Kodi
Media ServersOpen-source home theater and media center
Replaces Plex
Best Plugins Media Servers for self-hosting
The 16 best Plugins media servers you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Beets
Media ServersMusic library organizer and metadata management tool
Replaces iTunes
Stremio Web
Media ServersSelf-hostable web frontend for the Stremio media center
Replaces Plex
Stash
Media ServersSelf-hosted media organizer and server
Replaces Plex
Mopidy
Media ServersExtensible music server that plays from many sources
Replaces Spotify
Tdarr
Media ServersDistributed transcoding system for media library optimization
Replaces Handbrake
Music Assistant
Media ServersMusic library manager that streams to many speaker types
Replaces Sonos, Spotify Connect
Universal Media Server
Media ServersDLNA-compliant media server for streaming to TVs and consoles
Replaces Plex, Serviio
Unmanic
Media ServersLibrary optimizer that automatically processes media files
Replaces Handbrake
Lyrion Music Server
Media ServersOpen-source music server for Squeezebox and software players
Replaces Sonos, Spotify
Quod Libet
Media ServersPowerful audio player and music library manager
Replaces iTunes, MusicBee
Mopidy-Iris
Media ServersModern web interface for the Mopidy music server
Replaces Sonos app
AntennaPod gpodder Sync Server Nextcloud GPodder
Media ServersNextcloud app providing a gpodder-compatible podcast sync API
Replaces Apple Podcasts sync
RompR
Media ServersWeb-based control interface for MPD and Mopidy
Replaces Sonos app
Rygel
Media ServersGNOME UPnP/DLNA media sharing server
Replaces Plex
Volumio
Media ServersAudiophile music player OS for self-hosted streaming devices
Replaces Sonos, Roon
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kodi | Read-the-docs project | Medium | 512 MB | GPL-2.0 | 21,321 |
| Beets | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | MIT | 15,791 |
| Stremio Web | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | GPL-2.0 | 14,599 |
| Stash | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 13,103 |
| Mopidy | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | Apache-2.0 | 8,597 |
| Tdarr | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 1,024 MB | GPL-3.0 | 4,353 |
| Music Assistant | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | Apache-2.0 | 3,169 |
| Universal Media Server | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 512 MB | GPL-2.0 | 2,657 |
| Unmanic | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 512 MB | GPL-3.0 | 2,526 |
| Lyrion Music Server | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | GPL-2.0 | 1,789 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: Kodi (21,321 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: Mopidy-Iris (from 128 MB RAM, against 1,024 MB for the heaviest here).
- Licensing: 5 of 16 use GPL-2.0; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Plugins within the media servers category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.