SHSelfHostIndex

MiniDLNA vs Universal Media Server

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?
MI MiniDLNA Lightweight DLNA/UPnP media server daemon VS UN Universal Media Server DLNA-compliant media server for streaming to TVs and consoles
FeatureMiniDLNAUniversal Media Server
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-2.0
LanguageCJava
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 200★ 2,636
First released20082012
ReplacesPlexPlex, Serviio

Why pick each one

Choose MiniDLNA if…

  • Tiny footprint
  • Runs on routers and NAS
MiniDLNA details

Choose Universal Media Server if…

  • Works with old TVs and consoles
  • Simple setup
Universal Media Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is MiniDLNA or Universal Media Server better?

Neither is universally better. Universal Media Server has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are MiniDLNA and Universal Media Server free and open-source?

Yes. MiniDLNA is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Universal Media Server under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run MiniDLNA and Universal Media Server with Docker?

MiniDLNA: yes. Universal Media Server: yes.

Related comparisons