Self-Hosted

Jellyfin: stream everything, pay nothing

Q: Does Jellyfin support hardware transcoding?

Yes. Jellyfin supports hardware-accelerated transcoding with Intel QSV, NVIDIA NVENC, and VAAPI. On a VPS, VAAPI is the most common option. Hardware transcoding reduces CPU usage when converting media formats on the fly.

Q: What media formats does Jellyfin support?

Jellyfin plays most common formats out of the box, including MKV, MP4, AVI, FLAC, MP3, and subtitle formats like SRT and ASS. If a client cannot play a format directly, Jellyfin transcodes it automatically.

Q: How do I access Jellyfin from outside my home network?

Point a domain to your VPS IP and set up a reverse proxy with SSL. Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager both work well. Your VPS has a public IP by default, so no port forwarding is needed.

Q: Are there mobile and TV apps for Jellyfin?

Yes. Official apps are available for Android, Android TV, and iOS. Community apps exist for Roku, Fire TV, Kodi, and other platforms. All apps connect to your self-hosted server.

Q: Can multiple users stream at the same time?

Yes. Each user gets their own profile with separate watch history and preferences. The number of concurrent streams depends on your VPS resources. With 4 GB RAM, expect 2-3 simultaneous transcoded streams.

Your own media server with no subscriptions, no tracking, and no premium tier.
Stream movies, music, and TV shows from your VPS.

Deploy your VPS See VPS plans

Jellyfin does all of this for free

A free media server with no paywalled features.

Media streaming

Stream your movies, TV shows, and music from any browser or app. Supports direct play and on-the-fly transcoding.

Hardware transcoding

GPU-accelerated transcoding with Intel QSV, VAAPI, or NVENC. Convert 4K and HEVC content without maxing out your CPU.

Mobile and TV apps

Official apps for Android, iOS, and Android TV. Community clients for Roku, Fire TV, Kodi, and more.

Live TV and DVR

Watch and record live TV with an HDHomeRun tuner or IPTV source. Built-in program guide and scheduled recordings.

Plugins

Extend Jellyfin with plugins for metadata providers, subtitles, anime, audiobooks, and more. All free, no premium tier.

Multi-user

Create separate profiles for family or friends. Each user gets their own watch history, favorites, and parental controls. No account registration required.

Jellyfin vs Plex

What Plex charges for, Jellyfin includes for free.

Feature	Jellyfin + VPS	Plex
Account required	No external account needed	Plex account mandatory
Premium features	All features free, always	Plex Pass required for many features
Tracking and telemetry	No tracking, no telemetry	Telemetry and usage data collected
Data ownership	Your server, your data	Metadata routed through Plex servers
Open source	Fully open source (GPL)	Proprietary, closed source

Install Jellyfin in 5 minutes

Docker on your VPS.

Connect and install Docker

ssh root@your-server-ip

apt update && apt install -y docker.io docker-compose-v2

Create docker-compose.yml

version: "3"
services:
  jellyfin:
    image: jellyfin/jellyfin:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8096:8096"
    volumes:
      - jellyfin-config:/config
      - jellyfin-cache:/cache
      - /path/to/your/media:/media:ro

volumes:
  jellyfin-config:
  jellyfin-cache:

Start the container

docker compose up -d

Access your Jellyfin

Visit http://your-server-ip:8096 and run the setup wizard. Add your media libraries and start streaming.

Recommended VPS specs

Direct play

Small library, no transcoding

2 GB RAM
1-2 concurrent streams

Recommended

Transcoding

Medium library, mixed clients

4 GB RAM
2-3 concurrent streams

4K transcoding

Large library, 4K content

8 GB+ RAM
4+ concurrent streams

See all VPS Linux plans

Jellyfin FAQ

Does Jellyfin support hardware transcoding?

What media formats does Jellyfin support?

How do I access Jellyfin from outside my home network?

Are there mobile and TV apps for Jellyfin?

Can multiple users stream at the same time?

Still have questions? Contact our support team

Build your own streaming server

Stream anything. No subscriptions, no tracking.

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