Navidrome
Media ServersModern music streaming server for your collection
Replaces Spotify
Best Lightweight Media Servers for self-hosting
The 46 best Lightweight media servers you can self-host, ranked by community traction.
Beets
Media ServersMusic library organizer and metadata management tool
Replaces iTunes
MeTube
Media ServersWeb UI for downloading video from YouTube and many sites
Replaces YouTube Premium
Audiobookshelf
Media ServersSelf-hosted audiobook and podcast server
Replaces Audible
Owncast
Media ServersSelf-hosted live streaming and chat server
Replaces Twitch
Mopidy
Media ServersExtensible music server that plays from many sources
Replaces Spotify
Snapcast
Media ServersSynchronized multi-room audio streaming player
Replaces Sonos
Tautulli
Media ServersMonitoring and analytics for Plex media servers
Replaces Plex
musikcube
Media ServersTerminal-based music player with a built-in streaming server
Replaces Plexamp
Tvheadend
Media ServersTV streaming server and recorder for DVB and IPTV
Replaces TiVo, Cable DVR
Polaris
Media ServersMusic streaming server focused on speed and simplicity
Replaces Spotify
Universal Media Server
Media ServersDLNA-compliant media server for streaming to TVs and consoles
Replaces Plex, Serviio
Gonic
Media ServersLightweight Subsonic-compatible music streaming server
Replaces Spotify, Plex
OwnTone
Media ServersMedia server with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify support
Replaces Spotify, Apple Music
Jellyfin MPV Shim
Media ServersCast Jellyfin media to a desktop MPV player
Replaces Plex Media Player
Supersonic
Media ServersCross-platform desktop client for Subsonic music servers
Replaces Plexamp, Spotify desktop
Broadcast Box
Media ServersSelf-hosted low-latency WebRTC live streaming server
Replaces Twitch, YouTube Live
xTeVe
Media ServersM3U proxy and HDHomeRun emulator for live TV streaming
Replaces Cable TV
Tempo
Media ServersMaterial You Subsonic music client for Android
Replaces Spotify, Plexamp
Recyclarr
Media ServersSync TRaSH guide quality profiles to Sonarr and Radarr
Replaces Notifiarr
Swing Music
Media ServersSelf-hosted music player with a modern interface
Replaces Spotify, Apple Music
Podgrab
Media ServersSelf-hosted podcast manager and downloader
Replaces Pocket Casts
Maloja
Media ServersSelf-hosted music scrobbling and listening statistics server
Replaces Last.fm
Musicn
Media ServersCommand-line tool to download high-quality music
Replaces Spotify
Quod Libet
Media ServersPowerful audio player and music library manager
Replaces iTunes, MusicBee
Threadfin
Media ServersM3U proxy that emulates an HDHomeRun tuner for IPTV
Replaces Cable TV
LMS
Media ServersLightweight music server with Subsonic API support
Replaces Spotify
Fireshare
Media ServersSelf-hosted server for sharing personal video clips
Replaces Streamable, YouTube unlisted
moOde audio player
Media ServersAudiophile-quality music player for Raspberry Pi
Replaces Sonos, Roon
Gerbera
Media ServersUPnP media server for streaming to DLNA devices
Replaces Plex
DMS
Media ServersMinimal UPnP DLNA media server in a single Go binary
Replaces Universal Media Server
Icecast
Media ServersStreaming media server for internet radio broadcasts
Replaces Spotify
myMPD
Media ServersWeb front-end for the MPD music player daemon
Replaces Spotify
ympd
Media ServersStandalone web-based MPD client without dependencies
Replaces Sonos app
Ultrasonic
Media ServersFree Subsonic and Navidrome music streaming client
Replaces Spotify
Stremio Server
Media ServersSelf-hostable streaming server backend for Stremio clients
Replaces Plex
Supysonic
Media ServersLightweight Subsonic-compatible music streaming server
Replaces Spotify
MiniDLNA
Media ServersLightweight DLNA/UPnP media server daemon
Replaces Plex
Rygel
Media ServersGNOME UPnP/DLNA media sharing server
Replaces Plex
Submariner
Media ServersGNOME Subsonic client for streaming self-hosted music
Replaces Spotify desktop
Cantata
Media ServersFeature-rich graphical client for the MPD music server
Replaces iTunes
M3U Stream Merger Proxy
Media ServersProxy that merges multiple IPTV M3U playlists into one
Replaces xTeVe
Snapweb
Media ServersWeb client and player for the Snapcast multi-room audio system
Replaces Sonos
Volumio
Media ServersAudiophile music player OS for self-hosted streaming devices
Replaces Sonos, Roon
tinyMediaManager
Media ServersMetadata manager and organizer for movie and TV libraries
Replaces Plex
Crossonic
Media ServersSelf-hosted music server implementing the Subsonic API
Replaces Spotify, Navidrome
No apps match these filters.
At a glance
| App | Deploy effort | Difficulty | Min. RAM | License | ★ Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Navidrome | ≈5-minute setup | Easy | 128 MB | GPL-3.0 | 24,152 |
| Beets | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | MIT | 15,791 |
| MeTube | ≈5-minute setup | Easy | 256 MB | AGPL-3.0 | 14,993 |
| Audiobookshelf | ≈5-minute setup | Easy | 256 MB | GPL-3.0 | 14,638 |
| Owncast | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 256 MB | MIT | 11,590 |
| Mopidy | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 256 MB | Apache-2.0 | 8,597 |
| Snapcast | Under-an-hour setup | Medium | 64 MB | GPL-3.0 | 7,918 |
| Tautulli | Under-an-hour setup | Easy | 128 MB | GPL-3.0 | 6,611 |
| musikcube | Read-the-docs project | Medium | 64 MB | BSD-3-Clause | 4,854 |
| Tvheadend | Under-an-hour setup | Hard | 256 MB | GPL-3.0 | 3,547 |
Quick picks
- Most adopted: Navidrome (24,152 GitHub stars).
- Lightest footprint: Snapcast (from 64 MB RAM, against 512 MB for the heaviest here).
- Fastest to deploy: Navidrome (verified single-container compose).
- Licensing: 18 of 46 use GPL-3.0; check the rest individually if you plan to modify and redistribute.
Every option here is open-source and self-hostable, tagged Lightweight within the media servers category. Deploy effort is graded from published container recipes, not vendor claims — see the methodology.