Jellyfin vs Transmission

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?
FeatureJellyfinTransmission
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageC#C++
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, binarybare-metal
GitHub stars★ 55,528★ 15,047
First released20182023
ReplacesPlex, EmbyµTorrent

Why pick each one

Choose Jellyfin if…

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

Choose Transmission if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0 license
  • Mature project with 15k GitHub stars
  • Written in C++
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 50 MB RAM
Transmission details

Frequently asked questions

Is Jellyfin or Transmission better?

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

Are Jellyfin and Transmission free and open-source?

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

Can I run Jellyfin and Transmission with Docker?

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

Related comparisons