Berth vs Jellyfin for audiobooks
Updated October 27, 2026
Jellyfin is a free, open-source media server for films, series and music, and it can serve audiobooks to third-party players. Berth is also open source but does one thing: audiobooks for a family, with its own app.
Short answer
- Keep Jellyfin if it is your media server already and you are happy with a third-party audiobook player.
- Choose Berth if you want an audiobook-first app, storage in S3 or Cloudflare R2, and family members connected by a QR code.
Side by side
| Berth | Jellyfin | |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Audiobooks | General media server |
| Library source | Database; books uploaded via the web admin | Scans media folders |
| Where files live | Local disk or any S3-compatible storage | Local or mounted file system |
| Audio delivery | From storage or a CDN via signed links, or via the server | Through the server |
| Listener sign-in | QR code, no password | Username and password or Quick Connect |
| Mobile apps | Own Android and iOS app (not in stores yet) | Third-party audiobook players |
| Server license | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
Based on public documentation and issue trackers as of October 2026. Berth reached its first server release in October 2026 and its app is not in the stores yet.
Storage beyond the local disk
Jellyfin reads media from the server's file system. Berth can also keep books in S3-compatible storage and let phones download straight from the bucket or a CDN over signed links that last 15 minutes. That suits a small VPS with little disk space. See S3 storage and Cloudflare R2.
What Jellyfin does that Berth does not
- Films, series, music and live TV.
- Clients for TVs and many platforms, and a large community.
Questions
Can Berth and Jellyfin share the same audiobook folder?
Not directly. Berth does not scan folders: you upload books once in its web admin and it stores them in its own storage. Your original folder stays untouched for Jellyfin.
Can I move my library to Berth automatically?
Not yet. Books are added by uploading them in the web admin: drag a folder or files and Berth reads tags, chapters and covers. An Audiobookshelf importer is on the roadmap for after the first version.