Audiobookshelf vs Transmission
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options
— licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one
replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Compare Audiobookshelf with
choose an app… Jellyfin qBittorrent SRS Navidrome Kodi Ebook2audiobook Koel Jackett Beets PeerTube Sonarr MeTube Radarr Stash Stremio Web Seerr Owncast Streama Feishin Mopidy Tube Archivist Snapcast Prowlarr Tautulli Jellyfin Media Player Readarr Whisparr Audiobook Storyteller Booksonic-Air ProsePub
Compare Transmission with
choose an app… Free Programming Books Immich Jellyfin Paperless-ngx PhotoPrism qBittorrent SRS KOReader Ente Photos Koodo Reader Calibre DeepFace Readest Navidrome Kodi Ebook2audiobook gallery-dl Calibre-Web Koel Jackett Beets DeDRM Tools PeerTube Sonarr MeTube Radarr Color Thief darktable Stash Stremio Web Seerr Owncast Kavita Thumbor Streama Feishin Ladder Wikidpad Notes Mopidy Tube Archivist LibrePhotos Snapcast Prowlarr Tautulli Photoview imaginary Google Photos Takeout Helper Jellyfin Media Player Lidarr Pinchflat Streamyfin MediaCMS Overseerr Emby musikcube Ant Media Server Community Edition Jellyfin for Android TV Black Candy Sonus Note - Black Candy Qui Tdarr Findroid Bazarr Finamp Ombi Dim Swiftfin Plex AzuraCast Strawberry Music Player Ampache Dispatcharr Headphones Moodist Ryot Tvheadend Yamtrack OvenMediaEngine Wizarr SABnzbd Music Assistant ytdl-sub ErsatzTV Flood TubeSync mpd Polaris Funkwhale Universal Media Server NymphCast yt-dlp Web UI OwnTone Profilarr Tunarr Gonic Kyoo Fladder Unmanic Jellystat mStream Reiverr Jellyfin MPV Shim Broadcast Box Supersonic xTeVe Tempo Maintainerr Recyclarr Airsonic Swing Music Podgrab Sonixd Musicn Maloja Lyrion Music Server Quod Libet Jellyfin Vue Threadfin Amperfy LMS CyTube Cross-Seed ViewTube WatchYourLAN Note - CineMatic Watcharr Fireshare Airsonic-Advanced moOde audio player Gerbera nefarious Mopidy-Iris Meelo multi-scrobbler MyTube Whisparr Castopod PinePods LibreTime Rapidbay Karaoke Eternal Audioserve CodeX.docs Movary Cinemataztic Note Webtrees-no Kitsu Self-Hosted Reaparr Stretto Icecast Lidify ympd myMPD Lidarr on Steroids LinkStack MistServer Ultrasonic PodFetch Airsonic-Refix Downtify SyncTube vod2pod-rss LidaTube Deleterr ChannelTube Stremio Server YoutubeDL-Server gpodder.net (mygpo) Olaris Supysonic AntennaPod gpodder Sync Server Nextcloud GPodder ydl_api_ng Jellyfin for Roku RompR MiniDLNA Rygel Submariner cmyflix Cantata Stream Master OctoStream Note - mediarr OliveTin-no ClipBucket Snapweb BotWave Audinaut Sublime Music NextPVR Volumio MKVPriority Podverse TrackWatch tinyMediaManager Vibin Note - Beatbump alt Murmur-no Channels DVR Server Deemix Deluge Just. Download. Sickchill Stalwart Mail Subsonic Tube VideoLAN Client (VLC) üWave
Feature Audiobookshelf Transmission Category Media Servers Media Servers License GPL-3.0 GPL-3.0 Language JavaScript C++ Setup difficulty Easy Medium Min. RAM 256 MB 50 MB Deployment docker bare-metal GitHub stars ★ 13,896 ★ 15,047 First released 2021 2023 Replaces Audible µTorrent
Why pick each one
Choose Transmission if… Released under the GPL-3.0 license Mature project with 15k GitHub stars Written in C++ Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM Transmission details
Frequently asked questions Is Audiobookshelf or Transmission better? Neither is universally better. Transmission has the larger community, while Audiobookshelf is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Audiobookshelf and Transmission free and open-source? Yes. Audiobookshelf is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Transmission under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Audiobookshelf and Transmission with Docker? Audiobookshelf: yes. Transmission: check the project docs for container support.