head to head · open source
neko vs Kodi
neko has 22,315 GitHub stars, 1,628 forks, 151 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Kodi has 21,229 stars, 6,598 forks, 466 open issues and last shipped yesterday. neko leads on adoption by 5% (22,315 vs 21,229 stars). neko is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Kodi is written in C++ under a custom or non-standard licence. neko has attracted 7% 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.
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
| neko | Kodi | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 21K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-10 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.6K | ⑂ 6.6K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick neko if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- 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 neko
Neko is a self hosted virtual browser that runs inside a Docker container and streams its desktop to several people at once over WebRTC, built for developers testing web applications, privacy conscious users, and teams who want to browse, watch or present together in one shared session.
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 neko or Kodi more popular?
neko has 22,315 GitHub stars and Kodi has 21,229. neko has the larger community by that measure.
Are neko and Kodi free?
Both are open source. neko is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Kodi has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between neko and Kodi?
neko is written in Go 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, neko or Kodi?
Choose neko if you want the larger community (22,315 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kodi if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.