The Most Popular Media Servers
The Most Popular Open-Source Media Servers 2023
The most popular open-source media servers of 2023 are:
- Plex
- Jellyfin
- Kodi
- Emby
- MediaPortal
- Universal Media Server
- OSMC
A Feature Comparison
The media server features we will compare are:
- Server Platforms - The device type(s) where you can install the media server software. The server platform can also be its own client as with a Home Theater server. The server platforms are different than the client platforms.
- Client Platforms - The device(s) that can access your media server remotely.
- Hardware Transcoding - This indicates if the media server supports hardware transcoding. Transcoding is a process media servers use to convert a video or audio file into a different format so it can be accessible to a wide range of devices. Software transcoding is CPU intensive so to offload the transcoding process to a dedicated piece of hardware with its own CPU is preferable for best performance.
- Local Access without Internet - Some media server software requires you to setup an account with the developer. In some cases, you have to sign-in using your account to access your media server libraries even if the server is local.
- TV / Movie Libraries - This indicates if the server supports TV and/or Movie libraries typically with metadata support.
- Music / Photo Libraries - This indicates if the server supports Music and/or Photo libraries.
- Live TV / DVR - This indicates if the server integrates Live TV and/or has DVR functionality. Usually via an over-the-air (OTA) or cable peripheral tuner card for the media server or a network OTA/cable appliance such as a HD Homerun.
| Media Server |
Server Platforms |
Client Platforms |
Hardware Transcoding |
Local Access without Internet |
TV / Movie Libraries |
Music / Photo Libraries |
Live TV / DVR |
Subscription1 |
| Plex |
Linux, Windows, Docker, NAS, Nvidia Shield, Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro, NETGEAR X10 router |
Android, IOS, Web, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Chromecast,LG, Samsung, VIDAA, Vizio, and Hisense Smart TVs |
Yes1 |
No2 |
Yes / Yes |
Yes / Yes |
Yes / Yes1
|
Free / Paid
|
| JellyFin |
Free |
|||||||
| Kodi |
Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Raspberry Pi |
Self
|
Free |
|||||
| Emby |
Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker, NAS | Free / Paid |
||||||
| Media Portal |
Windows |
Self |
Free |
|||||
| Universal Media Server |
Windows, macOS, Linux |
|
Free |
|||||
| OSMC |
Free |
1 A paid subscription is required for this feature
2 Local access to your Plex server without Internet is possible by activating the internal DLNA server. This must be done while you have Internet access as it requires you to sign-in to your account to change the configuration. You won't be accessing your Plex server via the standard UI however. You will need to have a DLNA client to do that. Roku has a DLNA app in its app store and there are several available for the PC, such as VLC.