A Kodi build is a prepackaged version of Kodi containing skin, repositories, add-ons and predefined settings. A build is easier to install because it requires only a few clicks, and your Kodi is ready to go. However, there are good reasons why not to install those builds.
Builds install many redundant add-ons
After installing a build, it contains many of add-ons you don’t know and will never use. A large number of unneeded add-ons consume a significant part of the storage of your device, especially if you use one with limited storage. Once reaching a state of low storage, you won’t be able to install applications, and it will make your system work more slowly. Another problem is that finding the add-on you want to run is much harder when you have many add-ons.
You don’t control your own Kodi
The build comes with its add-ons, skin, and settings, which determine the functionality and the look of Kodi. This is not necessarily what you want. You may want to use different add-ons or use a different skin. If you use the regular Kodi and not a build, this can be accomplished easily.
Outdated add-ons
Developers stop maintaining add-ons all the time, and new add-ons emerge constantly. The owner of the build can’t follow all those changes. In that case, you are left with obsolete add-ons, which won’t work optimally or won’t work at all. Moreover, this may cause security risks, as hackers use unmaintained add-ons to push malicious updates, and in this way take control of your device.
Owners shut down builds quite often
As in the case of add-ons, the owners of the builds often stop maintaining them, which makes them useless eventually. In that case, you will need to uninstall the build and start from the beginning while losing all your content. When you use regular Kodi, the worst scenario is when no one maintains an add-on. When this happens, you can uninstall only this add-on and use other working add-ons.
You won’t be able to fix issues with your Kodi
If you use builds, you depend on someone else to maintain your Kodi. This person can’t guarantee that everything works as expected and fix it if it doesn’t. Because of this dependency, you are unfamiliar with basic tasks as installing an add-on or changing a skin. Once things stop working, as it often happens in Kodi, you won’t have a clue what to do. If you have control over your Kodi and you know how to maintain and configure it, issues will be much easier to solve.
As you can see, the build is not the ideal solution for the users of Kodi and has many drawbacks. You can easily avoid this by installing the latest version of Kodi with only the add-ons you need and enjoy a robust and flexible Kodi.