Jackett vs Tvheadend

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?
FeatureJackettTvheadend
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC#C
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM200 MB256 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 15,854★ 3,502
First released20232007
ReplacesTiVo, Cable DVR

Why pick each one

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

Choose Tvheadend if…

  • Mature and reliable
  • Supports many tuner types
Tvheadend details

Frequently asked questions

Is Jackett or Tvheadend better?

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

Are Jackett and Tvheadend free and open-source?

Yes. Jackett is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Tvheadend under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Jackett and Tvheadend with Docker?

Jackett: check the project docs for container support. Tvheadend: yes.

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