head to head · open source
readest vs vmprint
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vmprint has 676 stars, 30 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. readest leads on adoption by 3,511% (24,413 vs 676 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; vmprint is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, vmprint 4%. 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.
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Side by side
| readest | vmprint | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 676 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 30 |
| 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 vmprint if
- You want the vmprint feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and vmprint 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 vmprint
VMPrint is an Apache 2.0 layout engine written in JavaScript that decides where every glyph goes and returns a flat array of exact X/Y coordinates, built for teams creating Canvas or WebGL tools, high volume report generators, print on demand pipelines, document editors, and edge runtime deployments.
read the full vmprint overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or vmprint more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and vmprint has 676. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and vmprint free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and vmprint under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and vmprint?
readest is written in TypeScript and vmprint in JavaScript. 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 vmprint?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose vmprint if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.