Black Candy vs Jackett

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?
FeatureBlack CandyJackett
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageRubyC#
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB200 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 4,337★ 15,854
First released20262023
Replaces

Why pick each one

Choose Black Candy if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (4.3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Ruby
Black Candy details

Choose Jackett if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 15.9k GitHub stars
  • Written in C#
Jackett details

Frequently asked questions

Is Black Candy or Jackett better?

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

Are Black Candy and Jackett free and open-source?

Yes. Black Candy is licensed under MIT and Jackett under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Black Candy and Jackett with Docker?

Black Candy: yes. Jackett: check the project docs for container support.

Related comparisons