PeerTube vs Submariner

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?
FeaturePeerTubeSubmariner
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0
LanguageTypeScriptPython
Setup difficultyHardEasy
Min. RAM2,048 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 15,236★ 200
First released20182022
ReplacesYouTube, VimeoSpotify desktop

Why pick each one

Choose PeerTube if…

  • Reduces bandwidth via P2P
  • Federates with the Fediverse
PeerTube details

Choose Submariner if…

  • Fits GNOME desktop
  • Simple and focused
Submariner details

Frequently asked questions

Is PeerTube or Submariner better?

Neither is universally better. PeerTube has the larger community, while Submariner is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are PeerTube and Submariner free and open-source?

Yes. PeerTube is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Submariner under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run PeerTube and Submariner with Docker?

PeerTube: yes. Submariner: check the project docs for container support.

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