The short answer. Jellyfin is the self-hosted media server: a library, metadata, clients, no account and no subscription. Kodi is the media centre application that runs on the machine attached to the television. MyMedia is the local library browser for films and shows. Stremio is the one that mixes a library with streaming sources, which is a different legal and technical proposition. Omniplayer, Potplayer X, Tiny Player and Playback are players — they open a file and do not manage a library. TickPlay is the offline player. The dividing question is whether you want a library with metadata or a window that plays a file, because the first is a server and the second is a viewer and only one of them is worth setting up for a series.
This guide covers 9 media center apps for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment. Last verified 2026-10-10.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jellyfin | media app | Open source | GPL-2.0 | 12.1 |
| Kodi | media app | Open source | not published | 21.3-Omega |
| MyMedia | media app | Open source | MIT | 3.0.0 |
| Omniplayer | media app | not published | not published | 2.1.22 |
| Playback | media app | Open source | MIT | 1.6.0 |
| Potplayer X | media app | Free | not published | 1.3.37 |
| Stremio | media app | Free | not published | 5.1.26 |
| TickPlay | offline media player | One-time purchase | not published | 1.0.9 |
| Tiny Player | media app | Free | not published | 1.7.2 |
Disclosure. TickPlay is a product published by Nuanyue. This page is a product listing, not an independent review.
What actually decides this
- Server or player. A server indexes, fetches metadata and streams to clients. A player opens a file. A folder of files with a player is not a library, and a server with no client is a service nobody watches.
- Where the library lives. A local database on the machine is simple and dies with the disk. A server keeps the library with the files and serves several rooms. The second is more work and the only one that scales past one screen.
- How metadata is matched. File naming decides whether a film is recognised. A tool with a good matcher and a manual override is usable; one that guesses wrong and cannot be corrected produces a library of unnamed files.
- What the client situation is. A server is only as good as the clients for the devices in the house. A television app, a phone app and a browser are three different clients and not every server has all three.
- Whether the sources are local or streamed. A local library is files you own. A streaming aggregator points at sources elsewhere, which changes what the application is for and what happens when a source disappears.
- What it costs to keep running. A media server is a process that indexes, transcodes and stays awake. On a laptop that is a battery decision; on a spare machine it is the whole point.
Our picks
- Jellyfin — Its record describes a free software media system, which is the server case. Choose it when you want a self-hosted library served to several devices.
- Kodi — Its record describes an open-source media centre for video, music and pictures, which is the media-centre case. Choose it when the Mac is attached to the television.
- MyMedia — Its record describes displaying and watching a local movie and TV show library, which is the local-library case. Choose it when you want to browse and watch a local film and TV library.
- Stremio — Its record describes a media centre for movies, TV, live channels and streaming sources, which is the aggregator case. Choose it when the library is a set of streaming sources rather than files.
- Omniplayer — Its record describes a media player supporting almost all formats, which is the player case. Choose it when you just need a player that opens almost any format.
The apps
Jellyfin
Jellyfin is a media app for macOS. The Free Software Media System. It is released under GPL-2.0.
What it does. The Free Software Media System - Server Backend & API.
Jellyfin is listed with current version 12.1.
Full profile and verified facts for Jellyfin →
Kodi
Kodi is a media app for macOS. Open-source media center for video, music, pictures, and more. It is open source.
What it does. Kodi is a free media player that is designed to look great on your big screen TV but is just as at home on a small screen.
Kodi is listed with current version 21.3-Omega.
Full profile and verified facts for Kodi →
MyMedia
MyMedia is a media app for macOS. Display and watch your local movie and TV show library. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Display your media library gorgeously with Artworks and details about the movie or show. Play with the included player or with the system default app. Tracking of unwatched movies and TV shows and episodes. Create collections of your shows and movies.
MyMedia is listed with current version 3.0.0.
Full profile and verified facts for MyMedia →
Omniplayer
Omniplayer is a media app for macOS. Best media player on Mac, support almost all format. Its pricing is not published.
Omniplayer is listed with current version 2.1.22.
Full profile and verified facts for Omniplayer →
Playback
Playback is a media app for macOS. Experimental video player. It is released under MIT.
