head to head · open source
PeerTube vs BookWyrm
PeerTube has 15,322 GitHub stars, 1,848 forks, 692 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. BookWyrm has 2,780 stars, 338 forks, 418 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. PeerTube leads on adoption by 451% (15,322 vs 2,780 stars). PeerTube is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; BookWyrm is written in Python under a custom or non-standard licence. PeerTube has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, BookWyrm 12%. BookWyrm was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (activitypub), 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
| PeerTube | BookWyrm | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 2.8K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 338 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick PeerTube if
- You weight community size — 15K 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 BookWyrm if
- You want the BookWyrm feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and BookWyrm fits your workflow better
About PeerTube
PeerTube is free, decentralized, federated video platform. It uses ActivityPub federation, browser P2P, TypeScript codebase, AGPL 3.0 license. Project sits in open source media streaming and Fediverse ecosystem. Framasoft developed it as alternative to centralized video platforms such as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo.
read the full PeerTube overview →
About BookWyrm
BookWyrm is a social reading network for tracking books, writing reviews, and discovering what to read next. It lives in the ActivityPub ecosystem, so users can interact with other BookWyrm instances and with ActivityPub services such as Mastodon and Pleroma. The project is a Python web application using Django, PostgreSQL, Redis, Celery, and ActivityPub.
read the full BookWyrm overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is PeerTube or BookWyrm more popular?
PeerTube has 15,322 GitHub stars and BookWyrm has 2,780. PeerTube has the larger community by that measure.
Are PeerTube and BookWyrm free?
Both are open source. PeerTube is licensed under AGPL-3.0, and BookWyrm has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between PeerTube and BookWyrm?
PeerTube is written in TypeScript and BookWyrm 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, PeerTube or BookWyrm?
Choose PeerTube if you want the larger community (15,322 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose BookWyrm if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.