head to head · open source
readest vs kepubify
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. kepubify has 889 stars, 58 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. readest leads on adoption by 2,646% (24,413 vs 889 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; kepubify is written in Go under MIT. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, kepubify 7%. readest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ebook, 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 | kepubify | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 889 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2025-12-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 58 |
| 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 kepubify if
- You want the kepubify feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and kepubify 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 kepubify
Kepubify is a free, MIT licensed command line tool written in Go that converts standard EPUB files into the Kobo EPUB format, aimed at Kobo eReader owners, self hosters, and developers who need fast, scriptable, standalone conversion without installing a full e book management suite.
read the full kepubify overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or kepubify more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and kepubify has 889. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and kepubify free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and kepubify under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and kepubify?
readest is written in TypeScript and kepubify in Go. 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 kepubify?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose kepubify if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.