Kodi is the ultimate media center software for your living room. Kodi is available for all popular operating systems like Android, Windows and Linux. When using Kodi in your living room you may want to use the software on a dedicated piece of hardware or box. If that’s the case check out our ultimate guide down below which lists the Top 5 Kodi devices and boxes including streaming boxes, detailed specifications and recommendations for any budget.
Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen)
CPU: 2.2 GHz quad-core + 2.0 GHz quad-core | Storage: 16 GB | RAM: 2 GB | OS: Fire OS (Android) | 4K: Yes | Network: Ethernet + WiFi
The Fire TV Cube of the third generation (also called Fire TV Cube 2022) is the fastest Fire TV media player ever. It is twice as powerful as the Fire TV Stick 4K. . The main CPU has eight cores overall – four cores with a clock rate of 2.2 GHz plus four separate ones clocking at 2.0 GHz.
The Cube, which has the size of a small speaker, has 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB internal flash storage for apps and files. The Fire TV Cube of the 3rd generation also supports Wi-Fi 6E. The device is shipped with all accessories you need: A remote control including batteries, the power adapter, an infrared receiver and even an USB ethernet adapter for a network cable connection.
Some highlights are 4K video and Dolby Vision plus Dolby Atmos support. With the integrated microphone you can control the Cube without the remote control. Fire OS is based on Android and supports all common streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+, DAZN and more. With a couple of setting changes you can also sideload Android apps with APK files.
The Fire TV Cube is without a doubt one of the best Kodi devices. In fact according to several benchmarks the Kodi performance is even better than on the Nvidia Shield TV which costs twice as much.
- Our fastest-ever streaming media player - Brings lightning-fast app starts with an octa-core processor and is 2X as powerful as Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
- Hands-free Alexa with built-in mic and speakers - Control your compatible TV, soundbar, and receivers with your voice, even from across the room.
- Seamlessly navigate between your entertainment - Connect compatible devices and easily go from streaming to your cable box, game console, or webcam.
- Smoother streaming with the latest in wifi tech - The first-ever streaming media player that features Wi-Fi 6E support.
- Picture quality that puts on a show - Feel every scene with true-to-life, cinematic 4K and support for Dolby Vision, HDR, and Dolby Atmos audio.
Nvidia Shield TV (2019)
CPU: 1.9 GHz quad-core | Storage: 16 GB (Tube 8 GB) | RAM: 3 GB | OS: Android TV | 4K: Yes | Network: Ethernet + WiFi
To this day the Nvidia Shield TV is the fastest and best performing Android box on the market. This of course means that the box is also one of the best Kodi devices.
The focus of the Nvidia Shield TV is on entertainment and gaming. Besides Kodi all popular streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and DAZN are supported. If you are using a Nvidia graphics card in your computer you can also stream games from your PC to the Shield TV. Sideloading apps is also possible and recommended when you want to use apps which are not available through the official store.
The Shield TV is using a quad-core Tegra X1+ processor with clock speeds up to 1.9 GHz. Memory-wise the device is equipped with 3 GB of RAM and 16 GB flash storage. It’s supporting 4K streaming, DTS-X surround sound, Dolby Atmos and AI upscaling for better video quality.
The entertainment device is available in two different versions: The standard edition comes in a tube form (comparable to a Fire TV Stick) while the “pro” version has the classic box design. The hardware specifications are almost identical, however some details are different: The Nvidia Shield TV tube has 8 GB of flash memory and the USB ports are replaced by a Micro-SD-card-reader.
Both devices are shipped with a high-quality remote control. Of course you can also navigate through Android TV with the voice control feature. If you are streaming and playing a lot of games you might want to check out the controller which Nvidia is offering separately.
All in all the Nvidia Shield TV is not only one of the best Kodi devices, but possibly the best at all. With that TV box you get top notch quality from the high-end segment of the market.
- The Best of the Best. The world’s most powerful Android TV streaming media player upgraded to Android TV version 11. Enhance HD video in real-time to 4K for clearer, crisper visuals using next-generation AI upscaling. 2x USB 3.0 ports for storage expansion, USB cameras, keyboards, controllers, and more. Plex Media Server built-in, 3 GB RAM, and 16 GB storage.Connectivity Technology : Bluetooth 5.0
- Dolby Vision - Atmos. Bring your home theater to life with Dolby Vision HDR, and surround sound with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus—delivering ultra-vivid picture quality and immersive audio
- 4K HDR Content. Get the most 4K content of any streaming media player. Watch Netflix, Amazon Video, Apple TV+, Disney+ and Google Play Movies & TV in crisp 4K HDR, and YouTube, Hulu, and more in 4K. Stream from your phone with built-in Chromecast 4K.
