head to head · open source
readest vs vmprint
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars, 1,805 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vmprint has 679 stars, 30 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. readest leads on adoption by 3,711% (25,874 vs 679 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; vmprint is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. readest has attracted 7% 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 | ★ 26K | ★ 679 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 30 |
| 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 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 [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 vmprint
VMPrint I built the layout engine so you don't have to. VMPrint is a layout engine. Not a PDF library. Not a renderer. A layout engine: the component that decides where every glyph goes, negotiates page breaks, resolves mutual spatial dependencies between dynamic regions, and produces a flat array of exact X/Y coordinates for every box and text run in the document. What you do with that output is your call: render to PDF, replay on a Canvas, drive a word processor's display layer, feed it to a WebGL pipeline. The engine's job ends when the math is done. The architecture is backed by a pending patent. The core…
read the full vmprint overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or vmprint more popular?
readest has 25,874 GitHub stars and vmprint has 679. 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 (25,874 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.