head to head · open source
readest vs citadel
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. citadel has 1,311 stars, 27 forks, 10 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 1,874% (25,874 vs 1,311 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; citadel is written in Rust under MIT. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, citadel 2%. citadel was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (calibre, ebook, 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
| readest | citadel | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 27 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick readest if
- You weight community size — 26K 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 citadel if
- You want the citadel feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and citadel fits your workflow better
About readest
Readest [Readest][link website] is an open source ebook reader designed for immersive and deep reading experiences. Built as a modern rewrite of Foliate, it leverages Next.js 16 and Tauri v2 to deliver a smooth, cross platform experience across macOS, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and the Web. [![Website][badge website]][link website] [![Web App][badge web app]][link web readest] [![OS][badge platforms]][link website] [![Discord][badge discord]][link discord] [![Reddit][badge reddit]][link reddit] [![AGPL Licence][badge license]](LICENSE) [![Language Coverage][badge language coverage]][link locales]…
read the full readest overview →
About citadel
Citadel Manage your ebook library with Citadel. Backwards compatible with Calibre. Project goals Backwards compatible with Calibre : Calibre must be able to read any library that Citadel has edited. Good UX : Citadel must be easy to use and look good. Performant : Citadel must feel much faster than Calibre, and never slower. Non goals Ebook reader : Citadel is not an ebook reader. There are already excellent ereader apps: Citadel will open your files in your default apps. ...or editor : If you're editing ebook content (not metadata like titles), Citadel will not be a replacement for you. 100% feature parity…
read the full citadel overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or citadel more popular?
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars and citadel has 1,311. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and citadel free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and citadel under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and citadel?
readest is written in TypeScript and citadel in Rust. 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 citadel?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (25,874 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose citadel if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.