head to head · open source
readest vs zk-nvim
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars, 1,586 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped yesterday. zk-nvim has 859 stars, 68 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. readest leads on adoption by 2,742% (24,413 vs 859 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; zk-nvim is written in Lua under GPL-3.0. readest has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, zk-nvim 8%. 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 | zk-nvim | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 859 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 68 |
| 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 zk-nvim if
- You want the zk-nvim feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and zk-nvim 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 zk-nvim
zk nvim is a Neovim plugin that wires the Neovim editor to the zk plain text note taking assistant, and it is for Neovim users who keep a Zettelkasten style notebook of plain text or Markdown files and want to search, create and navigate those notes without leaving the editor.
read the full zk-nvim overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or zk-nvim more popular?
readest has 24,413 GitHub stars and zk-nvim has 859. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and zk-nvim free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and zk-nvim under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and zk-nvim?
readest is written in TypeScript and zk-nvim in Lua. 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 zk-nvim?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,413 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose zk-nvim if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.