Stash 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.
Stash
Self-hosted media organizer and server
VS
Stremio Server
Self-hostable streaming server backend for Stremio clients
| Feature | Stash | Stremio Server |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 77 · Good |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,007 | ★ 326 |
| First released | 2019 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Plex | Plex |
What are Stash and Stremio Server?
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
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
Stash vs Stremio Server: key differences
Stash is written in Go, while Stremio Server is built with Rust. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Stash versus MIT for Stremio Server. Stash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Stremio Server. Stremio Server is the more established project (first released 2017), while Stash arrived in 2019. Stash has the considerably larger community, at 13,007 GitHub stars versus 326.
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 Stremio Server if…
- Keeps traffic private
- Lightweight server
Watch out for
- Needs a Stremio client
- Limited standalone UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Stash or Stremio Server better?
Stash is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Stremio Server if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Stash and Stremio Server free and open-source?
Yes. Stash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stremio Server under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Stash and Stremio Server with Docker?
Stash: yes. Stremio Server: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Stash or Stremio Server?
Stash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Stremio Server. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.