Kodi Alternatives and Similar Software

Kodi's media library and playing functionality is second to none, with the ability to index and transcode your favorite audiovisual content with relative ease. Though Small Plex iconPlex also functions as a media player alternative to Kodi, its true strength lies in its ability to act as an efficient and effective local media server, whereas Kodi excels at being both a single machine and local network-based media player. In addition, Kodi's support for Internet Protocol television (IPTV) enables its users to enjoy live TV from the comfort of the app.

Though Kodi has the ability to stream media over a local network, there are alternatives with more robust network streaming abilities to peruse in order to get the best of both worlds when needed.

The list of alternatives was last updated: 6/14/2020 2:15:00 PM
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Alternatives to Kodi for all platforms with any license

  • Plex

    Plex bridges the gap between your computer and your home theater, doing so with a visually appealing user interface that provides instant access to your media. Plex can play a wide range of video, audio and photo formats as well as online streaming audio and video. The real power of Plex is found in its library features: Organize your media into versatile libraries, automatically retrieve metadata from the Internet, and display your libraries using one of the visually stunning skins.

    • As already mentioned, a streaming platform isn't an alternative to a media player. Guest • Aug 2017 • 44 agrees and 14 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Plex is a server program, kodi is a media program for end users. Where they can overlap in use, they are not the same kind of program. Guest • Mar 2017 • 39 agrees and 20 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Kodi is a local media player, not a streaming platform. Guest • Mar 2020 Disagree   Agree
    • Plex is a server for media, not a flexible frontend for media. Guest • Oct 2019 • 3 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Plex is a streaming service. Kodi is an end-user media management program. Guest • Dec 2019 • 0 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Plex is just a program that relies on another OS to function. Kodi can be set up to be a base OS with a minimal Linux backend Guest • Dec 2019 • 0 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Can act both as a player and a media server for other programs. Guest • Sep 2019 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Kodi is a media client. Plex is a media server. Guest • Mar 2019 • 4 agrees and 2 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Kodi is a media client. Plex is a media server. Guest • Oct 2017 • 14 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • I have been using plex for over a year now. It's over all the best media server/client available on the market. I have no doubt. I will be using plex the next coming years. Guest • Dec 2017 • 3 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Plex is server & client software whereas Kodi can be used standalone. akanealw • Jul 2018 • 2 agrees and 0 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • It's probably the best alternative in terms of support and features but damn this program is frustrating to use and resource intensive on your system. ExquisiteDisaster • Jan 2017 • 9 agrees and 10 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • I'm a PC Dummy and i had to install it on my Fire TV 3 times before i realized it wasn't going to work anyway. I was able to install Kodi 17.1 plus Exodus though and after adding Phoenix,Droid Buddy,ES Explorer and a couple other Addons,i think i have enough to last a lifetime. patchho7 • Apr 2017 • 2 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Not as many options as Kodi, and somewhat harder to manage but it's still a decent program if for whatever reason you can't use Kodi. EricaP • Jan 2017 • 4 agrees and 8 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Resource heavy. Lacks customization. Difficult to manage transcoding options. Guest • Nov 2016 • 7 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Freemium $ $ $ Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... Chrome OS Windows S Android Tablet Windows Phone iPad Apple TV Daydream Kindle Fire Android TV Kodi Roku

    Play local content Local Storage Media Transcoding Media Streaming ... Media sharing Remote Media Access Self-hosted in intranet or private cloud Automatic Library Search Dedicated Server Hosting DNLA Server Local server Media Streaming Offline sync of media files Remote File Access Stream audio Add a feature

    Plex icon
    Video playback
    Daydream

  • Stremio

    Media center allowing to watch movies, series, YouTube channels instantly. You can watch in HD, with subtitles, and easily cast any file to TV through DLNA, Chromecast, AppleTV with one click! Stremio also gives you notifications for new episodes / movies, as well as recommendations for content you might like. Stremio's content is so rich because it has an Add-ons system, allowing different sources, such as YouTube, Filmon, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc.

