Bazarr vs Jellyfin

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?
FeatureBazarrJellyfin
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePythonC#
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM50 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 4,188★ 55,528
First released20232018
ReplacesPlex, Emby

Why pick each one

Choose Bazarr if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Active community (4.2k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Python
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Bazarr details

Choose Jellyfin if…

  • No subscription or account needed
  • Active community development
  • Wide client support
Jellyfin details

Frequently asked questions

Is Bazarr or Jellyfin better?

Jellyfin is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Bazarr if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Bazarr and Jellyfin free and open-source?

Yes. Bazarr is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Jellyfin under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Bazarr and Jellyfin with Docker?

Bazarr: check the project docs for container support. Jellyfin: yes.

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