COPS 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.
| Feature | COPS | Readest |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 73 · Good | 97 · Excellent |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 134 | ★ 24,565 |
| First released | 2013 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Kindle | Kindle, Apple Books |
What are COPS and Readest?
COPS
COPS is a lightweight Calibre OPDS and HTML PHP server that exposes a Calibre library without needing Calibre running. It targets users wanting a minimal way to share their library. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- OPDS and HTML catalog
- Reads Calibre metadata database
- Very lightweight
- No Calibre process needed
Readest
Readest is an open-source ebook reader with a self-hostable sync server for keeping reading progress and annotations consistent across devices. It supports EPUB and other common formats.
- Cross-device progress sync
- EPUB and PDF support
- Annotations and highlights
- Self-hostable sync server
COPS vs Readest: key differences
COPS is written in PHP, while Readest is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for COPS versus AGPL-3.0 for Readest. COPS is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Readest. COPS is the more established project (first released 2013), while Readest arrived in 2024. Readest has the considerably larger community, at 24,565 GitHub stars versus 134.
Why pick each one
Choose COPS if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to host
- Good OPDS support
Watch out for
- Read-only catalog
- Basic interface
Choose Readest if…
- Clean modern interface
- Cross-device sync
- Multiple format support
Watch out for
- Relatively young project
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is COPS or Readest better?
Neither is universally better. Readest has the larger community, while COPS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are COPS and Readest free and open-source?
Yes. COPS is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Readest under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run COPS and Readest with Docker?
COPS: yes. Readest: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, COPS or Readest?
COPS has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Readest. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.