What LibreELEC does

LibreELEC is an open-source Linux distribution founded in 2016 and operated by individual contributor Christian Hewitt from Dubai, UAE, structured as a community project rather than a formal corporate entity. It provides a minimal 'Just enough OS' purpose-built to run Kodi media center software, bundling only the packages required for media playback and stripping away general-purpose Linux overhead. The project maintains optimized builds for six SoC families — Raspberry Pi, x86_64 PCs, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, and NXP — covering more than 100 distinct hardware platforms with custom kernel configurations and the modern GBM/V4L2 graphics and video pipeline. Cross-cutting capabilities include hardware-accelerated decoding across H264/HEVC/VP9/AV1, HDR10/HLG output, multi-channel HDMI audio pass-through, Widevine DRM support for major streaming services, and a desktop USB-SD Creator application for writing bootable media.

The project distributes exclusively through self-serve downloads from libreelec.tv and its mirror network, with a USB-SD Creator tool for Windows x64 and macOS and a nightly build channel at test.libreelec.tv. GTM is product-led and community-driven; users discover the software through the official website, community forum, wiki documentation, and word-of-mouth within the Kodi and home theater enthusiast community. The software is free under GPLv2; the project generates revenue solely through voluntary donations via OpenCollective and merchandise sales (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers) via TeeSpring, with stated recurring expenses limited to hosting, build infrastructure, and annual domain fees. Customer segments are horizontal and individually small — home media center enthusiasts, DIY electronics hobbyists running single-board computers, and a smaller industrial/embedded media-player segment — with no single concentrated enterprise customer and no monetization of any user segment beyond donations.

Name

LibreELEC

Legal name

LibreELEC (operated by Christian Hewitt)

Website

https://libreelec.tv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Short description

LibreELEC is an open-source, community-funded Linux distribution founded in 2016 that provides a minimal 'Just enough OS' purpose-built to run the Kodi media center across Raspberry Pi, x86_64, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, and NXP hardware.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Media Center Operating System

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Developer Distribution & App Release Platforms (BPAMADAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Release Engineering & Environment Management (BPAEAKAH)

Keywords

• Open source media center
• Kodi linux distribution
• Home theater software
• Media center operating system
• Arm linux distribution

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations via OpenCollective: The project accepts public donations through OpenCollective, a transparent fundraising platform that holds funds on behalf of the project. Personal donors can receive forum account tags as recognition. The platform enables the project to receive funds, manage expenses, and reimburse contributors through multiple payment methods.
2. Merchandise Sales: The project sells logo-themed merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and stickers through TeeSpring. The store organizes print runs every four days with profits contributing to the project.
3. Software Distribution (Free): LibreELEC software is free to clone, use, and adapt under GPLv2 license terms. There are no licensing fees charged for the software itself, making it freely available to all users.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

LibreELEC is a lightweight 'Just enough OS' Linux distribution purpose-built to run Kodi media center software. It bundles only the essential packages needed for Kodi, replacing a full general-purpose Linux OS, and ships pre-built optimized disk images for a wide range of ARM and x86_64 hardware platforms including Raspberry Pi, Generic x86_64 PCs, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, and NXP devices. The project is community-developed and released as free open-source software under the GPLv2 license.

