Ombi vs Stash
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Ombi | Stash |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 50 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,103 | ★ 13,007 |
| First released | 2023 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Netflix, Plex | Plex |
What are Ombi and Stash?
Ombi
Media request tool on Plex/Emby/Jellyfin.
Stash
Stash is a self-hosted media organizer that catalogs video and image collections with rich metadata, tagging, and scraping. It targets users who want a deeply organized personal media archive. It is deployed via Docker or a single binary.
- Rich metadata and tagging
- Scraper and plugin system
- Built-in web player
- SQLite-backed storage
Ombi vs Stash: key differences
Ombi is written in C#, while Stash is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Ombi versus AGPL-3.0 for Stash. Ombi is the lighter option, starting around 50 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Stash. Stash is the more established project (first released 2019), while Ombi arrived in 2023. Stash has the considerably larger community, at 13,007 GitHub stars versus 4,103. Stash lists first-class Docker deployment; Ombi does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Ombi if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (4.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in C#
Choose Stash if…
- Powerful organization
- Extensible via plugins
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Single-user focused
- Niche feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Ombi or Stash better?
Neither is universally better. Stash has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Ombi and Stash free and open-source?
Yes. Ombi is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Stash under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Ombi and Stash with Docker?
Ombi: check the project docs for container support. Stash: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Ombi or Stash?
Ombi has the smaller minimum footprint at 50 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Stash. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.