Bazarr

Automatic subtitle management for Sonarr and Radarr, honestly reviewed. No marketing fluff, just what you get when you run it yourself.

TL;DR

• What it is: Free, GPL-3.0 companion app to Sonarr and Radarr that automatically finds, downloads, and manages subtitles for your entire media library [README][4].
• Who it’s for: People already running a self-hosted arr stack (Sonarr + Radarr + Plex/Jellyfin) who want subtitles handled automatically. This is not a standalone app — it requires Sonarr or Radarr to function [README][4].
• Cost savings: Bazarr itself is free. The alternative is either manually hunting subtitles per episode or paying per-download on premium subtitle services. Neither scales to a library of thousands of titles.
• Key strength: 50+ subtitle providers and 184 languages, with active development and AI-generated subtitles via Whisper integration. It quietly works in the background and you stop thinking about subtitles entirely [README].
• Key weakness: Hard dependency on Sonarr/Radarr. If you don’t already have those running, Bazarr won’t help you. Also not a beginner tool — it assumes familiarity with the arr ecosystem and Docker or Python deployment [README][4].

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What is Bazarr

Bazarr is a subtitle manager that plugs into Sonarr (for TV shows) and Radarr (for movies). Its only job is subtitles: find them, download them, keep them updated, and store them next to the right media file with the right filename so your media player picks them up without configuration.

The project description is disarmingly honest about its scope: “Be aware that Bazarr doesn’t scan disk to detect series and movies: It only takes care of the series and movies that are indexed in Sonarr and Radarr.” [README] It does one thing and it does it well. You tell it which languages you want per show or movie, and it takes care of the rest.

What makes it more than a simple subtitle downloader is the provider network. Bazarr supports over 50 subtitle providers simultaneously — OpenSubtitles.com, Addic7ed, Subscene, Podnapisi, and dozens of regional providers for languages like Polish, Greek, Romanian, Turkish, Hebrew, Chinese, and others [README]. When a new episode of a show downloads, Bazarr searches across all configured providers and grabs the best match automatically. If a better version of a subtitle appears later (fixed sync, corrected translations), it can upgrade automatically too [README].

The project sits at 3,857 GitHub stars and is under active development — the Softpedia changelog shows beta releases arriving every few days, with version 1.5.7 in active beta as of April 2026 [2]. That’s not the velocity of a hobby project someone touches twice a year.

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Why people choose it

The short answer: if you run Sonarr and Radarr, Bazarr is the obvious next install. The arr stack — Sonarr, Radarr, Bazarr, and optionally Prowlarr and a download client — is a well-established pattern in the self-hosting community [3]. Bazarr is the subtitle layer of that stack, and once installed, subtitles become effectively invisible as a problem.

The specific reasons people reach for Bazarr over alternatives:

Scale that manual methods can’t match. A library of 5,000 TV episodes with subtitles managed by hand is not a realistic option. Bazarr handles the entire backfill automatically when you first connect it — scanning for missing subtitles across every indexed title — and then stays current as new content arrives [README][4].

Provider redundancy. No single subtitle provider has everything. OpenSubtitles.com has strong English coverage but gaps for regional languages. Addic7ed specializes in TV shows. Regional providers cover languages underserved by the big platforms. Bazarr queries multiple providers in order of preference and falls back automatically when one fails [README].

Whisper AI as a last resort. When no provider has a subtitle for something, Bazarr can generate one using Whisper ASR. This requires running the separate ahmetoner/whisper-asr-webservice container, but once configured, Bazarr can create subtitles from the audio track itself — useful for obscure content or new releases that haven’t been subtitled yet [README][4].

Subtitle quality control over time. Subtitles that appear immediately after a show airs are often machine-translated, poorly synced, or incomplete. Bazarr’s upgrade feature periodically re-checks providers and replaces a previously downloaded subtitle with a better one if found. You configure the upgrade behavior per language profile [README][4].

