Jellyfin vs Olaris
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Jellyfin
Free software media system for streaming your library
VS
Olaris
Media manager and transcoding server for personal libraries
| Feature | Jellyfin | Olaris |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 57,445 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Plex, Emby | Plex |
What are Jellyfin and Olaris?
Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a free software media server that organizes and streams movies, TV, music, and photos to many devices. It is aimed at users who want a fully free, no-account media solution. It is typically deployed via Docker or native packages.
- Completely free with no paywalled features
- Hardware-accelerated transcoding
- Apps for TVs, phones and consoles
- Live TV and DVR 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
Jellyfin vs Olaris: key differences
Jellyfin is written in C#, while Olaris is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Jellyfin versus AGPL-3.0 for Olaris. Jellyfin is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Olaris. Jellyfin has the considerably larger community, at 57,445 GitHub stars versus 300.
Why pick each one
Choose Jellyfin if…
- No subscription or account needed
- Active community development
- Wide client support
Watch out for
- Apps less polished than Plex
- Remote access setup is manual
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 Jellyfin or Olaris better?
Jellyfin 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 Jellyfin and Olaris free and open-source?
Yes. Jellyfin is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Olaris under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Jellyfin and Olaris with Docker?
Jellyfin: yes. Olaris: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Jellyfin or Olaris?
Jellyfin has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Olaris. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.