OwnTone
An open source audio media server that streams your music library to AirPlay, Chromecast and DAAP clients.
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About OwnTone
OwnTone is an audio media server for Linux, FreeBSD and macOS, formerly called forked-daapd. It shares a local music, podcast and audiobook library with iTunes and Roku, and streams to AirPlay devices, with synchronized multiroom playback, and to Chromecast. It can also play locally through ALSA or PulseAudio.
You control it from its mobile-friendly web interface, Apple Remote and compatible apps, MPD clients or a JSON API. It supports internet radio and can play a Spotify library with a Premium account.
Strengths
- Synchronized multiroom playback on AirPlay speakers
- Works with Chromecast, DAAP, Roku and MPD clients
- Built-in web interface and JSON API
- Internet radio and Spotify playback
Limitations
- Audio only; no video streaming
- Spotify playback requires a Premium account
- Runs on Linux, FreeBSD or macOS; no Windows server
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- The OwnTone contributors
- Platforms
- macOS, Linux, Web, Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Self-hosted
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Home setups that want to stream a music library to AirPlay or Chromecast speakers in several rooms
- Categories
- Audio tools, Media servers
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to OwnTone
Compare allSoftware that can replace OwnTone for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Music Assistant
Bring music libraries, streaming sources and players into a shared music server.
Music Assistant is an Apache-2.0 music server that unifies local libraries and streaming providers and controls playback across compatible players, rather than centring on AirPlay and DAAP.
Lyrion Music Server
An open-source music server, formerly Logitech Media Server, that streams to Squeezebox and compatible players.
Lyrion Music Server streams local files, internet radio and streaming services to Squeezebox and compatible players instead of AirPlay speakers, with a plugin system and JSON/RPC interface.
Mopidy
An extensible Python music server that plays local files, Internet radio and streaming services.
Mopidy is an extensible Python music server that works with MPD and web clients and adds sources through extensions, without OwnTone's built-in AirPlay multiroom output.
Music Player Daemon
Run a music playback server controlled through separate clients.
Music Player Daemon is a plain playback server controlled through separate clients, so moving to it means configuring audio outputs yourself without OwnTone's AirPlay and Chromecast streaming.
Roon
Organize a music collection and send playback to supported network audio devices.
Roon is a paid, closed-source music system for Windows, macOS and Linux that combines library metadata with streaming services and sends playback to supported network audio devices.
OwnTone as an alternative
Listings that name OwnTone as an alternative.
spotifyd
An open-source Spotify client that runs as a lightweight UNIX daemon on headless machines.
OwnTone is an open-source audio server that plays a music library and Spotify to AirPlay and Chromecast speakers, though Spotify playback requires a Premium account.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Shairport Sync
An AirPlay and AirPlay 2 audio receiver that turns a Linux machine into a network speaker.
Snapcast
A multiroom client-server audio player that keeps every client time-synchronized with the server.
Navidrome
A tiny music server for your own collection that works with dozens of existing phone apps.
myMPD
A standalone, mobile-friendly web client for controlling a Music Player Daemon server.
