head to head · open source
tvheadend vs ffmpeg-webCLI
tvheadend has 3,524 GitHub stars, 975 forks, 107 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429 stars, 131 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 14 days ago. tvheadend leads on adoption by 147% (3,524 vs 1,429 stars). tvheadend is written in C under GPL-3.0; ffmpeg-webCLI is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. tvheadend has attracted 28% as many forks as stars, ffmpeg-webCLI 9%. tvheadend was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| tvheadend | ffmpeg-webCLI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.5K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 975 | ⑂ 131 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tvheadend if
- You weight community size — 3.5K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ffmpeg-webCLI if
- You want the ffmpeg-webCLI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and ffmpeg-webCLI fits your workflow better
About tvheadend
Tvheadend is an open source TV streaming server and digital video recorder for Linux. It lives in the Linux media and streaming ecosystem, and it is written in C under the GPL 3.0 license. The project provides a server that can receive television signals and streams from many input types, then make those channels available over the network.
read the full tvheadend overview →
About ffmpeg-webCLI
ffmpeg webCLI is a browser based video and audio editor built on ffmpeg.wasm that runs every operation locally in the browser, aimed at anyone who needs to convert, trim, compress, caption, or extract media without uploading files to a server.
read the full ffmpeg-webCLI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is tvheadend or ffmpeg-webCLI more popular?
tvheadend has 3,524 GitHub stars and ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429. tvheadend has the larger community by that measure.
Are tvheadend and ffmpeg-webCLI free?
Both are open source. tvheadend is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ffmpeg-webCLI under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tvheadend and ffmpeg-webCLI?
tvheadend is written in C and ffmpeg-webCLI in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, tvheadend or ffmpeg-webCLI?
Choose tvheadend if you want the larger community (3,524 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ffmpeg-webCLI if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.