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Jellyfin

Free, open-source media server with no accounts, subscriptions or premium tier.

Open sourceSelf-hostableMedia servers
Visit JellyfinSee 6 alternatives
Verified facts
4 of 4
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6
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About Jellyfin

Jellyfin is a volunteer-run, open-source media server that began as a fork of Emby when Emby closed its code. It organises movies, TV, music, books, comics and photos, streams them to web, mobile, smart TV and console apps, and supports live TV and DVR, hardware-accelerated transcoding, multiple users with parental controls, and SyncPlay for watching together remotely. Everything is free: there is no paid tier, no Jellyfin account and no cloud service, so remote access means setting up your own reverse proxy or VPN. Official clients cover Android, iOS, Android TV and Fire TV, Roku, LG, Samsung and Xbox, and many third-party apps exist. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker and many NAS systems. The apps are less polished and consistent than Plex's, some devices rely on community clients, and you are responsible for securing and maintaining the server.

Best for: People who want a full Plex-style server that is free, private and fully under their control.

Pros and cons

What works

  • Completely free, with hardware transcoding included
  • No accounts or cloud dependency
  • Live TV, DVR and SyncPlay built in

Why people leave

  • Apps are less polished than Plex's
  • Remote access needs your own proxy or VPN setup
  • Some platforms rely on community clients

Top Jellyfin alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Plex logo
    Plex

    More polished apps on more devices, at the cost of accounts and paid remote streaming.

    66.5
  2. 2Emby logo
    Emby

    The project Jellyfin forked from, with paid Premiere features and official apps.

    62.6
  3. 3Kodi logo
    Kodi

    A local media centre that can also act as a Jellyfin client.

    59.6
  4. 4Navidrome logo
    Navidrome

    A faster, music-only server if your library is mostly audio.

    57.2
  5. 5Audiobookshelf logo
    Audiobookshelf

    Purpose-built for audiobooks and podcasts with progress sync.

    55.3

Why people left Jellyfin

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Jellyfin, review the app you switched to and tell us why.

Reviews

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Jellyfin: common questions

Is Jellyfin free?

Yes. Jellyfin is free, open-source software that you can host yourself.

Is Jellyfin open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at jellyfin/jellyfin. You can also run it on your own server.

What platforms does Jellyfin run on?

Jellyfin is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS and Android.

What are the best alternatives to Jellyfin?

The highest-ranked Jellyfin alternatives right now are Plex, Emby and Kodi. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Jellyfin alternatives