Ladder 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 | Ladder | Readest |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | GPL-3.0-only | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 20 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,804 | ★ 23,192 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | 12ft, 13ft | Kindle, Apple Books |
Why pick each one
Choose Ladder if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0-only license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 8.8k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
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 Ladder or Readest better?
Neither is universally better. Readest has the larger community, while Ladder is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Ladder and Readest free and open-source?
Yes. Ladder is licensed under GPL-3.0-only and Readest under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ladder and Readest with Docker?
Ladder: check the project docs for container support. Readest: yes.