# Alternatives to Emby Media server between Plex and Jellyfin. Emby ranks #1 of 11 in Media servers, with an Alt Score of 96. It is proprietary, freemium from $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/emby/ Category: Media servers ## Where Emby stands out - **Photos support** — 2 of 7 apps with a verified answer have this - **Transcoding (hardware)** — 2 of 7 apps with a verified answer have this - **Client apps (TV platforms)** — 3 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this - **Live TV & DVR** — 3 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this ## Overview - **Who it's for**: People with a personal video, music, or photo collection who want to organize it and stream it to their own devices at home and remotely. - **What you get**: A self-hosted media server that scans and organizes your library with metadata and artwork, then transcodes and streams it on demand to apps on TVs, phones, computers, and other devices. Includes Live TV/DVR support, parental controls, and remote access via Emby Connect without manual network configuration. Emby Premiere (paid) unlocks extras like mobile/cloud sync and additional client apps. Core server software is free and partly open-source. - **How it works**: You install the Emby Server on a computer or NAS and point it at your media folders; it indexes and organizes the content. You then connect from Emby apps on other devices to browse and stream that library, locally or remotely. ## Profile - **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-11) - **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-11) - **Starts at**: $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) (verified 2026-07-11) - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Jellyfin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jellyfin.md) | 91 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 2 | [Kodi](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kodi.md) | 78 | GPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 3 | [Navidrome](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/navidrome.md) | 60 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 4 | [Audiobookshelf](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/audiobookshelf.md) | 46 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 5 | [Calibre-Web](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/calibre-web.md) | 46 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 6 | [Komga](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/komga.md) | 46 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 7 | [Kavita](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kavita.md) | 42 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 8 | [Plex](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/plex.md) | building | Proprietary | ? | | 9 | [Stremio](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/stremio.md) | building | ? | ? | | 10 | [Universal Media Server](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/universal-media-server.md) | building | ? | ? | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Media servers checklist | Emby | Jellyfin | Kodi | Navidrome | Audiobookshelf | Calibre-Web | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Freemium | Free | Free | Free | Free | Free | | Starts at | $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | | License | Proprietary | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | | Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux | | Transcoding (hardware) | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | ? | No | | Live TV & DVR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | | Mobile sync/downloads | Yes | Partial | ? | Yes | Yes | Partial | | Multi-user profiles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Metadata scraping | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Music support | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | No | | Photos support | Yes | Partial | Yes | No | ? | No | | Plugin ecosystem | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | ? | Partial | | Client apps (TV platforms) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No | No | | Fully offline / no account | Partial | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | ## Sources Sources for Emby. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **Pricing model**: Freemium — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “$4.99/month” - **License**: Proprietary — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “No, if you check out our recent announcement, we now have additions that are costing us money. We cannot open source that.” - **Starts at**: $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Lifetime: $119 one-time payment” - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Windows” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “v4.10.0.18 (2026/07/10)” - **Transcoding (hardware)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Take advantage of your server GPU. Emby has the most advanced and fastest hardware accelleration in the industry.” - **Live TV & DVR**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “The Emby DVR allows you to quickly schedule and manage recordings using a simple and elegant interface.” - **Mobile sync/downloads**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Download your media to your smart phones and tablets for easy offline playback. Supported on Android, iOS and Windows.” - **Multi-user profiles**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Most operations within Emby are based around users. Users can have their own personalized media libraries, user data, recommendations, security settings, and more.” - **Metadata scraping**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Emby Server can automatically download images to improve the presentation of media in each client.” - **Music support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Emby brings together your personal videos, music, photos, and live television.” - **Photos support**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Emby brings together your personal videos, music, photos, and live television.” - **Plugin ecosystem**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Plugins extend the functionality of Emby by providing additional features and services.” - **Client apps (TV platforms)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Designed more like the web client and fantastic Windows 8.1 and Win Phone apps, the Emby for Android TV app continues our commitment to make Emby the absolute best solution for your personal media col” - **Fully offline / no account**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-11) - Quote: “Emby Connect is a free optional service that allows a person to use one set of username/password credentials” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/