head to head · open source
readest vs grimmory
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. grimmory has 4,642 stars, 357 forks, 243 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 457% (25,874 vs 4,642 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; grimmory is written in Java under AGPL-3.0. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, grimmory 8%. 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 | grimmory | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 4.6K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 357 |
| 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 grimmory if
- You want the grimmory feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and grimmory 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 grimmory
Grimmory is a self hosted digital library for people who take their reading seriously. Documentation · Quick Start · Translations · Discord · Releases Features Supported Formats Quick Start [!TIP] For OIDC setup, advanced configuration, or upgrade guides, see the full documentation. Requirements: Docker and Docker Compose. Image Repositories Step 1: Environment Configuration Create a .env file: Step 2: Docker Compose Stable images are published from semantic release tags on main as vX.Y.Z plus latest . Nightly images are built from develop and tagged nightly . Create a docker compose.yml or copy and adapt…
read the full grimmory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or grimmory more popular?
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars and grimmory has 4,642. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and grimmory free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and grimmory under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and grimmory?
readest is written in TypeScript and grimmory in Java. 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 grimmory?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (25,874 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose grimmory if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.