4 self-hosted options
Open-source alternatives to Plex
The best open-source alternative to Plex is Jellyfin (GPL-2.0, 58,608 GitHub stars, Docker image). Kodi stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (4,423), and Stash stands out for its Go codebase.
About Plex: A media server and streaming app for personal movie, TV and music libraries.
Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily
Top picks
- Rank 1:
Jellyfin
jellyfin/jellyfin
Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
FeaturedMedia ServersC#DockerStands out for the most GitHub stars.
- Rank 2:
Kodi
xbmc/xbmc
Multimedia/Entertainment center, formerly known as XBMC. Runs on Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS and Windows.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
Media ServersC++Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (4,423).
- Rank 3:
Stash
stashapp/stash
A web-based library organizer and player for your adult media stash, with auto-tagging and metadata scraping support.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Media ServersGoDockerStands out for its Go codebase.
At a glance
Plex alternatives compared
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.
| App | Stands out for | License | GitHub stars | Commits (12 mo) | Last commit | Docker image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jellyfin | the most GitHub stars | GPL-2.0 | 58,608 | 2,235 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| Kodi | the most commits in the last 12 months (4,423) | GPL-2.0 | 21,386 | 4,423 | Oct 26, 2026 | No |
| Stash | its Go codebase | AGPL-3.0 | 13,285 | 520 | Oct 25, 2026 | Yes |
| Kyoo | its TypeScript codebase | GPL-3.0 | 2,550 | 1,435 | Oct 26, 2026 | Yes |
Full list
All 4 Plex alternatives
Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.
- 1
JellyfinFeatured
Media server for audio, video, books, comics, and photos with a sleek interface and robust transcoding capabilities. Almost all modern platforms have clients, including Roku, Android TV, iOS, and…
Media ServersDockerStands out for the most GitHub stars. Jellyfin has 58,608 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,235 commits in the last year.
- 2
Kodi
Multimedia/Entertainment center, formerly known as XBMC. Runs on Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS and Windows.
Media ServersStands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (4,423). Kodi has 21,386 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 4,423 commits in the last year.
- 3
Stash
A web-based library organizer and player for your adult media stash, with auto-tagging and metadata scraping support.
Media ServersDockerStands out for its Go codebase. Stash has 13,285 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 520 commits in the last year.
- 4
Kyoo
Innovative media browser designed for seamless streaming of anime, series and movies, offering advanced features like dynamic transcoding, auto watch history and intelligent metadata retrieval.
Media ServersDockerStands out for its TypeScript codebase. Kyoo has 2,550 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,435 commits in the last year.
Is there a free alternative to Plex?
Yes. All 4 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace Plex without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.
Can I self-host an alternative to Plex with Docker?
Yes. 3 of the 4 apps here publish a Docker image, including Jellyfin, Stash and Kyoo, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.
Which Plex alternative is the most actively developed?
Kodi (GPL-2.0), with 4,423 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.
How is this list ranked?
Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.