head to head · open source
Invidious vs HTV
Invidious has 24,474 GitHub stars, 2,748 forks, 480 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. HTV has 759 stars, 53 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped today. Invidious leads on adoption by 3,125% (24,474 vs 759 stars). Invidious is written in Crystal under AGPL-3.0; HTV is written in Dart under Apache-2.0. Invidious has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, HTV 7%. HTV 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
| Invidious | HTV | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 759 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Crystal | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.7K | ⑂ 53 |
| 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 HTV if
- You want the HTV feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and HTV 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 HTV
HTV · 手机电视直播 免费 · 无广告 · 开箱即用 —— 手机与 Android 电视盒子通用的网络电视直播软件 立即下载 · 官方主页 · 使用说明 · 常见问题 软件简介 HTV 是一款面向 Android 手机、电视与电视盒子的直播播放软件。内置央视、卫视、地方台、凤凰卫视等常用频道，直播源每天自动更新；播放异常时会自行尝试下一个可用源，不需要手动折腾。界面针对遥控器与触屏分别做了适配，电视上用方向键就能换台，手机上滑动即可。 免费使用，无需账号，打开即看 一套安装包同时适配手机与电视盒子 直播源持续维护，日常观看省心 功能特性 下载与安装 1. 前往 Releases 下载最新版本的 APK，也可从 官方主页 获取 2. 手机直接点击安装；电视 / 盒子可通过 U 盘、文件管理器或 ADB 安装 3. 首次安装如提示「未知来源」，允许一次即可 4. 打开即可观看，无需额外配置 建议把 App 加入电视 / 盒子的开机自启动或桌面快捷方式，使用更顺手。 使用说明 电视 / 盒子（遥控器） 换台 ：上下方向键 / 数字键，或在屏幕上上下滑动 选台 ：OK 键 / 单击屏幕 收藏 ：频道列表中长按 OK 键，收藏或取消收藏 回看 ：设置 → 回看诊断，可回看最近播过的节目 设置 ：菜单键 / 帮助键 / 长按 OK 键 / 长按屏幕 分组与换源 ：面板底部切换横向分组 / 竖向列表；多源频道在信息面板中切换播放源…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Invidious or HTV more popular?
Invidious has 24,474 GitHub stars and HTV has 759. Invidious has the larger community by that measure.
Are Invidious and HTV free?
Both are open source. Invidious is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and HTV under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Invidious and HTV?
Invidious is written in Crystal and HTV in Dart. 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 HTV?
Choose Invidious if you want the larger community (24,474 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose HTV if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.