Invidious vs Owncast

Two self-hosted Media Streaming - Video Streaming apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.

Side by side

InvidiousOwncast
DescriptionAlternative YouTube front-end.Decentralized single-user live video streaming and chat server for running your own live streams similar in style to the large mainstream options.
GitHub stars25,88211,645
Forks––
Open issues––
Commits (12 months)2881.3k
Last activity2026-11-052026-10-25
Latest releasev2.20261103.0 (2026-11-03)v0.3.0 (2026-09-03)
Maintenance healthActiveActive
LicenseAGPL-3.0MIT
Language / platformDocker, CrystalGo
Docker Hub image––
Docker pulls––
Est. server size~4 GB, 2 vCPU~4 GB, 2 vCPU
Est. hosting from$20/mo$20/mo
CategoriesMedia Streaming - Video StreamingMedia Streaming - Video Streaming
LinksWebsite · SourceWebsite · Source

What the numbers say

Summary: Invidious leads on GitHub popularity; Owncast leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.

This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.

Frequently asked questions

Is Invidious or Owncast more popular?

Invidious has more GitHub stars (25,882 vs 11,645 for Owncast, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.

Which is more actively maintained, Invidious or Owncast?

Owncast had more commits over the last 12 months (1,321 vs 288). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-05 for Invidious and 2026-10-25 for Owncast. Our health labels: Invidious is “Active”, Owncast is “Active”.

What licenses do Invidious and Owncast use?

Invidious: AGPL-3.0. Owncast: MIT. Owncast's license is permissive; Invidious's is copyleft (changes you distribute must stay open).

Can I run Invidious and Owncast with Docker?

We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Invidious. Check each project's documentation for install options.

Read more

Invidious

Alternative YouTube front-end.

Active ★ 25.9k AGPL-3.0 🐳 Docker~$20/mo

Owncast

Decentralized single-user live video streaming and chat server for running your own live streams similar in style to the large mainstream options.

Active ★ 11.6k MIT ~$20/mo

Browse all self-hosted Media Streaming - Video Streaming apps.

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