Emby vs Jellyfin

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Emby

Personal media server with official apps everywhere and an optional Premiere licence.

Free plan + paidSelf-hostable

Visit Emby Emby profile

Jellyfin

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

Open sourceSelf-hostable

Visit Jellyfin Jellyfin profile

The short answer

Emby suits people who want a more polished commercial media server and are willing to pay for Premiere; Jellyfin suits those who want everything free and open source. They share a codebase history, since Jellyfin forked Emby when it closed its code, but today the key difference is that Emby locks hardware transcoding and downloads behind a licence while Jellyfin includes them.

Emby or Jellyfin: our take

Emby and Jellyfin look alike because they share roots. Emby used to be open source; when it closed its code, volunteers forked it as Jellyfin. Both organise movies, TV, music and photos, stream to web, mobile and TV apps, support live TV and DVR, and offer multiple users with parental controls. Both are self-hosted on your own hardware, and Emby runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD and a long list of NAS systems.

The real difference is the business model. Emby's basic server is free, but Emby Premiere unlocks hardware-accelerated transcoding, mobile downloads, DVR, cinema intros, CarPlay and Android Auto. Premiere costs $4.99/month, $54/year or $119 as a one-time lifetime licence, and covers up to 30 devices per household. Jellyfin, licensed under GPL-2.0, has no paid tier at all: hardware transcoding, live TV and DVR are included, and there is no account or hosted service to depend on.

In practice Emby tends to feel a little more finished and consistent, and its lifetime licence is attractive to people who dislike subscriptions. Its drawbacks are that it is no longer open source and its community is smaller than either Plex's or Jellyfin's. Jellyfin's apps can be less polished, and some platforms rely on community clients, but it has a larger and more active open-source community. Neither one pushes ad-supported content into the interface, unlike Plex.

Choose Emby if you want a commercial product with a one-time payment option and broad NAS support, and don't mind closed source. Choose Jellyfin if free and open source matters, or if you want hardware transcoding without paying for it, and accept slightly rougher clients in return.

Choose Emby if…

People who want Plex-like polish with a one-time lifetime licence option
Lifetime Premiere licence available
Runs on a very wide range of NAS systems

Choose Jellyfin if…

People who want a full Plex-style server that is free, private and fully under their control
You want open-source software
Completely free, with hardware transcoding included
No accounts or cloud dependency

What is Emby?

Emby is a personal media server that organises your videos, music, photos and live TV and streams them to apps on TVs, phones, consoles and the web. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, Docker and a long list of NAS systems, and it offers user management with parental controls, live TV and DVR with tuners, and automatic conversion of files into streaming-friendly formats. The basic server is free. Emby Premiere, a paid licence sold monthly, yearly or as a one-time lifetime purchase, unlocks hardware-accelerated transcoding, mobile downloads, DVR, cinema intros, CarPlay and Android Auto, and free use of several Emby apps; it is tied to the server and covers a household's devices up to a limit. Emby used to be open source, which is why Jellyfin exists as a fork. Compared with Plex it has no ad-supported content push, but its community and third-party ecosystem are smaller.

What is 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.

Side by side

Attribute	Emby	Jellyfin
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Open source
Open source	No	Yes
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS, Android	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS, Android
Best for	People who want Plex-like polish with a one-time lifetime licence option	People who want a full Plex-style server that is free, private and fully under their control
Status	Active	Active

Emby vs Jellyfin pricing

Emby: free plan + paid

Lifetime licence: $119 one-time source

Emby pricing page

Jellyfin: open source

License: GPL-2.0 source

Platforms

Platform	Emby	Jellyfin
Web
Windows
macOS
Linux
iOS
Android
Self-hosted

Emby facts

5 of 5 verified

Premiere monthly: $4.99/month; Checked Oct 25, 2026emby.media(opens source in a new tab); “Monthly $4.99/Each Month”
Premiere yearly: $54/year; Checked Oct 25, 2026emby.media(opens source in a new tab); “Monthly $4.99/Each Month (recurring) Pay with card / Other 1 Year $54/1 Year”
Lifetime licence: $119 one-time; Checked Oct 25, 2026emby.media(opens source in a new tab); “Lifetime $119/One-time Pay with card / Other All prices are in USD.”
Device limit: 30 devices per household licence; Checked Oct 25, 2026emby.media(opens source in a new tab); “License Options The following licenses are for single household use and carry a 30 device limit.”
Server platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NAS; Checked Oct 25, 2026emby.media(opens source in a new tab); “Computer Windows Linux macOS FreeBSD NAS”

Jellyfin facts

4 of 4 verified

License: GPL-2.0; Checked Oct 25, 2026github.com(opens source in a new tab); “License: GPL-2.0 (GNU General Public License v2.0).”
Subscription: None required; Checked Oct 25, 2026jellyfin.org(opens source in a new tab); “However, no subscription of any form is required to use the Jellyfin server or any official client.”
Hosted service: No, self-hosted only; Checked Oct 25, 2026jellyfin.org(opens source in a new tab); “See it in Action Download Now Note: We do not run servers for users.”
Live TV and DVR: Yes; Checked Oct 25, 2026jellyfin.org(opens source in a new tab); “Live TV & DVR Live TV & DVR Watch TV and set automatic recordings to expand your library.”

Pros and cons of Emby

Lifetime Premiere licence available
Runs on a very wide range of NAS systems
No push towards ad-supported streaming content
Hardware transcoding and downloads need Premiere
No longer open source
Smaller community than Plex or Jellyfin

More Emby alternatives

Pros and cons of Jellyfin

Completely free, with hardware transcoding included
No accounts or cloud dependency
Live TV, DVR and SyncPlay built in
Apps are less polished than Plex's
Remote access needs your own proxy or VPN setup
Some platforms rely on community clients

More Jellyfin alternatives

Other apps to consider

Plex
Instead of Emby
More device apps and a larger community, with a similar paid-pass model.
Kodi
Instead of Emby
A free local media centre, also usable as an Emby client.
Channels DVR
Instead of Emby
A dedicated live TV and DVR server with excellent Apple TV apps.
Navidrome
Instead of Jellyfin
A faster, music-only server if your library is mostly audio.
Audiobookshelf
Instead of Jellyfin
Purpose-built for audiobooks and podcasts with progress sync.
Symfonium
Instead of Jellyfin
Android music player that streams Jellyfin libraries with hi-res and offline support.

Emby vs Jellyfin: common questions

Is Emby better than Jellyfin?

Is Emby free?

Emby has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.

Is Jellyfin free?

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

Is Emby or Jellyfin open source?

Jellyfin is open source; Emby is not.

Which platforms do Emby and Jellyfin support?

Emby: Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS and Android. Jellyfin: Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Web, iOS and Android.