head to head · open source
readest vs Calibre-Web-Automated
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Calibre-Web-Automated has 6,293 stars, 519 forks, 443 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. readest leads on adoption by 288% (24,413 vs 6,293 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; Calibre-Web-Automated is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Calibre-Web-Automated 8%. readest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (calibre, ebook, epub, kindle), 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
| readest | Calibre-Web-Automated | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 6.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 519 |
| 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 Calibre-Web-Automated if
- You want the Calibre-Web-Automated feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Calibre-Web-Automated 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 Calibre-Web-Automated
Calibre Web Automated is a free, GPL 3.0, self hosted digital library server distributed as the Docker image crocodilestick/calibre web automated , aimed at self hosters who want one automated service instead of running Calibre and Calibre Web side by side.
read the full Calibre-Web-Automated overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or Calibre-Web-Automated more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and Calibre-Web-Automated has 6,293. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and Calibre-Web-Automated free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Calibre-Web-Automated under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and Calibre-Web-Automated?
readest is written in TypeScript and Calibre-Web-Automated in JavaScript. 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 Calibre-Web-Automated?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Calibre-Web-Automated if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.