head to head · open source
go2rtc vs Node-Media-Server
go2rtc has 14,208 GitHub stars, 1,323 forks, 928 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Node-Media-Server has 6,244 stars, 1,535 forks, 432 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. go2rtc leads on adoption by 128% (14,208 vs 6,244 stars). go2rtc is written in Go under MIT; Node-Media-Server is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. go2rtc has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, Node-Media-Server 25%. Node-Media-Server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (media-server, rtmp), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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
| go2rtc | Node-Media-Server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick go2rtc if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Node-Media-Server if
- You want the Node-Media-Server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Node-Media-Server fits your workflow better
About go2rtc
go2rtc is a camera streaming application written in Go and released under the MIT license. It runs as a zero dependency binary on Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD, and it also ships as a Docker image, a Home Assistant add on, and a Home Assistant integration. The project lives in the smart home and media server ecosystem, with topics spanning Home Assistant, HomeKit, ONVIF, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MJPEG, MP4, and FFmpeg. It can be embedded into another project through its HTTP API or run as a standalone application with a web interface at http://localhost:1984/ .
read the full go2rtc overview →
About Node-Media-Server
Node Media Server is a live streaming media server written in JavaScript and distributed through npm, the Node.js package registry. Version 4 is built as an enhanced RTMP FLV v1 implementation with native support for HEVC, VP9, and AV1 codecs, alongside the H.264 support carried over from earlier releases. It ships under the Apache 2.0 license and has accumulated roughly 6,244 stars and 1,535 forks on GitHub over a repository history of about twelve years, with recent commits dated September 2026.
read the full Node-Media-Server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is go2rtc or Node-Media-Server more popular?
go2rtc has 14,208 GitHub stars and Node-Media-Server has 6,244. go2rtc has the larger community by that measure.
Are go2rtc and Node-Media-Server free?
Both are open source. go2rtc is licensed under MIT and Node-Media-Server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between go2rtc and Node-Media-Server?
go2rtc is written in Go and Node-Media-Server 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, go2rtc or Node-Media-Server?
Choose go2rtc if you want the larger community (14,208 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Node-Media-Server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.