{
    "products": [
        {
            "slug": "emby",
            "name": "Emby",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://emby.media/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/emby",
            "tagline": "Personal media server for your own video, music, photos and live TV",
            "summary": "Emby is a personal media server from Emby LLC that streams your own videos, music, photos and live TV to phones, tablets and TVs. Premiere, sold monthly, yearly or as a lifetime license, adds bonus features such as mobile downloads and hardware transcoding.",
            "developer": "Emby LLC",
            "platforms": [
                "android",
                "ios",
                "windows"
            ],
            "pricing": "freemium",
            "price_note": "Premiere: $4.99 a month, $54 a year or $119 lifetime",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": false,
            "strengths": [
                "Streams your own video, music and photos to many devices",
                "Live TV and mobile apps for Android and iOS"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Mobile downloads and hardware transcoding need Premiere",
                "Needs your own media library and a server"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "Emby runs on a computer or home server that holds the user's media library, and it streams that library to apps on phones, tablets, TVs and game consoles. Apps are listed for Android, iOS, Windows, Fire TV, Xbox One and PS4. Video, music, photos and live TV are organized in one catalog, and the product is aimed at people with their own collection rather than at streaming services.\n\nPremiere costs $4.99 a month, $54 a year or $119 as a one-time lifetime license, and it adds mobile downloads and hardware-accelerated transcoding. Jellyfin in this list is the open-source option, and Plex is the closest commercial rival."
        },
        {
            "slug": "vlc",
            "name": "VLC media player",
            "kind": "app",
            "website": "https://www.videolan.org/vlc/",
            "page": "https://listme.name/software/vlc",
            "tagline": "Free open-source player for most audio and video formats",
            "summary": "VLC is a free, open-source media player from the VideoLAN project that plays most audio and video formats, DVDs and streams. It runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android. VideoLAN is a non-profit project, and VLC has no ads or spyware, according to its download page.",
            "developer": "VideoLAN",
            "platforms": [
                "windows",
                "macos",
                "linux",
                "ios",
                "android"
            ],
            "pricing": "open-source",
            "price_note": "Free and open source; no ads or spyware, per its download page",
            "free_to_use": true,
            "open_source": true,
            "license": "GPL-2.0",
            "source": "https://github.com/videolan/vlc",
            "strengths": [
                "Plays nearly any audio or video format",
                "Free and open source under GPL-2.0",
                "Runs on desktop and mobile systems"
            ],
            "limits": [
                "Playback-focused, with no server or library features",
                "Not built for streaming a home library to other devices"
            ],
            "checked": "2026-10-10",
            "connected_to_publisher": false,
            "overview": "VLC plays most audio and video files, as well as DVDs, audio CDs, VCDs and many streaming protocols. Its download page describes it as a cross-platform multimedia player and framework, and it runs on Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS and Android.\n\nVLC is free and open source, and the source is published under GPL-2.0. The VideoLAN project is a non-profit, and the download page says the app has no spyware or ads. It suits people who want one player that handles nearly any file, while Plex and Jellyfin are better for streaming a home library to other devices."
        }
    ],
    "differences": [
        "Only VLC media player runs on macOS.",
        "Only VLC media player runs on Linux.",
        "VLC media player is open source; Emby is not.",
        "Emby: free plan, paid upgrades. VLC media player: free and open source."
    ],
    "shared_rankings": [
        {
            "list": "media-players",
            "name": "Media players",
            "page": "https://listme.name/best/media-players",
            "of": 10,
            "results": [
                {
                    "product": "emby",
                    "rank": 6,
                    "score": 83,
                    "verdict": "A personal media server that streams your own video, music, photos and live TV to phones, TVs and consoles. Premiere adds mobile downloads and hardware transcoding, and Jellyfin in this list is the open-source option.",
                    "best_for": "Households with their own video and music library",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "Android, iOS, Windows apps",
                        "server": true,
                        "open_source": false,
                        "cost": "Premiere: $4.99 a month, $54 a year or $119 lifetime"
                    }
                },
                {
                    "product": "vlc",
                    "rank": 1,
                    "score": 91.5,
                    "verdict": "Plays nearly any audio or video format on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android, and it is free and open source under GPL-2.0. It does not serve a library to other devices.",
                    "best_for": "Playing almost any file on any computer",
                    "spec": {
                        "platforms": "Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android",
                        "server": false,
                        "open_source": true,
                        "cost": "Free"
                    }
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "ranks_higher_in_closest_shared_list": "vlc",
    "page": "https://listme.name/compare/emby-vs-vlc",
    "json": "https://listme.name/api/v1/compare/emby-vs-vlc.json",
    "notes": [
        "Scores are editorial and only comparable inside one list. Products with connected_to_publisher true receive a disclosed ranking lift: https://listme.name/methodology"
    ],
    "source": "https://listme.name",
    "license": "Free to read and cite with attribution to listme.name.",
    "docs": "https://listme.name/developers"
}