Alternatives to Koel

A self-hosted personal music streaming server with a web interface and mobile apps. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.

Replacements

Listings that take over the same core job as Koel.

  • Navidrome

    A tiny music server for your own collection that works with dozens of existing phone apps.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hostedWeb

    Navidrome is fully free under GPL-3.0 and relies on existing Subsonic phone apps instead of official mobile apps, running as a single small binary.

  • Ampache

    A self-hosted web application for managing and streaming a music and video collection.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Ampache is a free AGPL-3.0 web application that also handles video and supports external client apps, with no paid edition.

  • Funkwhale

    A self-hosted, federated platform for storing, streaming and sharing music and podcasts.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Funkwhale is free and adds federation, library sharing and Subsonic client support, with more administration than a personal server.

  • gonic

    A lightweight self-hosted music streaming server that implements the Subsonic API.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    Gonic is a free lightweight Subsonic server with scrobbling and podcasts, but has no bundled player, so a Subsonic client app is needed.

  • mStream

    A self-hosted music streaming server for playing your own collection from anywhere, with web and mobile players.

    FreeOpen sourceAndroidWebSelf-hosted

    mStream is free with web and Android players, remote access without port forwarding and uncompressed lossless streaming, and runs on a Raspberry Pi.

  • Swing Music

    A self-hosted music player and streaming server for your own local audio files, used through a web interface.

    FreeProprietaryLinuxWebSelf-hosted

    Swing Music offers a streaming-service style web player with Docker and AppImage packaging, has no mobile apps listed, and license terms are not stated.

  • Polaris

    A self-hosted music streaming server with a web client for listening from any computer or phone.

    FreeOpen sourceWebSelf-hosted

    Polaris is a free Rust music server with a web client and API and no paid tier, without Koel's official mobile apps.

  • Jellyfin

    A free media server for your own films, shows and music, with no premium tier and no account.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinuxSelf-hostedWeb

    Jellyfin is a free GPL-2.0 server covering music along with films, shows and live TV, heavier than a music-only server.

Also worth comparing

These listings name Koel as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.

  • Plexamp

    A music player from Plex for listening to and exploring the music library on a Plex server.

    FreemiumProprietaryWindowsmacOSLinuxAndroidiOS

    Koel replaces both the Plex server and player with an open-source self-hosted streaming server, web interface and mobile apps, though some features need the paid Koel Plus edition.

  • Supysonic

    A Python server implementing the Subsonic API for streaming your own music collection.

    FreeOpen sourceSelf-hosted

    Koel is a freemium music server with its own web interface and iOS and Android apps, but some features are reserved for the paid Koel Plus edition.

Similar software

Related functionality, not a direct replacement.