Stash vs Streama
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Stash
Self-hosted media organizer and server
VS
Streama
Self-hosted streaming media server with a clean web interface
| Feature | Stash | Streama |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,007 | ★ 9,820 |
| First released | 2019 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Plex | Netflix, Plex |
What are Stash and Streama?
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
Streama
Streama is a self-hosted streaming media server that lets you build a personal Netflix-style library of movies and TV shows. It runs in the browser and supports multiple user accounts with watch progress tracking.
- Netflix-style UI
- Multi-user accounts
- Watch progress tracking
- Subtitle support
Stash vs Streama: key differences
Stash is written in Go, while Streama is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Stash versus MIT for Streama. Stash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Streama. Streama is the more established project (first released 2015), while Stash arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose Stash if…
- Powerful organization
- Extensible via plugins
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Single-user focused
- Niche feature set
Choose Streama if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.8k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Watch out for
- No live transcoding
- Slower development pace
Frequently asked questions
Is Stash or Streama better?
Stash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Streama if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Stash and Streama free and open-source?
Yes. Stash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Streama under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Stash and Streama with Docker?
Stash: yes. Streama: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Stash or Streama?
Stash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Streama. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.