Fladder vs Olaris
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Fladder
Cross-platform Flutter client for Jellyfin
VS
Olaris
Media manager and transcoding server for personal libraries
| Feature | Fladder | Olaris |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Dart | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,599 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2024 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Plex, Emby Theater | Plex |
What are Fladder and Olaris?
Fladder
Fladder is a cross-platform Jellyfin client built with Flutter, supporting Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and the web. It provides library browsing, media playback, and downloads in a single unified codebase.
- One codebase for all platforms
- MPV-based playback
- Offline downloads
- SyncPlay support
Olaris
Olaris is an open-source media manager and transcoding server for organizing and streaming movies and TV shows. It scrapes metadata automatically and serves content over a GraphQL API.
- Automatic metadata scraping
- GraphQL API
- On-the-fly transcoding
- Movie and TV organization
Fladder vs Olaris: key differences
Fladder is written in Dart, while Olaris is built with Go. Licensing differs — MIT for Fladder versus AGPL-3.0 for Olaris. Fladder is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Olaris. Olaris is the more established project (first released 2019), while Fladder arrived in 2024. Fladder has the considerably larger community, at 2,599 GitHub stars versus 300. Olaris lists first-class Docker deployment; Fladder does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Fladder if…
- Truly cross-platform
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Requires Jellyfin server
Choose Olaris if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Watch out for
- Development stalled
- Limited client apps
Frequently asked questions
Is Fladder or Olaris better?
Fladder is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Olaris if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Fladder and Olaris free and open-source?
Yes. Fladder is licensed under MIT and Olaris under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Fladder and Olaris with Docker?
Fladder: check the project docs for container support. Olaris: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Fladder or Olaris?
Fladder has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Olaris. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.