Jellyfin vs Emby: Which Should You Self-Host?
Quick Verdict
Jellyfin is the better choice for most people. It’s completely free and open-source with no paid tiers, supports hardware transcoding without a license, and has an active community. Choose Emby if you want a more polished out-of-the-box experience and don’t mind paying $5/month or $119 lifetime for Emby Premiere (required for hardware transcoding and several other features).
Overview
Jellyfin is a free, open-source media server forked from Emby in 2018 after Emby partially closed its source code. It streams movies, TV shows, music, books, and photos to native apps on Android, iOS, Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, and web browsers. There are no paid tiers — every feature is free. Jellyfin is licensed under GPL-2.0.
Emby is a media server that predates Jellyfin (originally known as Media Browser). It offers a two-tier model: a free tier with core functionality and Emby Premiere ($5/month or $119 lifetime) that unlocks hardware transcoding, DVR, backup/restore, and Cinema Mode. Emby’s server is partially open-source — some components are proprietary.
They share a common heritage, so the UI and core concepts are similar. The divergence is in philosophy: Jellyfin chose fully open-source development with community governance, while Emby chose a commercial model with paid features.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Jellyfin | Emby |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (all features) | Free tier + Premiere ($5/mo or $119 lifetime) |
| License | GPL-2.0 (fully open-source) | Partially open-source + proprietary |
| Hardware transcoding | Free (Intel QSV, VAAPI, NVENC) | Premiere only |
| Native mobile apps | Android, iOS (free, open-source) | Android, iOS (free with ads, Premiere removes ads) |
| TV apps | Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Kodi | Android TV, Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV, LG TV |
| Live TV & DVR | Yes (free) | Yes (Premiere only) |
| SyncPlay (watch together) | Yes | Yes (Premiere) |
| Offline sync to mobile | Community plugins (limited) | Yes (Premiere) |
| DLNA support | Yes | Yes |
| Music streaming | Yes | Yes |
| Books/Comics | Yes (via Bookshelf plugin) | Yes |
| Subtitle support | Excellent (SRT, ASS, SSA, PGS) | Excellent (SRT, ASS, SSA, PGS) |
| User management | Full (users, permissions, parental controls) | Full (users, permissions, parental controls) |
| Plugin ecosystem | Community plugins (growing) | Plugin catalog (established) |
| Automatic metadata | TMDb, OMDb, MusicBrainz | TMDb, OMDb, TheTVDB |
| SSO/LDAP | Via plugins (LDAP, OpenID) | Via plugins |
| API | REST API (documented) | REST API (documented) |
Installation Complexity
Jellyfin runs as a single container. The official Docker image (jellyfin/jellyfin:10.11.6) includes FFmpeg with hardware transcoding support built in. Configuration is straightforward — mount your media directories, set user/group IDs, and optionally pass through GPU devices. No database container needed (embedded SQLite).
Emby also runs as a single container (emby/embyserver:4.9.3.0). Setup is nearly identical to Jellyfin — mount media directories, configure UID/GID/GIDLIST, and optionally pass through GPU devices. Also uses embedded SQLite. The setup wizard is similar.
Both use similar directory structures and expect media organized in Movies/Movie Name (Year)/ and TV Shows/Show Name/Season XX/ format.
Winner: Tie. Both are single-container deployments with virtually identical setup complexity. If anything, Jellyfin’s documentation is slightly better organized.
Performance and Resource Usage
| Resource | Jellyfin | Emby |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~250 MB | ~300 MB |
| RAM (transcoding) | 500 MB–2 GB | 500 MB–2 GB |
| CPU (direct play) | Minimal | Minimal |
| CPU (software transcode, 1080p) | High (1 full core) | High (1 full core) |
| HW transcode (Intel QSV) | Free | Premiere required |
| HW transcode (NVIDIA NVENC) | Free | Premiere required |
| Disk (application) | ~500 MB | ~500 MB |
| Startup time | ~10 seconds | ~10 seconds |
Performance is nearly identical for direct play (streaming without transcoding). The critical difference is hardware transcoding: Jellyfin includes it free, Emby locks it behind Premiere. Without hardware transcoding, a single 4K-to-1080p transcode can peg an entire CPU. With hardware transcoding on an Intel Quick Sync capable CPU, the same transcode uses minimal CPU.
