head to head · open source
Jellyfin vs ffmpeg-webCLI
Jellyfin has 57,271 GitHub stars, 5,527 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429 stars, 131 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. Jellyfin leads on adoption by 3,908% (57,271 vs 1,429 stars). Jellyfin is written in C# under GPL-2.0; ffmpeg-webCLI is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. Jellyfin has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ffmpeg-webCLI 9%. Jellyfin 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
| Jellyfin | ffmpeg-webCLI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 57K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 131 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Jellyfin if
- You weight community size — 57K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-2.0 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 Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a free and open source media server that lets an individual or an organisation manage and stream their own movies, music, and other media from a dedicated server to end user devices through multiple client apps.
read the full Jellyfin 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 Jellyfin or ffmpeg-webCLI more popular?
Jellyfin has 57,271 GitHub stars and ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,429. Jellyfin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jellyfin and ffmpeg-webCLI free?
Both are open source. Jellyfin is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ffmpeg-webCLI under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Jellyfin and ffmpeg-webCLI?
Jellyfin 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, Jellyfin or ffmpeg-webCLI?
Choose Jellyfin if you want the larger community (57,271 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose ffmpeg-webCLI if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.