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10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source media servers

The best open source media server is Jellyfin, with 57,817 GitHub stars, the GPL-2.0 license and a Docker image; MediaMTX and Invidious are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Jellyfin leads for home use. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 26 apps in the media servers category of the appsgit catalog.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed nightly

Top picks

  1. 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…

    FeaturedMedia ServersC#Docker

    Jellyfin has 57,817 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,025 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Spotify.

  2. Rank 2:

    MediaMTX

    bluenviron/mediamtx

    Ready-to-use, zero-dependency real-time media server and proxy to publish, read, record, playback and route video/audio streams over SRT, WebRTC, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS, RTP.

    Media ServersGoDocker

    MediaMTX has 20,345 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 626 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    Invidious

    iv-org/invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Media ServersCrystalDocker

    Invidious has 25,131 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 235 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 26 apps in the media servers category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    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…

    Jellyfin has 57,817 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,025 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Spotify.

  2. 2

    MediaMTX

    Ready-to-use, zero-dependency real-time media server and proxy to publish, read, record, playback and route video/audio streams over SRT, WebRTC, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS, RTP.

    MediaMTX has 20,345 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 626 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    Invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Invidious has 25,131 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 235 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

  4. 4

    SRS

    A simple, high efficiency and real-time video server, supports RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV and SRT.

    SRS has 29,319 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 99 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Kodi

    Multimedia/Entertainment center, formerly known as XBMC. Runs on Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS and Windows.

    Kodi has 21,286 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 3,658 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  6. 6

    Stash

    A web-based library organizer and player for your adult media stash, with auto-tagging and metadata scraping support.

    Stash has 13,058 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 504 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  7. 7

    PeerTube

    Decentralized video streaming platform using P2P (BitTorrent) directly in the web browser.

    PeerTube has 15,345 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 1,848 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube and Loom.

  8. 8

    Owncast

    Decentralized single-user live video streaming and chat server for running your own live streams similar in style to the large mainstream options.

    Owncast has 11,575 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,396 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

  9. 9

    Tube Archivist

    Organize, search, and enjoy your YouTube collection. Subscribe, download, and track viewed content with metadata indexing and a user-friendly interface.

    Tube Archivist has 8,499 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 204 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

  10. 10

    OvenMediaEngine

    Streaming Server with Sub-Second Latency.

    OvenMediaEngine has 3,286 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 594 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Best for home use

Ranked for home use on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    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…

    Jellyfin has 57,817 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,025 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Spotify. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    Invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Invidious has 25,131 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 235 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    MediaMTX

    Ready-to-use, zero-dependency real-time media server and proxy to publish, read, record, playback and route video/audio streams over SRT, WebRTC, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MPEG-TS, RTP.

    MediaMTX has 20,345 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 626 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    SRS

    A simple, high efficiency and real-time video server, supports RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV and SRT.

    SRS has 29,319 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 99 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Stash

    A web-based library organizer and player for your adult media stash, with auto-tagging and metadata scraping support.

    Stash has 13,058 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 504 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

What is the best open source media server?

The best open source media server is Jellyfin, with 57,817 GitHub stars, the GPL-2.0 license and a Docker image; MediaMTX and Invidious are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Jellyfin leads for home use. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 26 apps in the media servers category of the appsgit catalog.

Is Jellyfin free?

Yes. Jellyfin is open-source software released under the GPL-2.0 license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Which open source media server is best for home use?

Jellyfin ranks first for home use, with 57,817 GitHub stars, the GPL-2.0 license and a Docker image; Invidious and MediaMTX follow. The home use ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity.

Can I self-host these media servers with Docker?

Yes, 7 of the 10 picks. Jellyfin, MediaMTX and Invidious publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these media servers open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these media servers is the most actively developed?

Kodi, with 3,658 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 21.3-Omega, from October 2025. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

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