head to head · open source
koreader vs readest
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars, 2,019 forks, 1,345 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest has 25,874 stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. koreader leads on adoption by 19% (30,818 vs 25,874 stars). koreader is written in Lua under AGPL-3.0; readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. koreader has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, readest 7%. koreader was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (ebook, ebook-reader, epub, kindle), 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
| koreader | readest | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 26K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Lua | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.0K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick koreader if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick readest if
- You want the readest feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and readest fits your workflow better
About koreader
KOReader is a document viewer primarily aimed at e ink readers. [![AGPL Licence][badge license]](COPYING) [![Latest release][badge release]][link gh releases] [![Gitter][badge gitter]][link gitter] [![Mobileread][badge mobileread]][link forum] [![Build Status][badge circleci]][link circleci] [![Coverage Status][badge coverage]][link coverage] [![Weblate Status][badge weblate]][link weblate] Download • User guide • Wiki • Developer docs Main features portable : runs on embedded devices (Cervantes, Kindle, Kobo, PocketBook, reMarkable), Android and Linux computers. Developers can run a KOReader emulator in Linux…
read the full koreader overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is koreader or readest more popular?
koreader has 30,818 GitHub stars and readest has 25,874. koreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are koreader and readest free?
Both are open source. koreader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and readest under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between koreader and readest?
koreader is written in Lua and readest in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, koreader or readest?
Choose koreader if you want the larger community (30,818 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose readest if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.