Nowen ReadervsWriteFreely
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Nowen Reader | WriteFreely | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 51/100 | 65/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 19 in Ebook Management | #2 of 24 in Blogging |
| GitHub stars | 180 | 5 276 |
| Stars, last 30 days | — | +19 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 10 | 3 |
| Latest release | v1.2.3 · 25 Oct 2026 | v0.17.2 · 10 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
WriteFreely scores 65/100 against 51/100 for Nowen Reader, so it is the safer default.
Nowen Reader ships more often: 10 stable releases in the past year, against 3 for WriteFreely.
If you want the quickest setup, Nowen Reader is easier to run; WriteFreely needs more configuration.
WriteFreely is growing faster right now (+19 stars in 30 days).
Nowen Reader details →WriteFreely details →
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