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Emby Server vs Universal Media Server: catalog facts
Emby Server	Universal Media Server
Freemium The server is free to use. Emby Premiere is a paid subscription that unlocks hardware…	Free The open-source software is available without a license fee. Hosting, hardware and…
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted, Android, iOS, Web	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
Client apps on phones, tablets, smart televisions and consoles Live TV and DVR from a tuner card or network tuner	Transcodes on the fly for devices that cannot play a format natively Speaks DLNA, so old TVs and consoles work without an app
Closed source since 2018 Hardware transcoding and offline downloads need a paid subscription	Transcoding is CPU-heavy on modest hardware DLNA browsing is clumsier than a dedicated client app
Self-hosted, Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Closed source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 21, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.