Kyoo vs tinyMediaManager
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Kyoo
Open-source media browser for movies and TV shows
VS
tinyMediaManager
Metadata manager and organizer for movie and TV libraries
| Feature | Kyoo | tinyMediaManager |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,527 | ★ 8 |
| First released | 2020 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Plex, Netflix | Plex |
What are Kyoo and tinyMediaManager?
Kyoo
Kyoo is a self-hosted media browser and streaming application for movies, TV shows, and anime. It automatically fetches metadata and offers a modern web and mobile interface for your library.
- Automatic metadata scraping
- Modern web UI
- Anime support
- Multi-user accounts
tinyMediaManager
tinyMediaManager is a media library manager that scrapes metadata, artwork, and trailers for movies and TV shows so files are organized for Kodi, Plex, or Jellyfin. It can rename, clean up, and enrich large collections in bulk.
- Metadata and artwork scraping
- Bulk file renaming
- Kodi and Plex NFO export
- Trailer downloads
Kyoo vs tinyMediaManager: key differences
Kyoo is written in TypeScript, while tinyMediaManager is built with Java. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Kyoo versus Apache-2.0 for tinyMediaManager. TinyMediaManager is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Kyoo. TinyMediaManager is the more established project (first released 2012), while Kyoo arrived in 2020. Kyoo has the considerably larger community, at 2,527 GitHub stars versus 8.
Why pick each one
Choose Kyoo if…
- Clean modern design
- Good anime handling
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Still maturing
Choose tinyMediaManager if…
- Excellent organization tools
- Headless mode available
Watch out for
- Advanced features need a license
- Not a streaming server
Frequently asked questions
Is Kyoo or tinyMediaManager better?
Neither is universally better. Kyoo has the larger community, while tinyMediaManager is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Kyoo and tinyMediaManager free and open-source?
Yes. Kyoo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and tinyMediaManager under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Kyoo and tinyMediaManager with Docker?
Kyoo: yes. tinyMediaManager: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Kyoo or tinyMediaManager?
tinyMediaManager has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Kyoo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.