MiniDLNA vs Olaris
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MiniDLNA | Olaris |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 300 |
| First released | 2008 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Plex | Plex |
What are MiniDLNA and Olaris?
MiniDLNA
MiniDLNA, also known as ReadyMedia, is a simple, lightweight media server that complies with DLNA and UPnP-AV standards. It serves music, photos, and video to network-connected devices with minimal configuration.
- DLNA/UPnP compliant
- Extremely lightweight
- Minimal configuration
- Serves audio, video, photos
Olaris
Olaris is an open-source media manager and transcoding server for organizing and streaming movies and TV shows. It scrapes metadata automatically and serves content over a GraphQL API.
- Automatic metadata scraping
- GraphQL API
- On-the-fly transcoding
- Movie and TV organization
MiniDLNA vs Olaris: key differences
MiniDLNA is written in C, while Olaris is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for MiniDLNA versus AGPL-3.0 for Olaris. MiniDLNA is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Olaris. MiniDLNA is the more established project (first released 2008), while Olaris arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose MiniDLNA if…
- Tiny footprint
- Runs on routers and NAS
Watch out for
- No transcoding
- No web interface
Choose Olaris if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Watch out for
- Development stalled
- Limited client apps
Frequently asked questions
Is MiniDLNA or Olaris better?
Neither is universally better. Olaris has the larger community, while MiniDLNA is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MiniDLNA and Olaris free and open-source?
Yes. MiniDLNA is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Olaris under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MiniDLNA and Olaris with Docker?
MiniDLNA: yes. Olaris: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MiniDLNA or Olaris?
MiniDLNA has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Olaris. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.