Beets vs Tvheadend

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?
FeatureBeetsTvheadend
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonC
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 15,509★ 3,502
First released20082007
ReplacesiTunesTiVo, Cable DVR

Why pick each one

Choose Beets if…

  • Excellent metadata accuracy
  • Highly scriptable
Beets details

Choose Tvheadend if…

  • Mature and reliable
  • Supports many tuner types
Tvheadend details

Frequently asked questions

Is Beets or Tvheadend better?

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

Are Beets and Tvheadend free and open-source?

Yes. Beets is licensed under MIT and Tvheadend under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Beets and Tvheadend with Docker?

Beets: yes. Tvheadend: yes.

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