Deluge 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?
FeatureDelugeJellyfin
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0-or-laterGPL-2.0
LanguageC#
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM50 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 55,528
First released20232018
ReplacesµTorrentPlex, Emby

Why pick each one

Choose Deluge if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0-or-later license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Deluge details

Choose Jellyfin if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Deluge or Jellyfin better?

Neither is universally better. Jellyfin has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Deluge and Jellyfin free and open-source?

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

Can I run Deluge and Jellyfin with Docker?

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

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