    • Easy to use, fast and allows more content. From my experience this is what I expected of Kodi, but now I am missing a few features ;) Guest • Jan 2018 • 2 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Super easy and fast to use. Excelent! The best! Guest • Apr 2017 • 5 agrees and 9 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • I s one the best alternative software, 1- is free, 2- give choice to watch a TV show or movie, 3- the quality of content range from media to high and 4- the speed is quite good, the only small issue with this soft, is adaptability to remote control, and l think that they can correct soon.. Guest • Feb 2016 • 9 agrees and 6 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Freemium Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... Android Tablet

    Ad-free PS4 Streaming Stream video to Apple TV Video streaming ... Automatic subtitles download Built-in player Built-in subtitle search Casting to TV Apps with Chromecast Support Cloud sync DNLA Server Legacy addons support Media library No Buffering Add a feature

    Stremio icon
    Playing - showing the casting UI
    Library - showing your shows
    Discover - most popular movies
    Library - showing your channels

  • Emby

    Emby, formerly Media Browser, is a media aggregator plugin for Media Center that takes your recorded, digital, or ripped media and presents it in a simple, easy to use interface. Emby prides itself on delivering a fast, intuitive, media rich experience for the whole family. The source code is available on GitHub, but Emby requires a subscription to use full functionality.

    • Kodi has addons and many extra features Guest • Nov 2016 • 4 agrees and 3 disagrees Disagree   Agree
    • Like Plex, Emby is a server/player hybrid. Allowing you to manage users with unique watch histories and transcoding for any device. The player is robust, covering Windows, iOS, Android, Windows Phone amongst others, along with the most robust web player on the market. Guest • Aug 2015 • 11 agrees and 5 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Freemium $ $ $ Mac Windows Linux Android iPhone ... BSD Windows Phone iPad Self-Hosted Apple TV Kindle Fire Roku Playstation Xbox

    Media Streaming Media Transcoding Asset Pipeline Apps with Chromecast Support ... Local server Optimized for Mobile Remote Media Access Remote playback Add a feature

    Emby icon
    Emby on Windows Phone(2)
    Emby on Windows Phone(5)
    Emby on Windows Phone(3)
    Emby on Windows Phone(4)
    Emby on Windows Phone(1)

  • OSMC

    OSMC (Open Source Media Center) is a free and open source media player based on Linux and founded in 2014 that lets you play back media from your local network, attached storage and the Internet. OSMC is the leading media center in terms of feature set and community and is based on the Kodi project. OSMC is the successor of http://alternativeto .

    • OSMC is an operating system using KODI, it's not an alternative. Lura • Nov 2017 • 34 agrees and 10 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Apple TV Raspberry Pi

    Operating system Auto-identifies vids Based on Debian Designed for TVs ... Momentjs integration Music Player Stream video to Apple TV Add a feature

    OSMC icon

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  • Jellyfin

    Jellyfin is a personal media server and client. The Jellyfin project was started as a result of Emby's decision to take their code closed-source, as well as various philosophical differences with the core developers. Jellyfin seeks to be the free software alternative to Emby and Plex to provide media management and streaming from a dedicated server to end-user devices. Jellyfin is descended from Emby 3.5.2, ported to the .

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux Web Android ... iPhone HP webOS Chrome OS Android Tablet iPad Self-Hosted Chrome Ungoogled Chromium Mopidy Cloudron Kodi Fire TV Roku Xbox Firefox

    Media Streaming Ad-free Music Player Responsive design ... Local server Media Transcoding Add a feature

    Jellyfin icon

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  • PS3 Media Server

    PS3 Media Server is a DLNA compliant Upnp Media Server for the PS3, written in Java, with the purpose of streaming or transcoding.

    • Discontinued
      The project seems to be no longer developed, but last version, 1.90.1, released in August 2013, can be still downloaded from the official website.
    • Kodi is primarily a front-end ("10-foot interface"), PS3 Media Server is primarily a back-end. nandhp • May 2015 • 2 agrees and 1 disagrees Disagree   Agree

    Free Open Source Mac Windows Linux

    DNLA Server Support for DLNA Add a feature

    PS3 Media Server icon

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