Koel vs Podgrab

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?
FeatureKoelPodgrab
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITMIT
LanguagePHPJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 17,208★ 1,983
First released20162020
ReplacesSpotifyPocket Casts

Why pick each one

Choose Koel if…

  • Beautiful interface
  • Active community
Koel details

Choose Podgrab if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Easy to deploy
Podgrab details

Frequently asked questions

Is Koel or Podgrab better?

Neither is universally better. Koel has the larger community, while Podgrab is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Koel and Podgrab free and open-source?

Yes. Koel is licensed under MIT and Podgrab under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Koel and Podgrab with Docker?

Koel: yes. Podgrab: yes.

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