# Carbon vs Jellyfin

> Two self-hosted [Plex alternatives](https://selfhost.directory/alternative-to/plex), compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Carbon | Jellyfin |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 | 88/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #7 of 14 in ERP | #1 of 118 in Media Server |
| GitHub stars | 2 778 | 58 744 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +29 | +1 301 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 15 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v12.4 · 26 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | GPL-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | C |

## Which one should you pick?

Jellyfin scores 88/100 against 60/100 for Carbon, so it is the safer default.

Jellyfin ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Carbon.

If you want the quickest setup, Jellyfin is easier to run; Carbon needs more configuration.

Jellyfin is growing faster right now (+1 301 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Carbon](https://selfhost.directory/project/carbon) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/carbon.md)
- [Jellyfin](https://selfhost.directory/project/jellyfin) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/jellyfin.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/carbon-vs-jellyfin