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.
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.
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.
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.
Where Kodi stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave Kodi
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How Kodi compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Media servers checklist | Kodi | Emby | Jellyfin | Navidrome | Audiobookshelf | Calibre-Web |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Transcoding (hardware) | ||||||
| Live TV & DVR | ||||||
| Mobile sync/downloads | ||||||
| Multi-user profiles | ||||||
| Metadata scraping | ||||||
| Music support | ||||||
| Photos support | ||||||
| Plugin ecosystem | ||||||
| Client apps (TV platforms) | ||||||
| Fully offline / no account |
Every fact and feature listed for Kodi is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
-
License GPL-2.0 verified 2026-07-11
Kodi is provided under SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/blob/master/LICENSE.md -
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux verified 2026-07-11
available for Android, BSD, Linux, macOS, iOS, tvOS and Windows
https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc -
Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-11
an award-winning free and open source home theater/media center software and entertainment hub for digital media
https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc -
Status active verified 2026-07-11
Latest Release: v21.3-Omega
https://github.com/xbmc/xbmc/releases -
Transcoding (hardware) Partial verified 2026-07-11
Kodi runs well on what are relatively 'underpowered' systems, thanks to hardware video decoding being common on nearly all supported platforms.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Kodi -
Live TV & DVR Yes verified 2026-07-11
Record, save and watch later any program
https://kodi.wiki/view/PVR -
Multi-user profiles Yes verified 2026-07-11
Profiles allow users to save all of settings as a profile and change them at the touch of a button.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Profiles -
Metadata scraping Yes verified 2026-07-11
metadata.themoviedb.org is used to download metadata and artwork for Movies.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-on:The_Movie_Database -
Music support Yes verified 2026-07-11
The Music section of Kodi consists of a powerful and feature rich library that allows the flexible sorting and organization of your music collection.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Music -
Photos support Yes verified 2026-07-11
Pictures provides the ability to view your photos within Kodi.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Pictures -
Plugin ecosystem Yes verified 2026-07-11
Kodi has a growing list of community driven add-ons which can be installed from a common official repository.
https://kodi.wiki/view/Add-ons -
Client apps (TV platforms) Yes verified 2026-07-11
Kodi is available for multiple operating-systems and hardware platforms, featuring a 10-foot user interface for use with televisions and remote controls.
https://kodi.tv/download
FAQ
Yes. Emby, Jellyfin and Navidrome have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Jellyfin, Navidrome and Audiobookshelf — every license claim links its source.