head to head · open source
Kodi vs JJazzLab
Kodi has 21,230 GitHub stars, 6,600 forks, 466 open issues and last shipped yesterday. JJazzLab has 590 stars, 48 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Kodi leads on adoption by 3,498% (21,230 vs 590 stars). Kodi is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence; JJazzLab is written in Java under LGPL-2.1. Kodi has attracted 31% as many forks as stars, JJazzLab 8%. 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 | JJazzLab | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 21K | ★ 590 |
| License | Custom / other | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | C++ | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.6K | ⑂ 48 |
| 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 JJazzLab if
- You want the JJazzLab feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and JJazzLab 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 JJazzLab
JJazzLab is a free, open source, cross platform desktop application for automatic backing track generation — you enter chord symbols, pick a music style, and it produces a full arrangement with drums, bass, guitar, piano and strings — built for musicians who want a band to practise with, teachers, and composers working at an early stage.
read the full JJazzLab overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kodi or JJazzLab more popular?
Kodi has 21,230 GitHub stars and JJazzLab has 590. Kodi has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kodi and JJazzLab free?
Both are open source. Kodi has no licence declared in this registry, and JJazzLab is licensed under LGPL-2.1. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Kodi and JJazzLab?
Kodi is written in C++ and JJazzLab in Java. 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 JJazzLab?
Choose Kodi if you want the larger community (21,230 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose JJazzLab if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.