head to head · open source
Jellyfin vs ffmpeg-webCLI
Jellyfin has 58,942 GitHub stars, 5,757 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,465 stars, 143 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. Jellyfin leads on adoption by 3,923% (58,942 vs 1,465 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 10%. 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 | ★ 59K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 143 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Jellyfin if
- You weight community size — 59K 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 The Free Software Media System Jellyfin is a Free Software Media System that puts you in control of managing and streaming your media. It is an alternative to the proprietary Emby and Plex, to provide media from a dedicated server to end user devices via multiple apps. Jellyfin is descended from Emby's 3.5.2 release and ported to the .NET platform to enable full cross platform support. There are no strings attached, no premium licenses or features, and no hidden agendas: just a team that wants to build something better and work together to achieve it. We welcome anyone who is interested in joining us in…
read the full Jellyfin overview →
About ffmpeg-webCLI
ffmpeg webCLI A browser based video editor powered by ffmpeg.wasm. No uploads, no servers all processing happens locally in your browser using WebAssembly. ▶ Live app: Paper This tool is a reference implementation of the Web CLI architecture, described in: The Web CLI: Verifiable Privacy for Tools, Models, and Inference Engines in the Browser Tejaswi Gowda, Arizona State University. arXiv: The paper defines the four properties (fidelity, progressive disclosure, offline first, zero egress), presents four reference implementations, and argues that for sensitive data, client side should be the default architecture…
read the full ffmpeg-webCLI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jellyfin or ffmpeg-webCLI more popular?
Jellyfin has 58,942 GitHub stars and ffmpeg-webCLI has 1,465. 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 (58,942 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.