head to head · open source
Invidious vs ffmpeg-webCLI
Invidious has 24,481 GitHub stars, 2,750 forks, 480 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429 stars, 131 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. Invidious leads on adoption by 1,613% (24,481 vs 1,429 stars). Invidious is written in Crystal under AGPL-3.0; ffmpeg-webCLI is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. Invidious has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, ffmpeg-webCLI 9%. Invidious 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Invidious | ffmpeg-webCLI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Crystal | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.8K | ⑂ 131 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Invidious if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Crystal
- 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 Invidious
Invidious is an open source, AGPL 3.0 alternative front end to YouTube, written in Crystal, aimed at people who want to watch videos without ads, tracking, or a Google account.
read the full Invidious 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 →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Media & Streaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Media & Streaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Invidious or ffmpeg-webCLI more popular?
Invidious has 24,481 GitHub stars and ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429. Invidious has the larger community by that measure.
Are Invidious and ffmpeg-webCLI free?
Both are open source. Invidious is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ffmpeg-webCLI under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Invidious and ffmpeg-webCLI?
Invidious is written in Crystal 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, Invidious or ffmpeg-webCLI?
Choose Invidious if you want the larger community (24,481 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ffmpeg-webCLI if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.