head to head · open source
readest vs hammer-editor
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hammer-editor has 744 stars, 42 forks, 54 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. readest leads on adoption by 3,181% (24,413 vs 744 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; hammer-editor is written in Kotlin under MIT. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, hammer-editor 6%. 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 | hammer-editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 744 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 42 |
| 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 hammer-editor if
- You want the hammer-editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and hammer-editor 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 hammer-editor
Hammer is a free, open source, local first story editor for writers, built in Kotlin with Compose Multiplatform and shipped for Android, iOS, Windows, Linux and macOS, so a single draft stays with its author across phone and desktop.
read the full hammer-editor 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 hammer-editor more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and hammer-editor has 744. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and hammer-editor free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and hammer-editor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and hammer-editor?
readest is written in TypeScript and hammer-editor in Kotlin. 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 hammer-editor?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose hammer-editor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.