Alternatives to Spotify
3 self-hosted alternatives — 2 easy, 1 hard
Why people look for alternatives
- Low artist payouts raise ethical concerns
- Podcast push clutters the music experience
- Offline mode requires premium
- You don't own your library
| App | Difficulty | Min RAM | Docker | Mobile | Active | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audiobookshelf Self-hosted audiobook and podcast server with progress tracking and mobile apps. | easy | 0.5 GB | iOS & Android | Yes | ||
| Funkwhale Social music platform with federation support via ActivityPub. | hard | 1 GB | — | Yes | ||
| Navidrome Lightweight music server compatible with Subsonic clients. | easy | 0.25 GB | — | — | Yes |
Audiobookshelf
Self-hosted audiobook and podcast server with progress tracking and mobile apps.
Pros
- + Excellent mobile apps
- + Progress syncing across devices
- + Podcast support built in
- + Clean modern interface
Cons
- - Audiobook metadata sources limited
- - Library organization can be picky about folder structure
- - Single developer project
- - No Chromecast support yet
Funkwhale
Social music platform with federation support via ActivityPub.
Pros
- + Federated via ActivityPub
- + Social features
- + Podcast support
- + Subsonic API compatible
Cons
- - Complex setup
- - Smaller community
- - Can be resource intensive
- - Development pace has slowed
Navidrome
Lightweight music server compatible with Subsonic clients.
Pros
- + Very lightweight
- + Subsonic API compatible
- + Web UI included
- + Fast library scanning
Cons
- - Music only - no video
- - Limited smart playlists
- - No lyrics support built in