Winner: Jellyfin. Free hardware transcoding is a significant advantage. Emby requires a paid license for the same capability.
Community and Support
| Metric | Jellyfin | Emby |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | 40,000+ | N/A (partially closed) |
| Release frequency | Monthly | Monthly |
| Community | Very active (Matrix, Discord, Reddit) | Active (community forums) |
| Documentation | Good (official docs site) | Good (official docs site) |
| Development model | Community-driven, open governance | Company-driven, commercial |
| Contributors | 1,100+ | Closed development team + community plugins |
| Third-party clients | Many (Findroid, Sailfin, Swiftfin, Jellyfin Media Player) | Fewer third-party options |
Jellyfin benefits from a large open-source community. Third-party clients are plentiful because the API is fully open. Bug reports and feature requests flow through GitHub.
Emby has professional development with a smaller but dedicated team. Support quality is good, especially for Premiere subscribers. The community forums are active.
Winner: Jellyfin (for community size and openness). Emby wins for dedicated commercial support.
Use Cases
Choose Jellyfin If…
- You want a completely free media server with no paywalls
- You need hardware transcoding without paying for a license
- You prefer fully open-source software
- You want access to a large ecosystem of third-party clients
- You’re comfortable with community-supported software
- You want SyncPlay (watch together) for free
- You’re on a tight budget but still need transcoding
Choose Emby If…
- You want a more polished, commercially maintained product
- You prefer dedicated support from a professional team
- You want mobile offline sync (not available in Jellyfin natively)
- You need Samsung TV or LG TV native apps (Jellyfin’s smart TV support is more limited)
- You’re willing to pay $5/month or $119 lifetime for premium features
- You want Cinema Mode (trailers before movies)
- You want a backup/restore feature built into the server
Final Verdict
Jellyfin wins for most self-hosters. The fact that hardware transcoding is free — the single most important feature for a media server — makes it hard to justify Emby’s paid tier. Jellyfin’s community is larger, development is transparent, and the open-source ecosystem of third-party clients keeps growing.
Emby is a solid product, and its smart TV app support (Samsung, LG) is genuinely better than Jellyfin’s. If you watch primarily on a Samsung or LG TV and want a polished native app, Emby Premiere may be worth the $119 lifetime cost. But for everyone else — especially those who transcode regularly — Jellyfin delivers the same core experience at zero cost.
Both are better than the free tier of Plex for local streaming, since Plex’s free tier has increasing restrictions and account requirements.
FAQ
Didn’t Jellyfin fork from Emby? Are they still similar?
Yes, Jellyfin forked from Emby in December 2018. The core architecture remains similar (same API structure, similar plugin system, compatible library formats), but the codebases have diverged significantly. Features, UI, and performance characteristics are increasingly distinct.
Can I migrate from Emby to Jellyfin?
Partially. Jellyfin can import an Emby library database, preserving watched status, user accounts, and library metadata. The migration isn’t perfect — some settings and plugins won’t transfer. The Jellyfin docs have a migration guide with detailed steps.
Which has better mobile apps?
Emby’s mobile apps are slightly more polished, especially with Premiere’s offline sync feature. Jellyfin’s official apps are good and improving, and third-party options like Findroid (Android) and Swiftfin (iOS) offer alternative experiences. For casual use, both are fine. For offline sync, Emby wins.
Does Jellyfin have a paid tier?
No. Jellyfin is 100% free with all features included. There is no paid tier, no telemetry, and no account requirement. Donations are accepted but not required for any functionality.
Is Emby’s Premiere worth the cost?
If you need hardware transcoding, yes — $119 lifetime is reasonable for a feature that dramatically reduces CPU usage. If you only direct-play media (no transcoding), the free tier covers most needs and Premiere is harder to justify.
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