# Mealie vs youtube-dl

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | Mealie | youtube-dl |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 75/100 ✓ | 51/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 18 in Recipe Management | #6 of 12 in Video |
| GitHub stars | 13 717 ✓ | 402 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +408 ✓ | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 23 ✓ | 0 |
| Latest release | v3.29.0 · 17 Oct 2026 | — |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Python | Python |

## Which one should you pick?

Mealie scores 75/100 against 51/100 for youtube-dl, so it is the safer default.

Mealie ships more often: 23 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for youtube-dl.

If you want the quickest setup, youtube-dl is easier to run; Mealie needs more configuration.

Mealie is growing faster right now (+408 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [Mealie](https://selfhost.directory/project/mealie) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/mealie.md)
- [youtube-dl](https://selfhost.directory/project/youtube-dl) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/youtube-dl.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/mealie-vs-youtube-dl