head to head · open source
Jellyfin vs nota
Jellyfin has 59,379 GitHub stars, 5,817 forks, 684 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nota has 524 stars, 44 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jellyfin leads on adoption by 11,232% (59,379 vs 524 stars). Jellyfin is written in C# under GPL-2.0; nota is written in C# under AGPL-3.0. Jellyfin has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, nota 8%. 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Jellyfin | nota | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 59K | ★ 524 |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C# | C# |
| Last push | 2026-11-14 | 2026-11-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 44 |
| 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 nota if
- You want the nota feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and nota 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 nota
Nota A free music studio for macOS, Windows and Linux. No subscription, no account, no feature tiers — just open it and make music. ▶ Watch the demo with sound (1:45, YouTube) Why Nota Free, for good. Open source, no paid edition, no "upgrade to unlock". Arrange and jam. A linear Arrangement timeline and a clip launching Session grid, with material moving freely between them — plus a Modular view for patching modulation by cable. A full kit out of the box. 35 built in instruments and effects: subtractive, wavetable, FM, granular and physical modelling synths, a drum machine, EQ, compressors, reverbs, delays…
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 Jellyfin or nota more popular?
Jellyfin has 59,379 GitHub stars and nota has 524. Jellyfin has the larger community by that measure.
Are Jellyfin and nota free?
Both are open source. Jellyfin is licensed under GPL-2.0 and nota under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Jellyfin and nota?
Jellyfin is written in C# and nota 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 nota?
Choose Jellyfin if you want the larger community (59,379 stars) or its GPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose nota if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.