head to head · open source
mediamtx vs Node-Media-Server
mediamtx has 20,170 GitHub stars, 2,374 forks, 188 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Node-Media-Server has 6,244 stars, 1,535 forks, 432 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. mediamtx leads on adoption by 223% (20,170 vs 6,244 stars). mediamtx is written in Go under MIT; Node-Media-Server is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. mediamtx has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, Node-Media-Server 25%. mediamtx was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (media-server, rtmp), 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
| mediamtx | Node-Media-Server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mediamtx if
- You weight community size — 20K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Node-Media-Server if
- You want the Node-Media-Server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Node-Media-Server fits your workflow better
About mediamtx
MediaMTX is a ready to use, zero dependency live media server and media proxy written in Go, aimed at anyone who needs to publish, read, proxy, record and play back real time video and audio streams across many protocols without standing up a heavy media platform.
read the full mediamtx overview →
About Node-Media-Server
Node Media Server is a live streaming media server written in JavaScript and distributed through npm, the Node.js package registry. Version 4 is built as an enhanced RTMP FLV v1 implementation with native support for HEVC, VP9, and AV1 codecs, alongside the H.264 support carried over from earlier releases. It ships under the Apache 2.0 license and has accumulated roughly 6,244 stars and 1,535 forks on GitHub over a repository history of about twelve years, with recent commits dated September 2026.
read the full Node-Media-Server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mediamtx or Node-Media-Server more popular?
mediamtx has 20,170 GitHub stars and Node-Media-Server has 6,244. mediamtx has the larger community by that measure.
Are mediamtx and Node-Media-Server free?
Both are open source. mediamtx is licensed under MIT and Node-Media-Server under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mediamtx and Node-Media-Server?
mediamtx is written in Go and Node-Media-Server in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, mediamtx or Node-Media-Server?
Choose mediamtx if you want the larger community (20,170 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Node-Media-Server if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.