# Alternatives to Kodi

The HTPC media center classic.

Kodi ranks #3 of 11 in Media servers, with an Alt Score of 78. It is licensed under GPL-2.0, free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 8 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/kodi/
Category: Media servers

## Where Kodi stands out

- **Photos support** — 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
- **Plugin ecosystem** — 3 of 7 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: People who own local or networked media libraries (movies, TV, music, photos) and want a single application to organize and play them on a TV or HTPC, plus tinkerers who like customizing add-ons and skins.
- **What you get**: A free, open-source media center that plays nearly any local, network, or streamed video and audio format. It auto-organizes your library with fetched artwork, descriptions, and cast info, supports live TV/DVR via PVR backends, and can be extended with community add-ons for streaming services, retro game emulation, and custom skins.
- **How it works**: Install Kodi on your platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, or dedicated boxes), point it at your media folders or network shares as sources, then browse and play through its remote-friendly 10-foot interface. Optional add-ons and skins can be installed afterward to add streaming sources or change the look and feel.

## Profile

- **License**: GPL-2.0 (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-11)
- **Starts at**: ?
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-11)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Emby](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/emby.md) | 96 | Proprietary | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 2 | [Jellyfin](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/jellyfin.md) | 91 | 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 | Kodi | Emby | Jellyfin | Navidrome | Audiobookshelf | Calibre-Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium | Free | Free | Free | Free |
| Starts at | ? | $4.99/mo (or $119 lifetime) | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Proprietary | 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) | Partial | Yes | Yes | 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 | Yes | Partial | 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 Kodi. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: GPL-2.0 — <https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/LICENSE.md> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Kodi is provided under SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later”
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux — <https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “available for Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS, tvOS and Windows”
- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “an award-winning free and open source home theater/media center software and entertainment hub for digital media”
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/releases> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Latest Release: v21.3-Omega”
- **Transcoding (hardware)**: Partial — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Kodi> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Kodi runs well on what are relatively 'underpowered' systems, thanks to hardware video decoding being common on nearly all supported platforms.”
- **Live TV & DVR**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/PVR> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Record, save and watch later any program”
- **Multi-user profiles**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Profiles> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Profiles allow users to save all of settings as a profile and change them at the touch of a button.”
- **Metadata scraping**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:The_Movie_Database> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “metadata.themoviedb.org is used to download metadata and artwork for Movies.”
- **Music support**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Music> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “The Music section of Kodi consists of a powerful and feature rich library that allows the flexible sorting and organization of your music collection.”
- **Photos support**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Pictures> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Pictures provides the ability to view your photos within Kodi.”
- **Plugin ecosystem**: Yes — <https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-ons> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Kodi has a growing list of community driven add-ons which can be installed from a common official repository.”
- **Client apps (TV platforms)**: Yes — <https://kodi.tv/download> (verified 2026-07-11)
  - Quote: “Kodi is available for multiple operating-systems and hardware platforms, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/