night mode, and ultra black for AMOLED…
read the full RedReader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Lemmy or RedReader more popular?
Lemmy has 14,659 GitHub stars and RedReader has 2,716. Lemmy has the larger community by that measure.
Are Lemmy and RedReader free?
Both are open source. Lemmy is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and RedReader under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Lemmy and RedReader?
Lemmy is written in Rust and RedReader in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Lemmy or RedReader?
Choose Lemmy if you want the larger community (14,659 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose RedReader if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.