head to head · open source
iptv-sources vs tvheadend
iptv-sources has 8,982 GitHub stars, 1,537 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped today. tvheadend has 3,524 stars, 975 forks, 107 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. iptv-sources leads on adoption by 155% (8,982 vs 3,524 stars). iptv-sources is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0; tvheadend is written in C under GPL-3.0. iptv-sources has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, tvheadend 28%. iptv-sources was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| iptv-sources | tvheadend | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.0K | ★ 3.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 975 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick iptv-sources if
- You weight community size — 9.0K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick tvheadend if
- You want the tvheadend feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and tvheadend fits your workflow better
About iptv-sources
iptv sources is a TypeScript application that automatically updates IPTV source lists and publishes them as M3U playlists and EPG data. It lives in the IPTV and media streaming ecosystem, where clients such as Kodi, TVBox, and DIYP compatible players consume M3U playlists and electronic program guide files. The project collects channel lists from a set of upstream repositories, including iptv org/iptv, YueChan/Live, YanG 1989/m3u, fanmingming/live, qwerttvv/Beijing IPTV, joevess/IPTV, and cymz6/AutoIPTV Hotel, and it gathers EPG data from fanmingming/live, 112114.xyz, and epg.51zmt.top:8000. It is released under …
read the full iptv-sources overview →
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is iptv-sources or tvheadend more popular?
iptv-sources has 8,982 GitHub stars and tvheadend has 3,524. iptv-sources has the larger community by that measure.
Are iptv-sources and tvheadend free?
Both are open source. iptv-sources is licensed under GPL-3.0 and tvheadend under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between iptv-sources and tvheadend?
iptv-sources is written in TypeScript and tvheadend 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, iptv-sources or tvheadend?
Choose iptv-sources if you want the larger community (8,982 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose tvheadend if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.