Alternatives to Snapcast
A multiroom client-server audio player that keeps every client time-synchronized with the server. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Snapcast
A multiroom client-server audio player that keeps every client time-synchronized with the server.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Snapcast.
OwnTone
An open source audio media server that streams your music library to AirPlay, Chromecast and DAAP clients.
OwnTone is open source and offers synchronized multiroom playback on AirPlay speakers plus Chromecast, with a built-in web interface, instead of running Snapcast clients on each device.
Lyrion Music Server
An open-source music server, formerly Logitech Media Server, that streams to Squeezebox and compatible players.
Lyrion Music Server handles multi-room audio through Squeezebox and compatible players, adding internet radio, streaming services and plugins, but it is built around that player ecosystem.
piCorePlayer
A minimal Raspberry Pi audio system that works as a Squeezelite player, music server or both.
piCorePlayer gives synced multi-room playback on Raspberry Pi boards as a Squeezelite player or server, but it runs only on Raspberry Pi hardware.
Music Assistant
Bring music libraries, streaming sources and players into a shared music server.
Music Assistant is open-source Apache-2.0 software that unifies music providers and controls playback across compatible players, rather than running your own synchronised clients.
Roon
Organize a music collection and send playback to supported network audio devices.
Roon sends playback to supported network audio devices with rich library metadata, but it requires a paid licence, is closed source and runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Snapcast as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Airfoil
A Mac app that streams audio from any application to AirPlay, Chromecast, Sonos and Bluetooth speakers.
Snapcast moves you to a free, self-hosted multiroom setup on Linux with time-synchronized clients, but requires configuring a server and a client per device.
Shairport Sync
An AirPlay and AirPlay 2 audio receiver that turns a Linux machine into a network speaker.
Snapcast replaces AirPlay reception with its own client-server system that keeps clients in sync across rooms, requiring a server and a client on each playback device.
Volumio
A music player operating system that turns a Raspberry Pi or PC into a network audio streamer.
Snapcast builds synchronized multiroom audio from your own hardware, but needs a server plus a client on each playback device and is more technical to set up.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Mopidy
An extensible Python music server that plays local files, Internet radio and streaming services.
Music Player Daemon
Run a music playback server controlled through separate clients.
moOde audio player
An open-source audiophile music player and streamer operating system for Raspberry Pi computers.
myMPD
A standalone, mobile-friendly web client for controlling a Music Player Daemon server.
Navidrome
A tiny music server for your own collection that works with dozens of existing phone apps.
