Jellyfin vs Tempo

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?
FeatureJellyfinTempo
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC#Java
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarybinary, source
GitHub stars★ 55,528★ 2,220
First released20182022
ReplacesPlex, EmbySpotify, Plexamp

Why pick each one

Choose Jellyfin if…

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

Choose Tempo if…

  • Modern Android design
  • Works with multiple servers
Tempo details

Frequently asked questions

Is Jellyfin or Tempo 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 Jellyfin and Tempo free and open-source?

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

Can I run Jellyfin and Tempo with Docker?

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

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