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Add to SafariWhen comparing Jellyfin vs Kodi, the Slant community recommends Jellyfin for most people. In the question“What are the best open-source media servers?” Jellyfin is ranked 1st while Kodi is ranked 2nd.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Open source
Pro Completely private
Doesn't phone home.
Pro Easy to set up
Setting up tv series and movies take little effort to set-up.
Pro No hidden costs
It's FOSS and doesn't require you to spend money to do anything.
Pro Good emby fork
It is a fully open source fork of emby.
Pro Portable version
This version runs on systems with a .NET Core runtime.
Pro Less intensive/more flexible options for transcoding
More control over transcoding and seems to transcode far better on lower spec hardware (eg SBC) than other packages (eg Plex).
Pro Standalone, no third party servers
If you stream outside of your local network, there are no third party servers involved.
Pro Direct streaming
If you stream outside of your home network, it is a direct connection with no third party servers involved.
Pro Can install on several devices
Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Xbox, Apple TV (jailbroken), and more.
Pro Lots of plugins available
Like PlutoTV, Curiosity Stream, and YouTube. 3rd party repositories, such as the SlyGuy Repository, contain more plugins like Disney+, Paramount+, Hulu, and Netflix.
Pro Free
Pro Open source
Completely FOSS, licensed under GPL 2.0
Pro Great customization/multiple skins
You can change navigation flow and other aspects of Kodi with the plethora of customization options and skins.
Pro Can play many different file formats
It supports Blu-ray Discs, CDs, DVDs, USB Flash Drives, local Hard Disk Drives, AirPlay, network file shares, basically every video, audio, and image format available, subtitle files, and even retro game console ROMs.
Cons
Con Streaming outside of your home is complicated
Unless you enable unPnP which is a security risk, you have to manually port forward or setup a remote server yourself. And unless you know what you're doing, you might open your network to potential hackers. Make sure to read up on reverse proxies or how to set up a vpn with Jellyfin.
Con Some poor clients
The AndroidTV-client is terrible.
Con No free services
It has no free with ads services like Plex.
Con Less features than Emby
Con Slow web interface
For large media libraries, on lower spec hardware (eg SBC), images can take some time to initially load when changing pages/sections (v10.6.4).
Con You may have to jailbreak some devices
This is only for things like a Fire stick, but Android TV boxes etc. should be fine.
Con Terrible navigation
Menus over menus with dozens of submenus.
Con Not Client/Server Capable
While most solutions provide a client/server setup the KODI developers REFUSE to adopt this approach forcing individual setups for every device.
Con Poorly optimized
Often not a fluid experience on low-end devices.
Con No official AAA addons for streaming services
It does not have any official AAA addons and fully relies on the community which result in often broken packages/addons.
