Self-hosted alternatives to YouTube
Want video hosting and sharing without handing your data to YouTube? These 15 open-source apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $10/month.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mediagoblin direct | Health unknown | – | AGPL-3.0 | – | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| üWave direct | Health unknown | – | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| SRS | Actively maintained | 29.4k | MIT | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Invidious | Actively maintained | 25.9k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| PeerTube | Actively maintained | 15.4k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Owncast | Actively maintained | 11.6k | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Tube Archivist | Actively maintained | 8.6k | GPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| MediaCMS | Actively maintained | 5.2k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Restreamer | Maintained | 5.2k | Apache-2.0 | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Rapidbay | Actively maintained | 904 | MIT | ✓ | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| SyncTube | Actively maintained | 396 | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| CyTube | Maintained | 1.6k | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Channels DVR Server | Health unknown | – | ⊘ Proprietary | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| Tube | Health unknown | – | MIT | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
| VideoLAN Client (VLC) | Health unknown | – | GPL-2.0 | – | 4 GB | $20/mo |
The options in detail
1. Mediagoblin
Media publishing platform that anyone can run (alternative to Flickr, YouTube, SoundCloud).
Health unknown Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. üWave
Collaborative listening platform. Users take turns playing media—songs, talks, gameplay videos, or anything else—from a variety of media sources like YouTube and SoundCloud.
Health unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. SRS
Simple, high efficiency and real-time video server, supports RTMP, WebRTC, HLS, HTTP-FLV and SRT.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-31. Latest release v8.0-d3 (2026-10-31). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Invidious
Alternative YouTube front-end.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-03. Latest release v2.20261022.0 (2026-10-22). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. PeerTube
Decentralized video streaming platform using P2P (BitTorrent) directly in the web browser.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-11-02. Latest release v8.3.2 (2026-10-26). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Owncast
Decentralized single-user live video streaming and chat server for running your own live streams similar in style to the large mainstream options.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-25. Latest release v0.3.0 (2026-09-03). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
7. Tube Archivist
Organize, search, and enjoy your YouTube collection. Subscribe, download, and track viewed content with metadata indexing and a user-friendly interface.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-25. Latest release v0.6.0 (2026-10-25). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
8. MediaCMS
Modern, fully featured video and media CMS, written in Python/Django/React, featuring a REST API.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-26. Latest release v9.4.0 (2026-10-26). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
9. Restreamer
Access H.264 real-time video streaming on your website without a streaming provider.
Maintained Last activity 2026-05-22. Latest release v2.12.0 (2024-09-13). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
10. Rapidbay
Videostreaming service/torrent client that allows searching and playing videos from torrents in the browser or from a Chromecast/AppleTV/Smart TV.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-29. Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
11. SyncTube
Lightweight and very simple to setup CyTube alternative to watch videos with friends and chat.
Actively maintained Last activity 2026-10-31. Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
12. CyTube
Synchronize media, chat, and more for an arbitrary number of channels.
Maintained Last activity 2026-10-02. Latest release v3.36.1 (2017-05-18). Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
13. Channels DVR Server
Flexible server providing a whole home DVR experience for Channels.
Health unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
14. Tube
Youtube-like (without censorship and features you don't need!) video sharing app written in Go which also supports automatic transcoding to MP4 H.265 AAC, multiple collections and RSS feed.
Health unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
15. VideoLAN Client (VLC)
Cross-platform multimedia player client and server supporting most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.
Health unknown Needs roughly 4 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of YouTube?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Actively maintained and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
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Other alternatives guides
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