head to head · open source
Kodi vs HTV
Kodi has 21,231 GitHub stars, 6,598 forks, 466 open issues and last shipped today. HTV has 759 stars, 53 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped today. Kodi leads on adoption by 2,697% (21,231 vs 759 stars). Kodi is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; HTV is written in Dart under Apache-2.0. Kodi has attracted 31% 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. The two share 1 topic tag (android), 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
| Kodi | HTV | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 759 |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 53 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kodi if
- You weight community size — 21K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- 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 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.
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 Kodi or HTV more popular?
Kodi has 21,231 GitHub stars and HTV has 759. Kodi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kodi and HTV free?
Both are open source. Kodi has no licence declared in this registry, and HTV is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Kodi and HTV?
Kodi is written in C++ 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, Kodi or HTV?
Choose Kodi if you want the larger community (21,231 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose HTV if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.