head to head · open source
readest vs thorium-reader
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. thorium-reader has 2,872 stars, 237 forks, 206 open issues and last shipped yesterday. readest leads on adoption by 750% (24,413 vs 2,872 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; thorium-reader is written in TypeScript under BSD-3-Clause. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, thorium-reader 8%. readest was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (epub, opds), 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 | thorium-reader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 237 |
| 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 thorium-reader if
- You want the thorium-reader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and thorium-reader 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 thorium-reader
Thorium Reader is a cross platform desktop reading application for Windows 10/10S, macOS, and Linux, based on the open source Readium Desktop toolkit. It lives in the content and publishing ecosystem, is categorized as Content & Publishing / Publishing, and is released under the BSD 3 Clause license. The repository reports 2,871 stars, 237 forks, and a last push on 2026 09 14.
read the full thorium-reader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or thorium-reader more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and thorium-reader has 2,872. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and thorium-reader free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and thorium-reader under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and thorium-reader?
readest is written in TypeScript and thorium-reader 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, readest or thorium-reader?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose thorium-reader if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.