Readest vs Stump
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Stump
Fast, low-resource comic and ebook media server
| Feature | Readest | Stump |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 97 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | E-books & Media Library | E-books & Media Library |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 24,565 | ★ 2,714 |
| First released | 2024 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Kindle, Apple Books | Kindle, ComiXology |
What are Readest and Stump?
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
Stump
Stump is a free, open-source comic, manga, and ebook server built with Rust for speed and low resource use. It implements the OPDS standard and offers a modern web interface for browsing and reading.
- Comic and ebook serving
- OPDS support
- Modern web reader
- Very low resource use
Readest vs Stump: key differences
Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Readest versus MIT for Stump. Stump is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Readest. Stump is the more established project (first released 2022), while Readest arrived in 2024. Readest has the considerably larger community, at 24,565 GitHub stars versus 2,714.
Why pick each one
Choose Readest if…
- Clean modern interface
- Cross-device sync
- Multiple format support
Watch out for
- Relatively young project
- Smaller community
Choose Stump if…
- Fast and lightweight
- Clean interface
Watch out for
- Still pre-1.0
- Fewer features than Komga
Frequently asked questions
Is Readest or Stump better?
Neither is universally better. Readest has the larger community, while Stump is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Readest and Stump free and open-source?
Yes. Readest is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stump under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Readest and Stump with Docker?
Readest: yes. Stump: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Readest or Stump?
Stump has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Readest. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.