MistServer vs SRS

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?
FeatureMistServerSRS
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseUnlicenseMIT
LanguageCC++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 508★ 29,105
First released20262025
Replaces

Why pick each one

Choose MistServer if…

  • Released under the Unlicense license
  • Written in C
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
MistServer details

Choose SRS if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 29.1k GitHub stars
  • Written in C++
SRS details

Frequently asked questions

Is MistServer or SRS better?

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

Are MistServer and SRS free and open-source?

Yes. MistServer is licensed under Unlicense and SRS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run MistServer and SRS with Docker?

MistServer: check the project docs for container support. SRS: yes.

Related comparisons