head to head · open source
readest vs grimmory
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. grimmory has 4,373 stars, 324 forks, 243 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 458% (24,413 vs 4,373 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; grimmory is written in Java under AGPL-3.0. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, grimmory 7%. 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 | ★ 24K | ★ 4.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 324 |
| 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 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 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 grimmory
Grimmory is a self hosted digital library for ebooks, comics, documents, and audiobooks that runs on your own server under the AGPL 3.0 licence, built for readers who want their whole collection — files, metadata, reading progress, and sharing — in one place they control rather than spread across devices, apps, and cloud accounts.
read the full grimmory overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or grimmory more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and grimmory has 4,373. 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 (24,413 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.