head to head · open source
Jellyfin vs Kodi
Jellyfin has 57,244 GitHub stars, 5,523 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kodi has 21,229 stars, 6,598 forks, 466 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jellyfin leads on adoption by 170% (57,244 vs 21,229 stars). Jellyfin is written in C# under GPL-2.0; Kodi is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence. Jellyfin has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Kodi 31%. Kodi was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (hacktoberfest), 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
| Jellyfin | Kodi | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 57K | ★ 21K |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | C# | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 6.6K |
| 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 Kodi if
- You want the Kodi feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and Kodi 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 Kodi
Kodi is a free and open source home theater and media center application, also described as an entertainment hub for digital media. It is written mainly in C++ and distributed as a native application for Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS, tvOS, and Windows, with support for many common processor architectures. The project began in 2003 and is run by the XBMC Foundation, with development and support carried out by volunteers worldwide.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Jellyfin or Kodi more popular?
Jellyfin has 57,244 GitHub stars and Kodi has 21,229. Jellyfin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jellyfin and Kodi free?
Both are open source. Jellyfin is licensed under GPL-2.0, and Kodi has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Jellyfin and Kodi?
Jellyfin is written in C# and Kodi in C++. 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 Kodi?
Choose Jellyfin if you want the larger community (57,244 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kodi if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.