head to head · open source
readest vs zlib
readest has 24,799 GitHub stars, 1,644 forks, 145 open issues and last shipped today. zlib has 524 stars, 38 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. readest leads on adoption by 4,633% (24,799 vs 524 stars). readest is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; zlib is written in Go under MIT. readest has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, zlib 7%. 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, kindle), 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 | zlib | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 25K | ★ 524 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-03 | 2026-09-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 38 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick readest if
- You weight community size — 25K 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 zlib if
- You want the zlib feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and zlib 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 zlib
zlib is a command line interface for Z Library that lets readers search the catalogue, download ebooks, send them to a Kindle device, and drive the whole workflow from AI coding agents.
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Frequently asked questions
Is readest or zlib more popular?
readest has 24,799 GitHub stars and zlib has 524. readest has the larger community by that measure.
Are readest and zlib free?
Both are open source. readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and zlib under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between readest and zlib?
readest is written in TypeScript and zlib in Go. 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 zlib?
Choose readest if you want the larger community (24,799 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose zlib if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.