head to head · open source
tvheadend vs iptv
tvheadend has 3,524 GitHub stars, 975 forks, 107 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. iptv has 786 stars, 252 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tvheadend leads on adoption by 348% (3,524 vs 786 stars). tvheadend is written in C under GPL-3.0; iptv is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. tvheadend has attracted 28% as many forks as stars, iptv 32%. iptv was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (epg, iptv), 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
| tvheadend | iptv | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.5K | ★ 786 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-14 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 975 | ⑂ 252 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tvheadend if
- You weight community size — 3.5K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick iptv if
- You want the iptv feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and iptv fits your workflow better
About tvheadend
Tvheadend is an open source TV streaming server and digital video recorder for Linux. It lives in the Linux media and streaming ecosystem, and it is written in C under the GPL 3.0 license. The project provides a server that can receive television signals and streams from many input types, then make those channels available over the network.
read the full tvheadend overview →
About iptv
iPTV is a self hosted, modular IPTV live source management and distribution system that aggregates more than 800 channels from sources such as 央视频, 咪咕, Bilibili, Huya, Douyu and regional broadcasters, then de duplicates and re publishes them as clean M3U/TXT playlists with an EPG guide; it is aimed at NAS owners and home theatre users who want a channel lineup they control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is tvheadend or iptv more popular?
tvheadend has 3,524 GitHub stars and iptv has 786. tvheadend has the larger community by that measure.
Are tvheadend and iptv free?
Both are open source. tvheadend is licensed under GPL-3.0 and iptv under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tvheadend and iptv?
tvheadend is written in C and iptv 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, tvheadend or iptv?
Choose tvheadend if you want the larger community (3,524 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose iptv if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.