Active provider maintenance. The changelog tells a story here. Version 1.5.5 removed OpenSubtitles.org (no longer viable for non-VIP users) and added Subtis.io as a replacement. Version 1.5.6 removed the subdivx provider and added a SubX proxy for Subdivx [4]. The point is that someone is watching which providers stop working and updating the list — a subtitle tool that goes unmaintained becomes worthless quickly as provider APIs change.

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Features

Based on the README and release notes:

Core subtitle management:

• Automatic subtitle search triggered when new media is detected by Sonarr or Radarr [README]
• Manual search to browse all matching subtitles and pick one yourself [README]
• Forced/foreign subtitles support for films that use a foreign language for specific scenes [README]
• Subtitle upgrade: periodic re-search to replace existing subtitles with better versions [README]
• History log of every subtitle downloaded — what was grabbed, from which provider, when [README]
• Delete external subtitles from disk through the UI [README]
• 184 subtitle languages supported [README]

Subtitle post-processing:

• Hearing Impaired (HI) removal — strips annotations like [door slams] or speaker labels [4]
• Emoji removal in subtitle text [4]
• Japanese parentheses handling for HI removal [4]
• Audio delay detection in MKV headers for WhisperAI sync [4]
• Subtitle format conversion [4]

Provider ecosystem (50+ active):

• Major providers: OpenSubtitles.com, Addic7ed, Podnapisi, Subscene, Titlovi, YIFY Subtitles [README]
• Regional providers: Napisy24 (Polish), GreekSubs, Titrari.ro (Romanian), Turkcealtyazi.org (Turkish), Zimuku (Chinese), Yavka.net (Bulgarian), and dozens more [README]
• Anime-specific: Animetosho, AnimeKalesi, AnimeSub.info [README]
• AI provider: Whisper via ahmetoner/whisper-asr-webservice for generated subtitles [README]
• Private trackers: HDBits.org, Karagarga.in, AvistaZ/CinemaZ (with session cookies) [README]

Infrastructure and integrations:

• Sonarr and Radarr integration via API [README][4]
• Plex library refresh after subtitle changes [4]
• Webhook support with hostname validation [4]
• REST API for external integration [merged profile]
• PostgreSQL support (in addition to SQLite) [4]
• Umbrel one-click install available [4]
• ElfHosted managed hosting available [1]

Platform support:

• Docker (linuxserver/bazarr and hotio/bazarr images) [README]
• Linux, Windows, macOS, Raspberry Pi via Python source [README]
• Python 3.13 officially supported as of 1.5.5 [4]

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Pricing: self-hosted math

Bazarr has no paid tier, no cloud version, and no SaaS offering. It is free software under GPL-3.0. The cost question is entirely about infrastructure.

Self-hosted Bazarr:

• Software: $0 [README]
• Server: Bazarr is lightweight and typically runs on the same machine as Sonarr and Radarr. If you’re already running those, Bazarr adds minimal overhead. A Raspberry Pi 4 handles it fine; a $6/mo VPS is sufficient if you want it cloud-hosted.
• Subtitle providers: most are free with rate limits. OpenSubtitles.com has a free tier (100 downloads/day); heavy users may want a VIP account ($3–5/mo range, pricing varies).

ElfHosted managed hosting:

• ElfHosted offers Bazarr as part of their managed arr stack hosting [1]. Their “Ultimate Stream” package runs around $39/month and includes the full arr stack plus Real-Debrid integration. For users who self-described spending “hundreds to thousands of hours” maintaining their own setup, the comparison is stark: one reviewer noted their self-hosted stack cost “$2k server upfront, $250/yr power, $100/yr memberships” — versus ElfHosted at $39/month [1]. That’s roughly $468/yr vs $600/yr+, but with your time eliminated.

The ElfHosted angle is the closest thing to a “SaaS vs self-hosted” comparison for Bazarr specifically. If you want subtitles automated without managing a server, ElfHosted is the path. If you already run a home server, Bazarr is just another container that costs nothing to add [1].

One honest caveat on subtitle providers: some regional providers require accounts, cookies, or paid membership. Bazarr handles the authentication; you supply the credentials. Factor in $0–10/mo for premium subtitle accounts if you need heavy coverage in a specific language.

