Petrolette 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?
Petrolette
The news reader that doesn't know you
VS
Readest
Cross-platform ebook reader with sync server
| Feature | Petrolette | Readest |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | AGPL-3.0-only | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | — | ★ 23,192 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Netvibes | Kindle, Apple Books |
Why pick each one
Choose Petrolette if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0-only license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
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 Petrolette or Readest better?
Neither is universally better. Readest has the larger community, while Petrolette is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Petrolette and Readest free and open-source?
Yes. Petrolette is licensed under AGPL-3.0-only and Readest under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Petrolette and Readest with Docker?
Petrolette: check the project docs for container support. Readest: yes.