- GeForce NOW Cloud Gaming. GeForce NOW instantly transforms SHIELD TV into a powerful PC gaming rig. Play over 1000+ titles and nearly 100 of the biggest free to play games. The new GeForce NOW RTX 3080 membership unlocks GeForce RTX 3080 gaming servers in 4K HDR, the shortest wait times and longest session lengths, with RTX ON including ray tracing and DLSS graphics for supported games.
- Voice Control. The built-in Google Assistant is at your command. See photos, live camera feeds, weather, sports scores, and more on the big screen. Dim the lights and immerse yourself in your favorite show or music using only your voice. And control your SHIELD hands-free with Google Home or Alexa and Amazon Echo. Format/Container support: Xvid/ DivX/ASF/AVI/MKV/MOV/M2TS/MPEG-TS/MP4/WEB-M
- Fast. Really Fast. SHIELD TV takes media streaming to a whole new level, powered by the NVIDIA Tegra X1+ processor, SHIELD TV is the world’s most powerful Android TV streaming media player and has been upgraded to Android TV version 11
- Dolby Vision - Atmos. Bring your home theater to life with Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos surround sound—delivering ultra-vivid picture quality and immersive audio. Enhance HD video in real-time to 4K for clearer, crisper visuals using next-generation AI upscaling
- 4K HDR Content. Get the most 4K HDR content of any streaming media player. Watch Netflix, Amazon Video, Apple TV+, Disney+ and Google Play Movies & TV in crisp 4K HDR, and YouTube, Hulu, and more in 4K. Stream from your phone with built-in Chromecast 4K.
- GeForce NOW Cloud Gaming. GeForce NOW instantly transforms SHIELD TV into a powerful PC gaming rig. Play over 1000+ titles and nearly 100 of the biggest free to play games. The new GeForce NOW RTX 3080 membership unlocks GeForce RTX 3080 gaming servers in 4K HDR, the shortest wait times and longest session lengths, with RTX ON including ray tracing and DLSS graphics for supported games.
- Voice Control. The built-in Google Assistant is at your command. See photos, live camera feeds, weather, sports scores, and more on the big screen. Dim the lights and immerse yourself in your favorite show or music using your voice. And control your SHIELD hands-free with Google Home or Alexa and Amazon Echo. 802.11ac 2x2 MIMO 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi
- The official controller for SHIELD portable and SHIELD Tablet. Support for GeForce-equipped PCs coming soon.
- Redesigned from the ground up for precision gaming
- Dual vibration feedback
- Stereo headphone jack for private audio
Fire TV Stick 4K Max
CPU: 2 GHz quad-core | Storage: 16 GB | RAM: 2 GB | OS: Fire OS (Android) | 4K: Yes | Network: WiFi
The most popular hardware for Kodi is without question the Amazon Fire TV Stick. This little streaming wonder is only the size of a USB stick and disappears behind your TV. Once Kodi is installed, the world of streaming is at your feet. Of course, the stick is also ideal for those who have subscribed to streaming services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix and Disney+.
The Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is the fastest streaming stick on the market. Video content in 4K/Ultra HD resolution including HDR is played back absolutely smoothly and judder-free. The performance is made possible by a more powerful processor and more RAM. The modern quad-core CPU clocks at up to 2 GHz. The stick has 2 GB RAM and 16 GB memory. The latest Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 6E is also supported.
Kodi and all common streaming apps run noticeably smoother and more stable than on a conventional Fire TV Stick.
Amazon also offers a Fire TV Stick 4K without the Max add-on. It only has 8 GB of memory and only supports the slower Wi-Fi 6.
- Our most powerful streaming stick - Elevate your entertainment experience with a powerful processor for lightning-fast app starts and fluid navigation.
- Lifelike picture and sound - Enjoy the show in 4K Ultra HD, with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio.
- Wi-Fi 6E support - Enjoy smoother 4K streaming, even when other devices are connected to your router.
- Turn your living space into an art gallery - The first-ever streaming stick with Fire TV Ambient Experience lets you display over 2,000 pieces of museum-quality art and photography.
- Do more with your smart home - Control compatible devices like cameras, lights, and more with your remote. Press and ask Alexa to check the weather or dim the lights.
