Skip to content
appsgit

10 top picks · 1 audience ranking

Best open source media servers

The best open source media server is Jellyfin (GPL-2.0, 58,727 GitHub stars, Docker image). MediaMTX stands out for a permissive MIT license, and Invidious stands out for its Crystal codebase.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Jellyfin leads for home use.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

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…

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    FeaturedMedia ServersC#Docker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  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.

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    Media ServersGoDocker

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. MediaMTX has 20,534 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 755 commits in the last year.

  3. Rank 3:

    Invidious

    iv-org/invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026

    Media ServersCrystalDocker

    Stands out for its Crystal codebase. Invidious has 25,801 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 255 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

At a glance

Open source media servers compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 26 apps in the media servers category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
Jellyfinthe most GitHub starsGPL-2.058,7272,208Oct 28, 2026Yes
MediaMTXa permissive MIT licenseMIT20,534755Oct 27, 2026Yes
Invidiousits Crystal codebaseAGPL-3.025,801255Oct 26, 2026Yes
SRSa published Docker imageMIT29,385128Oct 26, 2026Yes
Kodithe most commits in the last 12 months (4,528)GPL-2.021,3884,528Oct 28, 2026No
Stash–AGPL-3.013,307525Oct 27, 2026Yes
PeerTube–AGPL-3.015,3712,118Oct 28, 2026No
Owncast–MIT11,6301,446Oct 26, 2026No
Tube Archivist–GPL-3.08,548246Oct 25, 2026Yes
OvenMediaEngine–AGPL-3.03,294632Oct 28, 2026Yes

1 of 2 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 26 apps in the media servers category.

  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…

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. Jellyfin has 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,208 commits in the last year; it replaces Plex and Netflix.

  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.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. MediaMTX has 20,534 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 755 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    Invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Stands out for its Crystal codebase. Invidious has 25,801 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 255 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.

    Stands out for a published Docker image. SRS has 29,385 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 128 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    Kodi

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

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (4,528). Kodi has 21,388 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 4,528 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 13,307 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 525 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 15,371 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license and had 2,118 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 11,630 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license and had 1,446 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 8,548 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 246 commits in the last year; it replaces YouTube.

  10. 10

    OvenMediaEngine

    Streaming Server with Sub-Second Latency.

    OvenMediaEngine has 3,294 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 632 commits in the last year.

2 of 2 · 5 picks

Which open source media server is best for home use?

For home use, Jellyfin ranks first (GPL-2.0, 58,727 GitHub stars), followed by Invidious and SRS. 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 58,727 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,208 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.

  2. 2

    Invidious

    Alternative YouTube front-end.

    Invidious has 25,801 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 255 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

    SRS

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

    SRS has 29,385 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 128 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

    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 20,534 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 755 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 13,307 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 525 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.

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.

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 4,528 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.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 26 apps in the media servers category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

The weekly digest

New self-hosted apps, every week

Fresh releases, rising projects and one deploy guide a week. Join home labbers and engineers who self-host.

One email a week. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.