Jellyfin
Free, open-source media server that streams your own movies, shows and music to apps on your devices.
Our verdict
What it does well
- Free server and official clients, with no subscription or premium tier
- Says it has no tracking, phone-home behaviour or central user-data servers
- Official apps for Android, iOS, Android TV, Roku, WebOS, Tizen and Xbox
Where it falls short
- You host, update and back up the server yourself
- Docs describe it as fast-moving and in its early stages
- Run and maintained by volunteers, funded by donations
Jellyfin is a free software media system for managing and streaming your own media from a server to apps on other devices. Its documentation calls it an alternative to the proprietary Emby and Plex. The project began in December 2018 as a fork of Emby after Emby took its 4.x release closed-source, and is descended from Emby 3.5.2 ported to .NET Core.
The server runs on Windows, macOS, Linux (including Debian/Ubuntu), Docker, Synology and TrueNAS SCALE, and can be built from source. Official clients listed on its downloads page include a web client, Android, iOS, Android TV and Fire TV, Roku, WebOS, Tizen, Xbox, a desktop client and a Kodi add-on.
Jellyfin costs nothing: the server and official clients are free, and the project says this will stay true. Running costs are covered by user donations. The server code is licensed under GPL-2.0.
Jellyfin compared
Alternatives to Jellyfin
Media server software that organizes your own movies, shows, music and photos and streams them to your devices.
- Freemium
What users say
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Last updated 17 October 2026. Facts checked against the official site on 16 October 2026. How we make money