Product overview

LibreELEC is a unified open-source media center OS distribution built around Kodi, offering a lightweight 'just enough OS' approach for home theater PC hardware. The product portfolio centers on the LibreELEC OS Distribution for various hardware platforms (Raspberry Pi, Generic x86_64, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, NXP), supplemented by the USB-SD Creator tool for creating bootable installation media. Hardware-specific images provide optimized builds for each platform family, with the Generic images supporting PCs and the ARM images supporting single-board computers and TV boxes. The project is community-funded through OpenCollective donations and merchandise sales.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LibreELEC OS Distribution A lightweight 'Just enough OS' Linux distribution that ships pre-built, hardware-optimized disk images for Kodi media center use. Available variants include Raspberry Pi (Pi 5, Pi 4, Pi 400, Pi 3, Pi 2, Pi Zero/1), Generic x86_64 (Intel NUC, nettops, VMs, laptops; includes GBM/V4L2 for modern AMD/Intel GPUs with HDR and Generic-Legacy X11 for older hardware and nVidia GPUs), Allwinner (A64, H3, H5, H6, R40 for Orange Pi, Pine64, Banana Pi, Beelink, NanoPi, Libretech), Rockchip (RK3288, RK3328, RK3399 for ASUS Tinker Board, Khadas, PINE64, Radxa, Orange Pi), Amlogic (GXBB, GXL, GXM, G12A/B, SM1), and NXP i.MX6/i.MX8.
• LibreELEC USB-SD Creator A cross-platform desktop application (Windows x64 and macOS) with a Qt-based interface that automates the download, verification, and writing of LibreELEC bootable installation media to USB drives or SD cards for all supported hardware platforms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports over 100 distinct hardware platforms across 6 major SoC families (Raspberry Pi, Generic x86_64, Allwinner, Rockchip, Amlogic, NXP)

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TeeSpringminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorTeeSpring handles the production, payment processing, and logistics for LibreELEC branded merchandise (t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, stickers). The store organizes print runs every four days with a fixed amount per item ordered going back to the project.
• GitHubcoreTechnology or IntegrationGitHub hosts the LibreELEC.tv source code repository and provides infrastructure for pull requests, issue tracking, and automated build processes. The project recommends using GitHub to clone sources and push changes back to maintain chain of authorship visibility.
• Kodi FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLibreELEC is built around Kodi media center software and operates under the Kodi trademark policy. The project maintains close collaboration with Team Kodi developers, contributing improvements upstream and coordinating on major version releases (Kodi v19 Matrix, v20 Nexus, v21 Omega).

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Emby: Emby is a media server platform with live TV and DVR features, comparable to Plex and frequently deployed alongside Kodi front-ends. It competes for the same enthusiast-user media management use case LibreELEC targets.
• Jellyfin: Jellyfin is an open-source media server platform frequently paired with Kodi clients; it addresses the same home media library use case but as a server-side stack rather than an end-user OS, competing for the same household media budget.
• Plex: Plex is the largest commercial media center platform, offering server-plus-client media streaming. While not a Linux distribution, it competes for the same 'home media center' wallet share and runs as an alternative to Kodi-based solutions on identical hardware.

Emerging players

• Batocera: Batocera is a lightweight Linux distribution focused on retro gaming that also bundles Kodi; it targets overlapping SBC hardware and hobbyist users, making it an adjacent peer for shared Raspberry Pi install base.
• DietPi: DietPi is a minimal Debian-based OS for SBCs optimized for self-hosted services; users frequently install Kodi/media server stacks on top of it, putting it in direct competition for the same Raspberry Pi 'home server/media center' segment.
• Lakka: Lakka is a lightweight Linux OS for retro gaming on SBCs including Raspberry Pi; LibreELEC's own release notes reference Lakka for retrogaming use, indicating shared platform and audience overlap.

Direct peers

• XBian: XBian is a small, long-running Kodi-centric Linux distribution for Raspberry Pi and similar SBCs. It is a direct peer in product category, target user, and minimal-OS approach, though with a smaller community than LibreELEC.
• CoreELEC: CoreELEC is a LibreELEC fork focused specifically on Amlogic-based TV boxes, serving the same Kodi media center use case on cheaper Android-box hardware. It overlaps almost entirely with LibreELEC's Amlogic image line.
• OSMC: OSMC is the closest direct peer: a Kodi-centric Linux distribution for Raspberry Pi, Apple TV, and Vero devices. It targets the same home media center enthusiast segment with the same 'just-enough-OS' philosophy and competes head-to-head for Kodi-based installs.

Regional players

• Recalbox: Recalbox is a France-originated retro gaming OS with a strong European community that runs on Raspberry Pi and similar SBCs; it overlaps with LibreELEC's SBC hardware target and shares the hobbyist install base, though it is gaming rather than media focused.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/LibreELEC/LibreELEC.tv

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 LibreELEC