What Jellyfin Project does

Jellyfin is a volunteer-built, open-source media system founded in 2018 in Toronto, Canada, created as a community fork of Emby when the original project moved toward a proprietary model. The core product is Jellyfin Server, a free software media server built on .NET with a SQLite database backend that runs on users' own hardware to collect, organize, and stream personal media libraries including movies, TV shows, music, live TV/DVR, books, and photos. The platform supports hardware-accelerated transcoding via VideoToolbox, NVENC, Quick Sync, VA-API, and other APIs, advanced codecs (HEVC, AV1, Dolby Vision), and SyncPlay for synchronized remote viewing. Jellyfin ships an extensive client ecosystem of official applications spanning web, desktop, Android, iOS, Android TV/Fire TV, Roku, WebOS, Tizen, and Xbox, plus official integrations with Kodi and Mopidy, with a comprehensive OpenAPI 3.0.4 REST API for third-party development. The project is licensed under GNU GPL and serves primarily individual self-hosters, families, and music enthusiasts seeking privacy, data sovereignty, and freedom from commercial streaming subscription models. Jellyfin has no commercial revenue model: all software is free, and operating costs are covered through voluntary community donations with no subscription fees, premium tiers, or paid features. Growth is driven entirely by community adoption, word-of-mouth, and inbound migration from commercial alternatives like Plex during competitor pricing controversies, supported by a contributor base of 11-50 volunteers rather than corporate employees. The project maintains a regular release cadence with multiple major server releases (10.9.0, 10.10.0, 10.11.0) and active client development across platforms through 2025-2026.

Name

Jellyfin Project

Legal name

Jellyfin Project

Website

https://jellyfin.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Jellyfin Project is a volunteer-built, open-source media server (GPL-licensed, forked from Emby in 2018) that enables individual self-hosters and families to collect, manage, and stream personal media libraries across web, mobile, TV, and console clients at no cost, with no commercial revenue model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Open Source Media Server Software

NAICS

Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Streaming & Low-Latency OTT Orchestration (LL-HLS, DASH, WebRTC) (MPAHAJAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Device & App Lifecycle Management (Build, QA, Release, A/B Testing) (MPAHAJAE)

Keywords

• Open source media server
• Self hosted streaming
• Media library management
• Hardware accelerated transcoding
• Cross platform media apps

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Donations: Jellyfin is entirely free and open-source with no revenue from product sales. Operating costs (infrastructure, domain hosting) are covered through voluntary donations from the user community. There are no subscription fees, lifetime passes, or premium tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Jellyfin is a free, open-source media server that enables users to collect, organize, and stream their personal media (movies, TV shows, music, books, photos, and live TV/DVR) from their own server to multiple client devices. The offering includes the Jellyfin Server plus an extensive suite of official client applications across web, desktop, mobile, smart TV, gaming console, and media center platforms, with hardware-accelerated transcoding and synchronized remote viewing.

Product overview

Jellyfin is a volunteer-built, open-source free software media system that provides a complete ecosystem for personal media management and streaming. The core product is the Jellyfin Server, which runs on users' own hardware to collect, organize, and stream media including movies, TV shows, music, live TV, DVR recordings, books, and photos. The platform is complemented by an extensive suite of official client applications spanning web, desktop (Jellyfin Media Player), mobile (Android/iOS), smart TV platforms (Android TV, Roku, WebOS, Tizen), gaming consoles (Xbox), and media center software (Kodi integration via JellyCon and Jellyfin for Kodi). Additional offerings include the Jellyfin API (OpenAPI-documented REST API), the Jellyfin Repository for binary distribution, and official plugins like Mopidy-Jellyfin and Jellyfin Vue (beta web client). The entire system is free to use with no subscription fees, licensed under GNU GPL.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Jellyfin Server: The core server software that enables users to collect, manage, and stream media content from their own servers.
• Jellyfin Media Player
• JellyCon
• Jellyfin for Android
• Jellyfin for iOS
• Jellyfin for Android TV
• Jellyfin for Roku
• Jellyfin for WebOS
• Jellyfin for Tizen
• Jellyfin for Xbox
• Swiftfin
• Jellyfin Vue
• SyncPlay

Products and services

• Jellyfin Server The volunteer-built, GNU GPL-licensed open-source media server software that runs on a user's own hardware to collect, manage, and stream movies, shows, music, live TV, DVR recordings, books, photos, and SyncPlay sessions. Supports hardware-accelerated transcoding via VideoToolbox, V4L2, Quick Sync, VA-API, NVENC, AMF, RKMPP, and QSV.
• Jellyfin Media Player The official desktop client for Jellyfin, providing a dedicated native application experience for media playback on desktop operating systems.
• Jellyfin for Android The official Jellyfin mobile app for Android phones and tablets, distributed via Google Play Store, F-Droid, and Amazon Appstore.
• Jellyfin for iOS The official Jellyfin app for iOS and iPadOS devices, distributed through the Apple App Store.
• Jellyfin for Android TV The official Jellyfin app for Android TV and Amazon Fire TV devices, distributed via Play Store, F-Droid, and Amazon Appstore.
• Jellyfin for Roku

Quantifiable outcome

• Hardware transcoding available at no cost versus Plex's $250 Plex Pass
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Navidrome: Navidrome is an open-source self-hosted music streaming server, comparable to Jellyfin's music streaming functionality but narrower in scope (music only). Targets the same privacy-conscious, self-hosting music enthusiast audience.
• Funkwhale: Funkwhale is a federated, self-hosted audio streaming platform built on ActivityPub. It overlaps with Jellyfin's music-serving capabilities and shares the same open-source, community-driven, self-host ethos.

Direct peers

• Stremio: Stremio is an open-source media center/hub with apps across TV, mobile, and desktop that aggregates streaming sources. It overlaps with Jellyfin on the multi-platform streaming hub use case for technically inclined users.
• Universal Media Server: Universal Media Server (UMS) is a free, DLNA-based media server compatible with Jellyfin's self-hosted server paradigm. It targets the same hobbyist/homelab user base seeking free media streaming solutions.
• Kodi: Kodi is an open-source media center and player that Jellyfin officially integrates with via JellyCon and Jellyfin for Kodi add-ons. They serve overlapping audiences (self-hosted media enthusiasts) with complementary delivery models (client player vs. server).
• Plex: Plex is the leading commercial media server and streaming platform, offering a directly overlapping feature set (server, mobile/TV clients, hardware transcoding, Live TV). Plex is the primary commercial alternative against which Jellyfin positions its free, open-source offering.
• Serviio: Serviio is a media server that streams local content to devices, comparable in function to Jellyfin's core server offering for users who self-host their media libraries on home networks.
• Jellyfin for Kodi (Sub-project Integration): Jellyfin for Kodi is Jellyfin's official Kodi add-on that syncs library metadata into Kodi's database. It represents the dual-mode user who operates both ecosystems and is a notable integration point for shared audiences.
• Emby: Emby is the media server project from which Jellyfin was forked in 2018. It offers the same core functionality (library management, transcoding, Live TV, multi-platform clients) under a partially proprietary model, making it a direct competitor.

Others

• Infuse (Firecore): Infuse is a proprietary iOS/tvOS media player with a native Jellyfin client integration. It is comparable as an ecosystem participant that extends Jellyfin's reach on Apple devices without directly competing on the server side.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/jellyfin
• Xx.com/jellyfin

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jellyfin Project