head to head · open source
readest vs swift-toolkit
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. swift-toolkit has 574 stars, 262 forks, 58 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 4,408% (25,874 vs 574 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; swift-toolkit is written in Swift under BSD-3-Clause. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, swift-toolkit 46%. 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-reader, 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 | swift-toolkit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 26K | ★ 574 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 262 |
| 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 swift-toolkit if
- You want the swift-toolkit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and swift-toolkit 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 swift-toolkit
Readium Swift Toolkit Readium Mobile is a toolkit for ebooks, audiobooks and comics written in Swift & Kotlin. [!TIP] Take a look at the guide to quickly get started. A Test App demonstrates how to integrate the Readium Swift toolkit in your own reading app. Features ✅ Implemented 🚧 Partially implemented 📆 Planned 👀 Want to do ❌ Not planned Formats Ebook and Document Formats Audiobook Formats Comic Formats Features A number of features are implemented only for some publication formats. OPDS Support DRM Support User Guides Guides are available to help you make the most of the toolkit. Publication Opening a…
read the full swift-toolkit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or swift-toolkit more popular?
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars and swift-toolkit has 574. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and swift-toolkit free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and swift-toolkit under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and swift-toolkit?
readest is written in TypeScript and swift-toolkit in Swift. 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 swift-toolkit?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (25,874 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose swift-toolkit if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.