13ft vs Readest
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
| Feature | 13ft | Readest |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,250 | ★ 23,192 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | 12ft | Kindle, Apple Books |
Why pick each one
Choose 13ft if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (4.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Choose Readest if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 23.2k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is 13ft or Readest better?
Neither is universally better. Readest has the larger community, while 13ft is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are 13ft and Readest free and open-source?
Yes. 13ft is licensed under MIT and Readest under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 13ft and Readest with Docker?
13ft: check the project docs for container support. Readest: yes.