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Jellyfin

Self-Hosted Netflix Alternative Free — Jellyfin

Turn your hard drive into a personal Netflix — self-hosted, free, no subscription.

v10.11.8
Apr 2026
WindowsmacOSLinuxFreeOpen Source

If you've built a movie and TV collection over the years — ripped Blu-rays, downloaded files, recorded shows — you've probably hit the same wall: no good way to browse it from the couch, and no way to share it with family without everyone digging through folders. Plex solves this but locks core features like mobile sync and offline downloads behind a Plex Pass subscription. Emby went partially closed-source in 2018.

Jellyfin is the answer that costs nothing. It runs on Windows, macOS, or Linux as a local media server, scans your library, fetches metadata and posters from TMDB and MusicBrainz, and makes everything browsable through a polished web interface or dedicated apps on phones, smart TVs, Roku, Chromecast, Fire Stick, and Kodi. Streaming supports 4K with hardware-accelerated transcoding on Intel, NVIDIA, and AMD GPUs.

The feature set goes well beyond basic streaming. Jellyfin supports live TV and DVR through tuner cards and HDHR devices, lets you create user accounts with parental controls and individual watch history, handles audiobooks, and syncs subtitles from OpenSubtitles. There's no account to create, no cloud dependency, and no telemetry — all data stays on your server.

Plugin support extends Jellyfin further: metadata providers, intro skip detection, custom themes, and Trakt integration for watch history tracking. The community is active, releases are frequent, and since it's GPL-2.0 licensed, your setup will never suddenly require a paid upgrade to keep working.

Related Tools

  • Immich — Self-host your photo and video backup on the same server — the Google Photos replacement that pairs naturally with Jellyfin
  • TinyMediaManager — Scrape metadata and artwork for your movie and TV library before adding it to Jellyfin

FAQ

Is Jellyfin free?+
Yes, Jellyfin is completely free and open source under the GPL-2.0 license. There are no paid tiers, no Jellyfin Pass, and no premium features. Everything — 4K streaming, live TV, multi-user accounts, and mobile apps — is included at no cost.
How to create a personal Netflix at home for free?+
Install Jellyfin on a PC or NAS, point it at your media folders, and it will scan and organize everything automatically. Then access your library from any device using the Jellyfin app — phone, tablet, smart TV, or browser. No subscription or account required.
Best free alternative to Plex?+
Jellyfin is the best free alternative to Plex. Unlike Plex, Jellyfin has no premium tier — features like mobile sync, offline downloads, and live TV are free for everyone. It's also fully open source with no data collection.
Jellyfin vs Plex — which is better?+
Plex has a more polished UI and broader hardware support out of the box, but locks key features behind Plex Pass ($6/month). Jellyfin is fully free and open source with comparable features, but requires more initial setup. Choose Jellyfin if you want zero ongoing cost and full control; Plex if you prefer a more turn-key experience.