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Deployment reality check

Bazarr is not the hard part of the arr stack setup — but it’s not the easy part either. It cannot be configured in isolation. Before touching Bazarr, you need:

• Sonarr and/or Radarr running and indexing your library
• API keys from Sonarr and Radarr (found in their settings)
• Network connectivity between Bazarr and those services (straightforward in Docker Compose with a shared network; requires IP address configuration on Umbrel [4])

What the deployment looks like:

• Docker Compose: add the linuxserver/bazarr or hotio/bazarr image to your existing arr stack compose file [README]
• Umbrel: one-click install through the App Store, but you’ll need to enter your device’s IP address and Sonarr/Radarr API keys during setup [4]
• Bare metal (Python source): more involved, but documented in the wiki
• Automatic updates: supported in all deployment methods [README]

What can go sideways:

The provider landscape shifts constantly. Version 1.5.5 removed OpenSubtitles.org entirely after they restricted access to VIP-only [4]. If you’ve been using that provider, your existing configuration silently stops working until you replace it. The changelog is the real documentation here — anyone serious about Bazarr should watch releases.

Private tracker providers (HDBits, Karagarga, AvistaZ/CinemaZ) require credentials that aren’t straightforward to obtain. The README links to specific methods for getting session cookies, which requires some manual work [README].

Whisper AI integration is powerful but adds significant setup complexity — you’re running a separate ASR webservice container, and on modest hardware (Raspberry Pi, entry VPS) the transcription can be slow [README].

The Umbrel setup note is worth calling out explicitly: “During initial set-up, you will need to input your Umbrel device’s IP address to connect to Sonarr and/or Radarr.” [4] If Sonarr or Radarr move to a different port or address, Bazarr needs manual reconfiguration. This catches people off guard.

Realistic time estimate: If you have a working Sonarr/Radarr setup, adding Bazarr via Docker Compose takes 15–30 minutes including initial library scan. Umbrel install is faster — closer to 10 minutes with the UI guiding configuration [4]. The initial library backfill (downloading missing subtitles for your existing library) runs in the background and can take hours for large libraries, but requires no intervention.

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Pros and cons

Pros

• Free and GPL-3.0. No paid tier, no usage limits, no account required for the software itself [README].
• 50+ subtitle providers. The provider coverage is wider than any single alternative. Regional language support is a genuine strength — 184 languages with active provider maintenance [README].
• Continuous provider maintenance. The changelog shows broken providers get removed and new ones added regularly [2][4]. This is not optional — subtitle providers change APIs and shut down constantly.
• Whisper AI fallback. For content with no subtitle available anywhere, AI-generated subtitles from the audio track are a meaningful last resort [README][4].
• Subtitle upgrade system. Set-and-forget improvement: better subtitles get automatically swapped in when found [README].
• Active development. Beta releases every few days, security fixes addressed (CVE-2024-40348 patched in 1.5.5), and regular provider updates [2][4].
• Umbrella platform support. Docker, Umbrel, ElfHosted, Python bare metal — deploy it wherever your arr stack lives [README][4][1].
• Integrates with Plex. Library refresh after subtitle changes means Plex picks up new subtitles without manual rescanning [4].

Cons

• Hard dependency on Sonarr/Radarr. Bazarr has zero standalone functionality. It is not a general subtitle manager — it only works with content indexed in Sonarr or Radarr [README][4]. This is documented but occasionally surprises new users.
• Provider availability is volatile. OpenSubtitles.org disappeared from free users in 1.5.5. Subdivx was removed in 1.5.6. Any provider can break or require account changes without warning [4]. You need to maintain your provider configuration actively, not just set it once.
• Whisper setup is non-trivial. The AI subtitle generation feature requires a separate Docker service, and on modest hardware it’s slow. It’s not plug-and-play [README].
• Private tracker providers require manual credential setup. AvistaZ, Karagarga, and HDBits require specific authentication methods not covered in the main UI — you’re following linked instructions to extract session cookies [README].
• No content acquisition. Bazarr only manages subtitles for content Sonarr/Radarr already know about. It doesn’t help you find or download media [README].
• PostgreSQL support is newer. SQLite is the default. PostgreSQL is available but is a more recent addition and may have rough edges [4].

