head to head · open source
koreader vs PyMuPDF
koreader has 30,852 GitHub stars, 2,019 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. PyMuPDF has 11,057 stars, 831 forks, 58 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. koreader leads on adoption by 179% (30,852 vs 11,057 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; PyMuPDF is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. koreader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, PyMuPDF 8%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | PyMuPDF | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 11K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Lua | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 831 |
| 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 PyMuPDF if
- You want the PyMuPDF 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 PyMuPDF 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 PyMuPDF
PyMuPDF The PDF engine behind over 50 million monthly downloads, powering AI pipelines worldwide. PyMuPDF is a high performance Python library for data extraction, analysis, conversion, rendering and manipulation of PDF (and other) documents. Built on top of MuPDF — a lightweight, fast C engine — PyMuPDF gives you precise, low level control over documents alongside high level convenience APIs. No mandatory external dependencies. Why PyMuPDF? Fast — powered by MuPDF, a best in class C rendering engine Accurate — pixel perfect text extraction with font, color, and position metadata Versatile — read, write…
read the full PyMuPDF overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or PyMuPDF more popular?
koreader has 30,852 GitHub stars and PyMuPDF has 11,057. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and PyMuPDF free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PyMuPDF under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and PyMuPDF?
koreader is written in Lua and PyMuPDF 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 PyMuPDF?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (30,852 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose PyMuPDF if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.