head to head · open source
Kodi vs iptv-tool
Kodi has 21,422 GitHub stars, 6,655 forks, 466 open issues and last shipped yesterday. iptv-tool has 1,154 stars, 297 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. Kodi leads on adoption by 1,756% (21,422 vs 1,154 stars). Kodi is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; iptv-tool is written in PHP under GPL-2.0. Kodi has attracted 31% as many forks as stars, iptv-tool 26%. Kodi 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
| Kodi | iptv-tool | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Custom / other | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | C++ | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.7K | ⑂ 297 |
| 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 iptv-tool if
- You want the iptv-tool feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and iptv-tool fits your workflow better
About Kodi
website • docs • community • add ons Welcome to Kodi Home Theater Software! Kodi is an award winning free and open source software media player and entertainment hub for digital media. Available as a native application for Android, Linux, BSD, macOS, iOS, tvOS and Windows operating systems , Kodi runs on most common processor architectures. Created in 2003 by a group of like minded programmers, Kodi is a non profit project run by the XBMC Foundation and developed by volunteers located around the world. More than 500 software developers have contributed to Kodi to date, and 100 plus translators have worked to…
About iptv-tool
📺 IPTV工具箱 IPTV 工具箱， Docker 部署，支持 EPG 管理 、 直播源管理 、 台标管理 ，兼容 DIYP/百川 、 超级直播 以及 xmltv 格式。 [!TIP] ⚠️ 使用前请仔细阅读「管理页面」底部的「使用说明」 原贴：【IPTV工具箱】EPG节目单管理、直播源管理、台标管理 xmltv 用户使用方法：【一键生成】匹配 M3U 文件的 XML 节目单 直播源管理 使用方法：【IPTV工具箱】直播源管理使用说明 自定数据源 使用方法：【IPTV工具箱】自定义数据源（timetv、51livetv、diyp） 💻 主要功能 📡 多格式 ：支持返回 DIYP/百川、超级直播以及 xmltv 格式文件。 🐳 多架构 ：提供 amd64、arm64 和 armv7 架构的 Docker 镜像。 📦 小体积镜像 ：基于 Alpine 构建，压缩后仅 20 MB。 🗃️ 数据库管理 ：支持 SQLite 和 MySQL 数据库，内置 phpLiteAdmin 管理工具。 🖼️ 台标管理 ：支持台标模糊匹配，支持 tvbox 接口。 ➰ 直播源管理 ：支持聚合 TXT/M3U 直播源、测速校验、直播源代理。 🔒 访问权限控制 ：支持设置 TOKEN 、User Agent、IP 黑白名单。 ⏱️ 缓存支持 ：集成 Memcached，支持 Redis。 🔄 频道匹配…
read the full iptv-tool overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kodi or iptv-tool more popular?
Kodi has 21,422 GitHub stars and iptv-tool has 1,154. Kodi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kodi and iptv-tool free?
Both are open source. Kodi has no licence declared in this registry, and iptv-tool is licensed under GPL-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Kodi and iptv-tool?
Kodi is written in C++ and iptv-tool in PHP. 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 iptv-tool?
Choose Kodi if you want the larger community (21,422 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose iptv-tool if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.