Reiverr vs Rygel

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?
FeatureReiverrRygel
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITLGPL-2.1
LanguageTypeScriptVala
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,335★ 200
First released20232008
ReplacesPlexPlex

Why pick each one

Choose Reiverr if…

  • Single pane for media
  • Clean modern UI
Reiverr details

Choose Rygel if…

  • Released under the LGPL-2.1 license
  • Written in Vala
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Rygel details

Frequently asked questions

Is Reiverr or Rygel better?

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

Are Reiverr and Rygel free and open-source?

Yes. Reiverr is licensed under MIT and Rygel under LGPL-2.1. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Reiverr and Rygel with Docker?

Reiverr: yes. Rygel: check the project docs for container support.

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