KOReader vs Upvote RSS
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?
KOReader
Document and ebook reader for e-ink and mobile devices
VS
Upvote RSS
Generate rich RSS feeds from Reddit, Hacker News, Lemmy, Mbin
| Feature | KOReader | Upvote RSS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Lua | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 50 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,800 | ★ 492 |
| First released | 2012 | 2025 |
| Replaces | Kindle, Pocketbook reader | — |
Why pick each one
Choose KOReader if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Mature project with 28.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Lua
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Upvote RSS if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in PHP
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is KOReader or Upvote RSS better?
Neither is universally better. KOReader has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are KOReader and Upvote RSS free and open-source?
Yes. KOReader is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Upvote RSS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run KOReader and Upvote RSS with Docker?
KOReader: check the project docs for container support. Upvote RSS: check the project docs for container support.