# Carbon vs Kyoo

> 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 | Kyoo |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 60/100 ✓ | 59/100 |
| Rank in category | #7 of 14 in ERP | #30 of 118 in Media Server |
| GitHub stars | 2 778 ✓ | 2 553 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +29 ✓ | +26 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 0 | 4 ✓ |
| Latest release | — | v5.2.1 · 27 Aug 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Moderate ✓ |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes ✓ |
| License | Other | GPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Carbon scores 60/100 against 59/100 for Kyoo, so it is the safer default.

Kyoo ships more often: 4 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Carbon.

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

## Details

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

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