Readest vs Foliate: two open-source ebook readers compared
Readest and Foliate are related projects, not interchangeable builds of the same app. Foliate is a focused Linux ebook reader designed around GTK, libadwaita, and the GNOME desktop. Readest began as a cross-platform rewrite inspired by Foliate and still uses a maintained fork of foliate-js, the rendering engine created for Foliate. Around that engine, Readest built a separate library, interface, sync system, and native distribution for mobile, desktop, and web.
The shared rendering lineage means both are comfortable with real-world EPUBs and care about typography. The choice turns on everything surrounding the page: whether Linux integration or cross-device continuity matters more, which translation and listening tools you use, and whether a local JSON annotation file is preferable to account-based sync.
Last verified: August 28, 2026, against Readest 0.12.1 and Foliate 3.2.0 documentation.
Readest vs Foliate feature comparison
| Capability | Readest | Foliate |
|---|---|---|
| Primary design | One reader across platforms | Native GNOME ebook reader |
| Linux | AppImage, deb/rpm builds, Flatpak | Native packages, Flatpak, Snap |
| Windows | Yes | No |
| macOS | Yes | No |
| iPhone and iPad | Yes | No |
| Android | Yes | No |
| Web reader | Yes | foliate-js demo, not a synced Foliate app |
| EPUB | Yes | Yes |
| MOBI and AZW3 | Yes | Yes |
| FB2 and CBZ | Yes | Yes |
| Yes | Yes, with improved rendering in 3.2 | |
| TXT and Markdown | Yes | Not advertised as core Foliate book formats |
| Paginated reading | Yes, with page animations | Yes, including touchpad/touchscreen gestures |
| Continuous scrolling | Yes | Official site advertises scrolled mode; current renderer behavior can vary by release |
| Vertical and right-to-left text | Yes | Yes |
| Custom fonts and CSS | Yes, in-app controls and synced assets | Yes, system fonts and a user stylesheet file |
| Highlights, notes, bookmarks | Yes | Yes |
| Annotation storage | Local database, export, optional sync | Plain JSON files designed for export or external sync |
| Text to speech | Built-in native/browser/cloud choices | Speech Dispatcher with an installed output module |
| Translation | Multiple providers, selection/page/book, Word Lens | Translation tool, including Google Translate workflows |
| Dictionaries and Wikipedia | System, Wiktionary, Wikipedia, MDict, StarDict | Wiktionary, Wikipedia; offline dictionary support depends on version |
| OPDS catalogs | Yes, with search and streaming options | Yes in current releases |
| Cloud sync | Books, progress, annotations, settings, assets | No first-party cross-device cloud service |
| Parallel reading | Two books side by side with synced scrolling | No first-class parallel-book mode |
| Desktop integration | Cross-platform conventions | Deep GNOME/libadwaita integration |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Price | Free; optional paid cloud plans | Free; donations welcome |
Shared roots, different products
Foliate's reader engine became foliate-js so that ebook parsing and rendering could be developed as a reusable JavaScript library. It handles reflowable and fixed-layout books, Kindle formats, navigation, locations, and many of the difficult edges hidden inside ebook archives. Readest uses its own maintained fork of that engine. This is a direct technical relationship and an important credit, but it does not make the two applications equivalent.
Foliate surrounds the engine with a GTK application that follows GNOME patterns. Its dependencies include GJS, GTK 4, libadwaita, and WebKitGTK. Readest surrounds its fork with a Next.js interface and packages native apps with Tauri, sharing much of the product across platforms. The result is that a book may render with related underlying ideas while the library, settings, syncing, and platform behavior feel quite different.
This also explains why a simple “fork versus original” ranking would be misleading. Foliate optimizes for being a good Linux citizen. Readest accepted the cost of a broader application architecture to reach phones, tablets, other desktops, and browsers.
Where Foliate is the better choice
Native GNOME fit
Foliate is built for Linux rather than merely available on it. It follows libadwaita styling, desktop conventions, system theming, and the packaging expectations of major Linux distributions. On a GNOME workstation, that coherence is valuable: windows, sidebars, shortcuts, dialogs, and accessibility behavior come from the same ecosystem as the rest of the desktop.
Readest's Linux app shares an interface with its other platforms. Consistency is the benefit, but it will not feel as specifically GNOME-native. If every device you read on runs Linux and you want the smallest conceptual distance between reader and desktop, Foliate is an excellent answer.
A simple local data model
Foliate stores reading progress, bookmarks, and annotations in plain JSON files. That makes the data inspectable and lets a user copy or synchronize it with ordinary filesystem tools. There is no account to create and no hosted sync service to understand. Readers who prefer assembling their own Syncthing, Git, or backup workflow may see this as a feature rather than a missing cloud button.