- Advanced 4K streaming - Elevate your entertainment with the next generation of our best-selling 4K stick, with improved streaming performance.
- Wi-Fi 6 support - Enjoy smooth 4K streaming, even when other devices are connected to your router.
- Cinematic experience - Watch in vibrant 4K Ultra HD with support for Dolby Vision, HDR10+, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio.
- Endless entertainment - Stream more than 1.5 million movies and TV episodes. Watch favorites from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, and more. Subscription fees may apply.
- Stream for free - Access over 300,000 free movies and TV episodes from popular ad-supported streaming apps like Fire TV Channels, Amazon Freevee, Tubi, and Pluto TV.
Raspberry Pi 5
CPU: 2.4 GHz quad-core | Storage: optional micro SD card | RAM: up to 8 GB | OS: none pre-installed | 4K: Yes | Network: Ethernet + WiFi
The Raspberry Pi is the world’s most popular single-board computer with endless use cases. The newest version, the Raspberry Pi 5, is equipped with substantial better hardware components and faster than ever before.
With a 2.4 GHz quad-core CPU and up to 8 GB of RAM the mini PC is able to output and play 4K videos at 60 Hz. This makes the Raspberry Pi 5 one of the best Kodi devices when dealing with a limited budget or space in your living room. On top of that you get fast USB 3 ports, a gigabit network port, Bluetooth 5.0 and dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi.
Before using the Raspberry Pi as a media center you have to install a specific operating system like LibreELEC (external link) which is based on Linux and contains nothing but Kodi. The device will boot right into your media center so you don’t have to hassle around with updates, driver errors and other troubles.
On Amazon you can find several accessories like custom cases, SD cards, additional cables, heatsinks and more. We recommend buying a kit with all the necessary equipment so that you are ready to enter the world of streaming straight away.
- Broadcom BCM2712 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache
- VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output with HDR Support
- 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
- LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM (4GB and 8GB SKUs available at launch)
- Broadcom BCM2712 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU, with cryptography extensions, 512KB per-core L2 caches and a 2MB shared L3 cache
- VideoCore VII GPU, supporting OpenGL ES 3.1, Vulkan 1.2
- Dual 4Kp60 HDMI display output with HDR support, 4Kp60 HEVC decoder
- LPDDR4X-4267 SDRAM, Dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0 / Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
- MicroSD card slot, with support for high-speed SDR104 mode, Gigabit Ethernet, with PoE+ support (requires separate PoE+ HAT)
Formuler Z11 Pro Max Android TV Box
CPU: 1.4 GHz quad-core | Storage: 32 GB | RAM: 4 GB | OS: Android 11 | 4K: Yes | Network: Ethernet + WiFi
Android TV boxes are still a thing on the market for streaming devices. These boxes usually come with strong hardware components and a cheap price tag. The Formuler Z11 Pro Max is one of the more popular devices for Kodi and video streaming in general.
The black box with the modern design is equipped with the set-top box dedicated CPU “Realtek RTD1319C” which has four high performing cores clocking at 1.4 GHz. The Formuler Z11 Pro Max has 4 GB of RAM and a storage capacity of 32 GB.
The device supports 4K video output up to 60 frames per second with HDR10+ and all modern and common video codecs like AV1, H.265 HEVC, H.264 and many more. The box is shipped with an up-to-date Android 11 operating system. The Pro Max model has integrated AX 2×2 WiFi, Bluetooth 5, 2 USB ports, a gigabit Ethernet port, an micro SD card slot plus an IR extension on top.
Many Android TV boxes can be a pain to deal with. However the Formuler Z11 Pro Max is without a question one of the best Kodi devices and boxes when you don’t want to rely on first-party hardware.
- Formuler Z11 Pro Max Android 11
- 4GB RAM 32GB ROM 4K
- Dual Band 2x2 Dual Antenna 6th Generation AX wireless
- Gigabite LAN 1000M
Why to Choose One of the Best Kodi Devices and Boxes
Using the open source and free media center Kodi on your computer or phone is fun. With Kodi addons you have access to an unlimitied amount of streamable video content.
However movies, TV shows, live TV and other videos are more enjoyable on large and big screen TVs in your living room with appropriate visual and audio quality. We recommend using a dedicated device for Kodi, e.g. a streaming box or mini computer.
Nowadays small living room and entertainment devices are affordable and come with enough hardware power to output 4K video content, multi-channel audio and special effects. Your Kodi experience will benefit greatly when using one of the best Kodi devices from our list.