Prowlarr vs Radarr: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to Netflix. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| Prowlarr | Radarr | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Automation | Media Automation |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| GitHub stars | ~6.3k | ~14.2k |
| Tech stack | C#, .NET, SQLite | C#, .NET, SQLite |
| Replaces | Netflix | Netflix |
Radarr has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
Prowlarr
Central indexer manager for Radarr, Sonarr and friends.
Pros
- Avoids configuring each indexer app by app
- From the same team as Radarr/Sonarr, same integration quality
Things to consider
- Only makes sense if you already use Radarr/Sonarr/Lidarr — not a standalone app
Radarr
Automatic movie management for your media server.
Pros
- The de facto standard for automating a movie library
- Huge community, tons of guides available
Things to consider
- You need to set up indexers and a download client separately (or use Prowlarr)
Key features
Prowlarr
- Syncs indexers across all your *arr apps at once
- Supports public and private trackers
- Usage stats per indexer
Radarr
- Automatic search and download of new movies
- File renaming and organization
- Integrates with Jellyfin, Plex and Prowlarr
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