head to head · open source
readest vs LibreTranslate
readest has 24,470 GitHub stars, 1,594 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped today. LibreTranslate has 16,674 stars, 1,707 forks, 126 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. readest leads on adoption by 47% (24,470 vs 16,674 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; LibreTranslate is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, LibreTranslate 10%. readest 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
| readest | LibreTranslate | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 17K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick readest if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LibreTranslate if
- You want the LibreTranslate feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and LibreTranslate fits your workflow better
About readest
Readest is an open source, cross platform ebook reader built with Next.js 16 and Tauri v2 for readers who want one modern library across macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and the web.
read the full readest overview →
About LibreTranslate
LibreTranslate is a free and open source machine translation API written in Python and released under the AGPL 3.0 license. It lives in the open source translation ecosystem and is positioned as a self hosted alternative to hosted translation services. The project does not rely on proprietary software such as Google or Azure for translation. Instead, it uses the open source Argos Translate library as its translation engine.
read the full LibreTranslate overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or LibreTranslate more popular?
readest has 24,470 GitHub stars and LibreTranslate has 16,674. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and LibreTranslate free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and LibreTranslate under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and LibreTranslate?
readest is written in TypeScript and LibreTranslate 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, readest or LibreTranslate?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,470 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose LibreTranslate if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.