Dim vs Stash
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Stash
Self-hosted media organizer and server
| Feature | Dim | Stash |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 37 · At risk | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,116 | ★ 13,007 |
| First released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Plex | Plex |
What are Dim and Stash?
Dim
Dim is a self-hosted media manager that automatically scans, identifies, and organizes your movies and TV shows. It transcodes media on demand and streams to a clean web interface.
- Automatic media scanning
- On-demand transcoding
- Written in Rust
- Clean web UI
Stash
Stash is a self-hosted media organizer that catalogs video and image collections with rich metadata, tagging, and scraping. It targets users who want a deeply organized personal media archive. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- Rich metadata and tagging
- Scraper and plugin system
- Built-in web player
- SQLite-backed storage
Dim vs Stash: key differences
Dim is written in Rust, while Stash is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Dim versus AGPL-3.0 for Stash. Stash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Dim. Stash has the considerably larger community, at 13,007 GitHub stars versus 4,116.
Why pick each one
Choose Dim if…
- Low resource usage
- Single binary option
Watch out for
- Development pace varies
- Fewer features than Jellyfin
Choose Stash if…
- Powerful organization
- Extensible via plugins
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Single-user focused
- Niche feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Dim or Stash better?
Stash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Dim if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Dim and Stash free and open-source?
Yes. Dim is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Stash under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Dim and Stash with Docker?
Dim: yes. Stash: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Dim or Stash?
Stash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Dim. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.