Stash vs Universal Media 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
Universal Media Server
DLNA-compliant media server for streaming to TVs and consoles
| Feature | Stash | Universal Media Server |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,007 | ★ 2,654 |
| First released | 2019 | 2012 |
| Replaces | Plex | Plex, Serviio |
What are Stash and Universal Media 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
Universal Media Server
Universal Media Server is a DLNA-compliant UPnP media server that streams video, audio, and images to a wide range of devices including smart TVs, game consoles, and mobile devices. It transcodes media on the fly so incompatible formats can play on almost any renderer.
- DLNA/UPnP streaming
- On-the-fly transcoding
- Broad device compatibility
- Subtitle support
Stash vs Universal Media Server: key differences
Stash is written in Go, while Universal Media Server is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for Stash versus GPL-2.0 for Universal Media Server. Stash is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Universal Media Server. Universal Media Server is the more established project (first released 2012), while Stash arrived in 2019. Stash has the considerably larger community, at 13,007 GitHub stars versus 2,654.
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 Universal Media Server if…
- Works with old TVs and consoles
- Simple setup
Watch out for
- Dated user interface
- Java memory footprint
Frequently asked questions
Is Stash or Universal Media Server 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 Stash and Universal Media Server free and open-source?
Yes. Stash is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Universal Media Server under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Stash and Universal Media Server with Docker?
Stash: yes. Universal Media Server: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Stash or Universal Media Server?
Stash has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Universal Media Server. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.