Best open-source alternatives to Netflix

Jellyfin is a free software media server intended for people who want to manage and stream their own media from a dedicated server to end-user devices. It is positioned as an alternative to proprietary media platforms such as Emby and Plex, with a focus on user control and self-hosted operation. The project’s README emphasizes that the server backend is part of a broader Jellyfin ecosystem, including a separate web client and other companion projects. It supports cross-platform development on major operating systems, provides a web interface at a local address when running, and includes documented API access. The README also highlights a no-premium model and points users to installation, quick start, contributing, and documentation resources.

Kodi is a free and open source home theater and media center application aimed at people who want a polished, couch-friendly way to browse and play their digital media. It runs as a native app on major desktop, mobile, and TV platforms, and is positioned both as a general media player and as an HTPC-focused entertainment hub. The project emphasizes local media management and network playback. It can play many audio and video formats, stream from home networks or the internet, and automatically build a media library with metadata such as covers, descriptions, and fanart. Kodi also supports a skinning engine, playlists, slideshows, weather information, visualizations, and a large add-on ecosystem for extending functionality.

Kyoo is a self-hosted media server aimed at people who want to stream movies, TV series, and anime with minimal maintenance. It is presented as an alternative to Jellyfin and Plex, with a design goal of handling messy media libraries without requiring strict folder structures or manual metadata cleanup. The project focuses on built-in capabilities rather than plugins and includes features such as dynamic transcoding, preview thumbnails, intro and credit detection, subtitle handling, and anime-specific filename parsing. It supports a web client, offers OIDC-based sign-in, and provides an API for integration with other services. The README also highlights deployment options including Docker, Kubernetes, and an official Helm chart.

cmyflix is a lightweight media library project written in C that aims to provide a simple, self-hosted “DIY Netflix” experience. It is positioned as a fast, minimal alternative to more feature-heavy systems such as Plex, Streama, or Emby, and is especially targeted at NAS devices and small hardware like Raspberry Pi or Odroid. The project scans organized TV and movie folders, builds JSON databases containing file locations and metadata, and uses those databases to generate static web pages that can be served by any web server. It depends on external tools and libraries for media processing and metadata, and it expects users to arrange their media into specific directory structures for TV shows and films.

Home media server supporting both DLNA and DIAL (Chromecast) devices out-of-the-box.