head to head · open source
readest vs EpubReader
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. EpubReader has 552 stars, 106 forks, 5 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. readest leads on adoption by 4,587% (25,874 vs 552 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; EpubReader is written in C# under Unlicense. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, EpubReader 19%. readest 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
| readest | EpubReader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 552 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Unlicense |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-04-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 106 |
| 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 EpubReader if
- You want the EpubReader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Unlicense license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and EpubReader 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 EpubReader
.NET library for reading EPUB files. Supported EPUB standards: EPUB 2 (2.0, 2.0.1) EPUB 3 (3.0, 3.0.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3) Supported runtimes: .NET Standard = 1.3 (includes .NET Core = 1.0 and .NET = 5) .NET Framework = 4.6 Download Documentation WPF & .NET 10 console demo apps EpubReader in a nutshell Demo apps Download WPF demo app (WpfDemo.zip) This .NET Framework application demonstrates how to open EPUB books and extract their content using the library. HTML renderer used in this demo app may have difficulties while rendering content for some of the books if the HTML structure is too complicated. Download .NET…
read the full EpubReader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or EpubReader more popular?
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars and EpubReader has 552. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and EpubReader free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and EpubReader under Unlicense. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and EpubReader?
readest is written in TypeScript and EpubReader in C#. 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 EpubReader?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (25,874 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose EpubReader if its feature set, stack or Unlicense licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.