Cross-Seed vs PeerTube

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?
FeatureCross-SeedPeerTube
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicensefreeAGPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, one-clickdocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 1,520★ 15,236
First released20232018
ReplacesYouTube, Vimeo

Why pick each one

Choose Cross-Seed if…

  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • One-click install on common self-host platforms
  • Active community (1.5k GitHub stars)
Cross-Seed details

Choose PeerTube if…

  • Reduces bandwidth via P2P
  • Federates with the Fediverse
PeerTube details

Frequently asked questions

Is Cross-Seed or PeerTube better?

Neither is universally better. PeerTube has the larger community, while Cross-Seed is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Cross-Seed and PeerTube free and open-source?

Yes. Cross-Seed is licensed under free and PeerTube under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Cross-Seed and PeerTube with Docker?

Cross-Seed: yes. PeerTube: yes.

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