Readest is local-first and supports exports and self-controlled storage, but its broader synchronized model necessarily has more concepts: accounts, sync categories, providers, conflicts, and optional plans. Foliate's model is appealing when one Linux profile and transparent files are enough.
Focus and restraint
Foliate does not try to be an account service, a mobile media player, or a shared cross-device library. It opens books, presents them well, and provides navigation, annotations, lookup, translation, and TTS without turning the application into a platform. Some users want exactly that scope.
Where Readest is the better choice
The library follows the reader
Readest has first-party apps on Linux, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android plus a web version. A book imported on one device can appear on the others with its position, highlights, notes, bookmarks, and selected preferences, depending on the chosen sync configuration. On iPad it can open multiple books, on mobile it accepts files from the share sheet, and on desktop it supports file associations and multiple windows.
Foliate's official application is Linux-only. Copying its annotation JSON can preserve data between Linux installations, but it does not create a Foliate app on a phone or Windows machine. Readers who regularly change devices will experience that platform boundary more often than subtle differences in rendering.
Integrated listening and language study
Foliate supports read-aloud through Speech Dispatcher, which may require installing and configuring a speech engine such as eSpeak NG. Readest presents native, browser, and cloud voice choices inside the app, can download voices per book on supported systems, highlights text as it speaks, and exposes media and CarPlay controls. The experience is designed to be consistent even when the underlying operating-system voice differs.
Both apps offer lookup and translation. Readest extends the workflow with custom MDict and StarDict dictionaries, multiple translation providers, selection/page/whole-book translation, and Word Lens hints displayed above difficult words. Parallel Read can keep an original and translation beside each other. Language learners are more likely to notice these differences than a casual reader opening a novel.
A broader connected-library workflow
Readest can browse OPDS catalogs and calibre servers, stream through OPDS-PSE, synchronize with KOReader, export to Readwise, track books with Hardcover, accept emailed books and web articles, and use several cloud-storage providers. Foliate has valuable OPDS and lookup support, but it does not try to be a cross-service reading hub.
Privacy and ownership
Both applications are open source and can be used without surrendering a personal library to a bookstore. Foliate's default is especially straightforward: books and JSON state stay on the Linux computer unless the user moves them. Readest also starts from local files, and its core reader does not require an account. Sync is optional, credentials can be end-to-end encrypted with a passphrase, third-party storage is available on eligible plans, and the server stack is published for self-hosting.
The trade-off is agency versus convenience at different layers. Foliate asks the operating system and user to solve movement between computers. Readest offers a product-level solution but introduces a service configuration. Neither requires buying books from a proprietary catalog, and both let readers keep ordinary, DRM-free files.
Which should you choose?
Choose Foliate if Linux is your whole reading environment, GNOME integration matters, plain local state is ideal, and you prefer a focused reader with minimal service machinery. It remains one of the most thoughtful open-source desktop reading applications, and Readest's existence does not diminish that.
Choose Readest if the same library must work on a Linux laptop, phone, tablet, another desktop, or browser; if sync and mobile TTS are important; or if Parallel Read, extensive translation, and connected-library tools fit your routine.
Developers can also choose based on contribution interest. Foliate is a compact GTK/GJS application and the home of upstream foliate-js. Readest is a larger cross-platform TypeScript, React, Tauri, and Rust project. Improvements to ebook rendering can benefit related code paths even though the apps ship independently.
Sources and verification
Foliate claims were checked against the official Foliate website, source repository and installation notes, current FAQ, and 3.2.0 release. The rendering relationship was checked against foliate-js. Readest claims were checked against the Readest documentation, source, and 0.12.1 release.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Readest based on Foliate?
- Readest is a cross-platform rewrite inspired by Foliate and uses a maintained fork of the foliate-js rendering engine. It is a separate application with its own library, sync, mobile, desktop, and web experience.
- Should a Linux user choose Readest or Foliate?
- Foliate is an excellent choice for a lightweight app that follows GNOME conventions. Readest is a better fit if you also read on Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, or the web and want reading state to sync.
- Do Readest and Foliate support the same ebook formats?
- Their core format support overlaps substantially: both open EPUB, Mobipocket and Kindle files, FB2, CBZ, and PDF. Readest also documents TXT and Markdown support; exact behavior differs because the surrounding applications are separate.
- Are Readest and Foliate open source?
- Yes. Readest is released under the GNU Affero General Public License and Foliate under the GNU General Public License. Both publish their source on GitHub.