Koel vs xTeVe

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?
FeatureKoelxTeVe
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITMIT
LanguagePHPGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 17,208★ 2,257
First released20162018
ReplacesSpotifyCable TV

Why pick each one

Choose Koel if…

  • Beautiful interface
  • Active community
Koel details

Choose xTeVe if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.3k GitHub stars)
xTeVe details

Frequently asked questions

Is Koel or xTeVe better?

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

Are Koel and xTeVe free and open-source?

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

Can I run Koel and xTeVe with Docker?

Koel: yes. xTeVe: yes.

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