# Readest

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Readest and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** A free, open-source reader for ePub and PDF books that supports syncing your ebook library. No recurring complaints appear in the quotes.

## Why people recommend it

- Syncs a library of ebooks (1 comments): "It supports syncing a library of ebooks and is licensed under the AGPL" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837306))
- Open source under AGPL (1 comments): "It supports syncing a library of ebooks and is licensed under the AGPL" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837306))
- Used alongside KOReader on Kobo (1 comments): "I was able to do this using KOReader on the Kobo & the Readest app" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49097889))
- Impressive homepage animation (1 comments): "the animation on the homepage is incredible, very impressive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49726513))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Bookshelf](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookshelf.md): 15 recommend
- [Apple Books](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-books.md): 10 recommend
- [Kindle app](https://hackerapproved.com/p/kindle-app.md): 9 recommend
- [Librera Reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/librera-reader.md): 8 recommend
- [BookFusion](https://hackerapproved.com/p/bookfusion.md): 6 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Readest", https://hackerapproved.com/p/readest/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).