Kodi has been in the market for long and is perhaps one of the best things that happened to the free media streaming market. Stremio is a relatively new media streaming app but has been quick to gain popularity. It has proven to be a worthy alternative to Kodi.
Kodi vs Stremio
As obvious, the question arises whether Stremio is better than Kodi or the latter still holds its position in the market.
Which is better?
The answer to this question isn’t a simple one. Stremio is light, fast, and much more advanced technology than Kodi. However, despite being in the market for at least 2 years, it hasn’t been able to diminish Kodi’s appeal.
In this article, we will compare Kodi and Stremio to help you make a choice.
Are Kodi and Stremio legal?
Kodi is a media player and as a standalone media player, it is definitely legal. You can install builds on it and add add-ons to it. What you stream through those builds and add-ons could be copyright content. Streaming such content could be legal or illegal depending on the country you live in and the law there.
Stremio is a media player too, however, unlike Kodi, most of the content is not downloaded to your system. You pick it up from the server. Stremio is not illegal as a media player, but playing copyright content could be. Since you are streaming the content directly from the server, it is advised to be careful.
Various governments have been cracking down on builds and add-ons for Kodi thus making them unusable. The same isn’t true for Stremio, however, that doesn’t mean streaming every kind of content on Stremio is legal.
- Easy of use
- Add-ons
- Buffering of media
- Security
The differences between Kodi and Stremio are as follows:
1] Easy of use
Kodi is an excellent media player and so is Stremio. The real difference is while streaming content from add-ons. Kodi is highly dependent on third-party developers for developing its add-ons. You need to install the add-ons on Kodi to use them. Even more, many agencies are cracking down on add-ons, so it’s possible that you might install an add-on and it fails to work.
On the other hand, Stremio fetches content from servers directly. It’s all there on the app. You simply need to search for the add-on and stream the content.
Stremio is much easier to use than Kodi.
2] Stability of Add-ons
If I had to use a media player, Windows Media Player is good enough. I would rarely consider an option like Stremio or Kodi to use as my primary media player. The real magic of both of these products lies with the add-ons.
As mentioned earlier, agencies are cracking down on add-ons for Kodi. They are shutting down the add-ons for copyright violations. While all add-ons do not breach the terms, many have been under the scanner. Furthermore, you actually need to download and install the add-ons on Kodi which is a cumbersome process. Since the repositories are downloaded to the system, they occupy space. The plus point is that Kodi has a lot of add-ons to offer. Since they are developed by third-party developers, there is no limit to the number of add-ons that can be created for the media player.
On the other hand, the add-ons for Stremio are pretty stable. You do not need to install them and no agency can ban them. However, Stremio would still have more to offer.
The con with Stremio is that the add-ons are few. You wouldn’t have much of a choice. Rather, Stremio is good enough for those seeking online entertainment only.
3] Buffering of media
A crucial difference between Kodi and Stremio is that Kodi is heavy and Stremio is light. While it depends on the internet connection, you would rarely find Stremio buffering videos. This isn’t true with Kodi. Depending on the add-on and build used, videos usually buffer a little. Rather add-ons and builds for Kodi are rated on the basis of buffering of media after installing them. The less the buffering, the better the add-on/build.
Stremio is a clear winner when it comes to dealing with buffering.
4] Security
Stremio is fairly secure considering it allows users to stream content from verified add-ons. You do not download anything to your system.
The same is not true for Kodi. We download the add-ons and builds for Kodi in form of .zip files. You never what is present inside the extracted folder. The possibility of malware cannot be ignored. It is recommended to read reviews of add-ons prior to installing them.
Conclusion
While Stremio and Kodi are apparently similar applications, the differences are notable. Stremio is a light application that picks up content directly from the server. It’s fast and safe. On the other hand, Kodi is a pretty versatile application that has much more to offer. However, it is heavy, and installing add-ons is cumbersome.
Which one would you prefer? Let us know in the comments.
