Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Radarr VS Readarr

Compare Radarr VS Readarr and see what are their differences

Radarr logo Radarr

A fork of Sonarr designed to work with Movies.

Readarr logo Readarr

Readarr is a ebook collection manager for Usenet and BitTorrent users. It can monitor multiple RSS feeds for new books from your favorite authors and will interface with clients and indexers to grab, sort, and rename them.
  • Radarr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-05
  • Readarr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-23

Radarr features and specs

  • Automation
    Radarr allows for automated searching, downloading, and managing of movies, which greatly simplifies the user experience and saves time.
  • Integrations
    It integrates well with other tools such as Sonarr, Lidarr, and Plex, providing a seamless media management ecosystem.
  • Customizable
    Users can set their own preferences for quality, download locations, and other parameters, offering a tailored experience.
  • Community Support
    Radarr has a strong and active community, which contributes to comprehensive guides, forums, and regular updates.
  • Cross-Platform
    Available for multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring accessibility to a wide range of users.

Possible disadvantages of Radarr

  • Complex Setup
    Initial configuration can be challenging for those not technically inclined, requiring a good understanding of torrents and Usenet.
  • Dependencies
    Effective use of Radarr often needs additional software like a download client (e.g., qBittorrent, SABnzbd) and a media server (e.g., Plex), complicating the setup.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Radarr along with necessary additional software can consume significant system resources, which may be a constraint for users with limited hardware capabilities.
  • Legal Issues
    Automated downloading of media can lead to unintentional piracy, potentially resulting in legal consequences for the user.
  • Limited Official Support
    Radarr primarily relies on community support rather than official customer service, which can make troubleshooting more difficult.

Readarr features and specs

  • Automated Book Management
    Readarr automates the process of searching, downloading, and organizing eBooks and audiobooks, saving time and effort for users.
  • Integration with Indexers
    Readarr integrates with various Usenet and torrent indexers, allowing users to find and acquire books from multiple sources.
  • Customizable Metadata
    Users can customize and maintain accurate metadata for their books, improving organization and ease of access within their library.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    Readarr is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, ensuring wider accessibility.
  • Community and Support
    Being part of the *arr suite of applications, Readarr benefits from an active community and support network for troubleshooting and advice.

Possible disadvantages of Readarr

  • Technical Complexity
    Setting up and configuring Readarr can be complex, especially for users unfamiliar with similar software or with limited technical knowledge.
  • Dependency on External Services
    Readarr's effectiveness largely depends on the availability and reliability of external indexers and download clients.
  • Limited to Digital Formats
    Readarr focuses solely on managing digital books, which may not be suitable for users who prefer physical copies.
  • Potential Legal Issues
    Using torrent or Usenet indexers to acquire books can lead to legal issues, particularly if copyrighted materials are involved without proper licensing.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Readarr along with necessary services such as databases and download clients can consume significant system resources.

Analysis of Radarr

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Radarr is considered a good solution for automating and managing a movie collection. Its intuitive user interface, robust feature set, and integration with other media server applications make it a favorite among users looking to efficiently organize and maintain their movie libraries.

Why this product is good

  • Radarr is a popular application among movie enthusiasts for managing and organizing movie libraries. It is especially praised for its user-friendly interface, automation capabilities, and ability to seamlessly integrate with various download clients such as Sabnzbd or NZBGet. Radarr automatically handles search for new movie releases and maintains movie quality by providing automatic updates and replacements of higher quality versions.

Recommended for

    Radarr is recommended for individuals who have a large collection of movies and seek an automated solution to manage, organize, and update their movie library effortlessly. It is also perfect for those who want to automate the downloading of new films while maintaining high quality and accessing detailed movie metadata.

Radarr videos

Radarr - PlexGuide

More videos:

  • Review - Install and setup Radarr for the best in movie downloads and management on unRAID
  • Review - Overview for Sonarr and Radarr for your Media Library

Readarr videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Radarr and Readarr)
Video & Movies
92 92%
8% 8
Usenet
100 100%
0% 0
Download Manager
0 0%
100% 100
Tool
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Radarr and Readarr

Radarr Reviews

The Ultimate Automated Media Setup for Movies & TV Shows
Radarr, much like Sonarr, is very simple to setup and requires minor configuration once installed. The configuration for Radarr is also available via a web browser at http://localhost:7878. The wiki for the project has great documentation that should be able to get you going.
Source: brandonb.ca
Installing Radarr, Sonarr and Deluge on your Unraid Server
Radarr is another open source software solution that I recommend installing. Radarr is a fork of Sonarr for media content that Radarr doesn't support. Similarly to Sonarr automates the downloading and organisation of this content. Radarr will download requested content as soon as it's available in your desired quality.
9 Best Home Server Apps to Automate Media Management
Radarr is a relatively new service, made specifically for downloading Movies. It's based on the same interface as Sonarr, so new users that have used Sonarr in the past should be right at home with Radarr. You can create watch lists for Movies with your preset quality settings and Radarr will automatically download them as soon as they are available. Being a new service, you...

Readarr Reviews

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Radarr seems to be a lot more popular than Readarr. While we know about 78 links to Radarr, we've tracked only 5 mentions of Readarr. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Radarr mentions (78)

  • Copy-paste on big screen. Analyzing errors and oddities in Radarr code
    Radarr is an open-source movie manager for Usenet and BitTorrent users. The tool can monitor multiple RSS feeds to download and update movies as they become available in the desired formats and higher resolutions. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Gzip compression questions for 2 use cases
    I use Nginx for Sonarr/Radarr would I see any general performance benefit when loading their webpages in general? If so, what level of compression would be ideal for this case? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • /r/Plex's Moronic Mondays' No Stupid Questions Thread - 2023-07-10
    There may be better places, since I've just stuck to the same one for years now (and don't need them often enough to look into alternatives), but I usually use either subscene or opensubtitles. There are also programs that can automate it like bazarr, but it requires you to also use Sonarr/Radarr. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Home Lab Setup Recommendations
    - Sonarr & Radarr for sailing the sea / keeping those media libraries growing ( https://sonarr.tv/, https://radarr.video/ ). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Best programs to use alongside Plex?
    Two instances of Radarr (one for 4K and one for everything else) running on one of my Linux servers. Source: almost 2 years ago
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Readarr mentions (5)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Radarr and Readarr, you can also consider the following products

NZBGet - The most efficient usenet downloader.

mylar3 - The python3 version of the automated Comic Book downloader (cbr/cbz) for use with various download clients.

NZBGet.com - Fast, reliable, and feature-packed NZB downloader.

gaps - Find the missing movies in your Plex Server. Contribute to JasonHHouse/gaps development by creating an account on GitHub.

SABnzbd - SABnzbd is a free/open-source cross-platform binary newsreader written in Python.

Sick Beard - Sick Beard is a PVR for newsgroup users (with limited torrent support).