Jellyfinvs
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Overcast: The best podcast app for iPhone
Jellyfin
The free software media system
As of 30 August 2026, Jellyfin is free to use. Jellyfin is a free and open-source media system that allows you to organize, stream, and share your media collection. Softwr lists it under Entertainment. Jellyfin is made by Jellyfin Contributors, launched in 2018, available on Web, iOS, Android, TV and console.
Overview
What Jellyfin does
Jellyfin is a free and open-source media system that allows you to organize, stream, and share your media collection. It's the community-driven successor to Emby's open-source servers.
What people use it for
- Open-source media streaming
- Self-hosted library
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Jellyfin.
- No commercial support or SLA available; project is volunteer-maintained
- Self-hosted deployment required; no cloud hosting provided by project
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Jellyfin
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- JellyfinvsCastbox
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- JellyfinvsApple TV+
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Pricing
What Jellyfin costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Unlimited streaming
- Open source
- No ads
Capabilities
Features
Media server
Streaming
Library management
Open source
Self-hosted
Smart TVs
Integration with Smart TVs
Streaming devices
Integration with Streaming devices
Mobile devices
Integration with Mobile devices
Open source audit
Open source audit security feature
Self-hosted security
Self-hosted security security feature
User management
User management security feature
Web support
Available on web
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
How much does Jellyfin cost?
Jellyfin is completely free with no costs, hidden fees, or subscriptions. The Jellyfin server and official clients are free to download and use for personal, commercial, or any other purpose. There are no paid tiers or premium features.
SourceIs Jellyfin open source?
Yes, Jellyfin is free and open-source software distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Users can download, use, study, modify, and distribute it at no cost. The project is maintained by volunteers and supported through user donations.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Jellyfin
- Company
- Jellyfin Contributors
- Based in
- Distributed
Keep looking
Where to go from Jellyfin
- Jellyfin alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Jellyfin pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Jellyfin badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Entertainment softwareThe full category
- Best Entertainment softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Entertainment software for
Compare Jellyfin with
- Castro
- Overcast
- Castbox
- Apple TV+
- Plex
- IINA
- mpv
- Kodi
- VLC
- Emby
- YouTube
- Infuse
- Pluto TV
- Shudder
- Starz
- Stitcher
- Plex
- Showtime
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Jellyfin, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Jellyfin
Jellyfin alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Jellyfin pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Jellyfin
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Jellyfin badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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