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Who should use this / who shouldn’t

Use Bazarr if:

• You run Sonarr or Radarr (or both) and your media library doesn’t have complete subtitle coverage.
• You watch content in multiple languages or need subtitles for hearing accessibility.
• You’re tired of manually finding subtitles for new episodes the day they drop.
• You have content in regional languages that mainstream subtitle apps ignore.
• You want AI-generated subtitles for obscure content that no provider covers.

Skip it if:

• You don’t have Sonarr or Radarr. Without those, Bazarr does nothing.
• You’re just starting with self-hosted media and haven’t gotten the basics working yet. Get Sonarr and Radarr stable first.
• You only need English subtitles for a small library and are fine grabbing them manually. The setup overhead isn’t worth it for 50 movies.
• You need subtitles embedded into media files rather than external .srt/.ass files alongside them. Bazarr downloads external subtitle files; it doesn’t remux.

Consider ElfHosted instead if:

• You want the full arr stack including Bazarr without managing servers yourself [1]. Their hosting handles the operational burden for a monthly fee that compares favorably to the time cost of self-management.

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Alternatives worth considering

SubSync — automatic subtitle synchronization tool. Complements Bazarr rather than replacing it: SubSync fixes sync issues in subtitles you already have. Not a replacement for Bazarr’s download and management features.

Plex’s built-in subtitle search — Plex Pass includes OpenSubtitles integration. Covers basic use cases for English content but lacks Bazarr’s provider depth, upgrade system, and language breadth. Good enough for casual users; not good enough for serious subtitle management.

Jellyseerr/Overseerr subtitle plugins — some Jellyfin and Plex plugin ecosystems have subtitle handling, but none match Bazarr’s provider count or automation depth. Bazarr is the purpose-built tool.

Manual download from OpenSubtitles or Subscene — works for small libraries or occasional use. Doesn’t scale and doesn’t handle upgrades.

Whisper alone — if your primary need is content with no existing subtitles (foreign-language films, obscure content), running Whisper standalone generates subtitles from audio. But you lose Bazarr’s provider fallback hierarchy and management UI.

For anyone in the arr ecosystem, the realistic answer is: there’s no meaningful alternative to Bazarr that does what Bazarr does. It occupies a specific niche and fills it well.

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Bottom line

Bazarr is infrastructure, not a product you evaluate on features alone. If you run Sonarr and Radarr, the question isn’t whether to install Bazarr — it’s when. The subtitle problem it solves (50+ providers, 184 languages, automatic upgrades, Whisper fallback) has no credible alternative in the self-hosted space. The tradeoffs are real: you’re depending on external subtitle providers that change and break, the Whisper integration requires extra setup, and private tracker providers need manual credential work. But the core loop — new episode downloads, subtitle appears in the right language within minutes — works reliably once configured.

The honest caveat for non-technical founders: Bazarr is not your entry point. It’s layer three or four of a stack that starts with a media server and indexers. If you’re building that stack from scratch, Bazarr is a natural addition once the foundation is stable. If you want the whole thing without building it yourself, ElfHosted hosts the complete arr stack for a flat monthly fee [1].

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Sources

1. ElfHosted — Hosted Bazarr documentation and user reviews. https://docs.elfhosted.com/app/bazarr/
2. Softpedia — Bazarr Changelog (version history, April 2026). https://www.softpedia.com/progChangelog/Bazarr-Changelog-269343.html
3. Samir Makwana, XDA Developers — “Gluetun is the best way to route your Docker containers through a VPN” (Jul 10, 2025). https://www.xda-developers.com/gluetun-route-docker-through-vpn/
4. Umbrel App Store — Bazarr (version 1.5.6 release notes and setup instructions). https://apps.umbrel.com/app/bazarr

Primary sources:

• GitHub repository and README: https://github.com/morpheus65535/bazarr (3,857 stars, GPL-3.0)
• Official website: https://www.bazarr.media
• Official wiki: https://wiki.bazarr.media