Olaris vs Stremio Server
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Olaris | Stremio Server |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 300 | ★ 326 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Plex | Plex |
What are Olaris and Stremio Server?
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
Stremio Server
The Stremio Server is the self-hostable backend component that handles streaming, transcoding, and torrent resolution for Stremio media clients. Running your own instance keeps streaming traffic on your network.
- Self-hosted streaming backend
- On-the-fly transcoding
- Works with Stremio clients
- Local network streaming
Olaris vs Stremio Server: key differences
Olaris is written in Go, while Stremio Server is built with Rust. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Olaris versus MIT for Stremio Server. Stremio Server is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Olaris. Stremio Server is the more established project (first released 2017), while Olaris arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Stremio Server if…
- Keeps traffic private
- Lightweight server
Watch out for
- Needs a Stremio client
- Limited standalone UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Olaris or Stremio Server better?
Neither is universally better. Stremio Server has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Olaris and Stremio Server free and open-source?
Yes. Olaris is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stremio Server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Olaris and Stremio Server with Docker?
Olaris: yes. Stremio Server: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Olaris or Stremio Server?
Stremio Server has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Olaris. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.