Silux Media vs Kodi
Watch anywhere, not just at home
Kodi plays files on the device it runs on. Silux Media streams them to phones, laptops and browsers wherever you are.
Built for slow connections
Adaptive AV1/HEVC/H.264 streaming from 0.2 to 2.3 Mbps, picking the best quality your line can carry.
One library, every device
Add films once on your server; every app sees them.
Free self-hosting
Like Kodi, the core is free for personal use.
In fairness to Kodi
Kodi is open source, endlessly customisable with add-ons and skins, and excellent for a dedicated home-theatre PC.
Price
Kodi: Free, open-source media player. It plays files but isn't a streaming server for remote viewing.
Silux Media: Free forever when self-hosted — including remote streaming and the full low-bandwidth engine. Optional Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household, Pro £4.99/mo, Cloud from £14.99/mo.
Feature by feature: Silux Media and Kodi
| Feature | Silux Media | Kodi |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted media server | Free | Player only |
| Stream your own media remotely | Free | |
| Managed remote access — no router setup | Plus £2.99/mo for the whole household | |
| Hardware transcoding | Free | n/a |
| Data per hour at 1080p (same quality)Measured live — see /bandwidth | ≈ 1.0 GB | n/a |
| Built for 1–2 Mbps connections | ||
| Quality adapts every few seconds as your line changesJellyfin/Emby keep one bitrate per transcode session (measured) | n/a | |
| Never exceeds the bandwidth you pickOthers overshot their own caps in our tests | n/a | |
| AV1 + Opus streaming | n/a | |
| Skip Intro and Skip Credits | Free | Add-on |
| Watch together (synced playback)Plex removed Watch Together from its new apps in 2025 | Free, every app | |
| Offline downloads, incl. smaller copies | Free | n/a |
| Live TV and recording from a TV aerial tuner or your TV provider | Free | Add-on |
| DLNA server for TVs and consoles | Free | |
| PIN-protected folders, enforced by the server | Free | Master lock |
| Ads in the app | Never | Never |
| Optional fully managed cloud server | From £14.99/mo | |
| Open source |
Switching from Kodi
Keep Kodi on your TV and use Silux Media to watch the same files when you're out — they work happily together.