head to head · open source
readest vs feather
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. feather has 607 stars, 54 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 3,922% (24,413 vs 607 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; feather is written in Swift under MIT. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, feather 9%. readest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| readest | feather | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 607 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 54 |
| 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 feather if
- You want the feather feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and feather 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 feather
Feather is a Swift based content management system for developers and publishing teams who want to run a blog or content site on their own infrastructure rather than through a hosted service.
read the full feather overview →
More in Content & Publishing
Related comparisons
More Publishing projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Publishing field.
Frequently asked questions
Is readest or feather more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and feather has 607. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and feather free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and feather under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and feather?
readest is written in TypeScript and feather in Swift. 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 feather?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose feather if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.