What it does. Plays .MP4 and .WebM videos. Streaming to Chromecast. Streaming from http links, torrent magnet links, and IPFS links. WebTorrent support – can torrent from/to WebRTC peers (“web peers”).
Playback is listed with current version 1.6.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Playback →
Potplayer X
Potplayer X is a media app for macOS. a Video Audio Player. It is free.
Potplayer X is listed with current version 1.3.37.
Full profile and verified facts for Potplayer X →
Stremio
Stremio is a media app for macOS. Media center for movies, TV, live channels, and streaming sources. It is free.
What it does. Watch videos, movies, TV series and TV channels instantly.
Stremio is listed with current version 5.1.26.
Full profile and verified facts for Stremio →
TickPlay
TickPlay is an offline media player for macOS. TickPlay is a standalone offline audio and video player for Apple Watch that keeps your own files on the watch, plays lossless FLAC, OGG and Opus alongside MP3 and M4A, and scrolls synchronized LRC lyrics — with no account, no cloud and no iPhone needed while you listen. It is one-time purchase.
Strengths. According to the developer, plays lossless FLAC, OGG and Opus on Apple Watch, which watchOS does not decode natively, without converting the files first. Runs standalone: playback needs no network, no account and no iPhone, and the App Store privacy disclosure reads “Data Not Collected”. According to the developer, transfers media from any computer on the same network through a plain HTTP file server, so no cable, companion app or cloud service is required.
Trade-offs. Apple Watch only, requiring watchOS 10 or later — there is no Mac, iPhone or iPad version, so an owner of any other Apple device has nothing to run. Paid up front at $9.99 with no free tier, and video playback covers only MP4, M4V, MOV and 3GP, so other containers must be converted before they will play. Lyrics need a .lrc file sharing the track’s filename — Starlight.flac alongside Starlight.lrc. On-watch storage is capped by a quota the user chooses between 500 MB, 1 GB and 2 GB.
Not for. Anyone without an Apple Watch — the player has no Mac, iPhone or iPad build. People who rely on a streaming catalogue rather than files they own. Apple Watch owners below watchOS 10.
What it does. Plays ten audio formats: MP3, M4A, AAC, WAV and M4B natively, and FLAC, OGG, Opus, WMA and APE through a built-in decoder. Plays MP4, M4V, MOV and 3GP video full screen on the watch. Scrolls synchronized LRC lyrics when a matching .lrc file sits beside the track. Transfers files from a Mac, PC or Linux machine over local Wi-Fi using a plain HTTP file server.
TickPlay is listed with current version 1.0.9.
Full profile and verified facts for TickPlay →
Tiny Player
Tiny Player is a media app for macOS. As the name suggests, a tiny player. It is free.
Tiny Player is listed with current version 1.7.2.
Full profile and verified facts for Tiny Player →
How to choose
- Free of charge. Potplayer X, Stremio and Tiny Player — no payment is required.
- No licence fee, source available. Jellyfin, Kodi, MyMedia and Playback — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- One-time purchase. TickPlay — you pay once.
- Pricing not published in our data. Omniplayer — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: Jellyfin, Kodi, MyMedia and Playback (4 of 9).
Common mistakes
- Expecting a player to build a library with artwork and episode order.
- Naming files arbitrarily and blaming the metadata matcher.
- Running a media server on the laptop you carry and wondering about the battery.
- Assuming a streaming aggregator is a library. The sources are not yours.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Verified 2026-10-10.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these media center apps?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 9 media center apps: Jellyfin, Kodi, MyMedia, Omniplayer, Playback, Potplayer X, Stremio, TickPlay and Tiny Player. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these media center apps free?
Pricing across this group: open source (Jellyfin, Kodi, MyMedia and Playback), not published (Omniplayer), free (Potplayer X, Stremio and Tiny Player) and one-time purchase (TickPlay). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these media center apps are open source?
Jellyfin (GPL-2.0), Kodi (not published), MyMedia (MIT) and Playback (MIT) are open source.
Do these media center apps support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
Who should not use these apps?
TickPlay each list an audience they are explicitly not aimed at. Those notes come from the same verified records as the rest of this guide, and they are worth reading before you install anything.
When was this data last verified?
The facts in this guide were last confirmed on 2026-10-10. Every app page carries its own verification dates and source list, so you can check any individual claim.
