Airsonic-Advanced vs Finamp
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Airsonic-Advanced | Finamp |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 74 · Good |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Dart |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,404 | ★ 4,279 |
| First released | 2019 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Plexamp, Spotify |
What are Airsonic-Advanced and Finamp?
Airsonic-Advanced
Airsonic-Advanced is a community-maintained fork of Airsonic providing music streaming with Subsonic API compatibility. It targets users wanting a stable Java-based music server. It is deployed via Docker or a JAR file.
- Subsonic API compatible
- Multi-user music streaming
- Podcast support
- Transcoding
Finamp
Finamp is a free and open-source music client for Jellyfin built with Flutter for Android and iOS. It allows downloading albums and playlists for offline listening and supports gapless playback and transcoding.
- Offline music downloads
- Gapless playback
- Transcoded streaming
- Cross-platform mobile
Airsonic-Advanced vs Finamp: key differences
Airsonic-Advanced is written in JavaScript, while Finamp is built with Dart. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Airsonic-Advanced versus MPL-2.0 for Finamp. Finamp is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Airsonic-Advanced. Airsonic-Advanced is the more established project (first released 2019), while Finamp arrived in 2021. Finamp has the considerably larger community, at 4,279 GitHub stars versus 1,404. Airsonic-Advanced lists first-class Docker deployment; Finamp does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Airsonic-Advanced if…
- Works with many clients
- Mature feature set
- Multi-user
Watch out for
- Heavier Java runtime
- Slower development pace
Choose Finamp if…
- Reliable offline mode
- Active community
Watch out for
- Mobile only
- Requires Jellyfin server
Frequently asked questions
Is Airsonic-Advanced or Finamp better?
Finamp is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Airsonic-Advanced if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Airsonic-Advanced and Finamp free and open-source?
Yes. Airsonic-Advanced is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Finamp under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Airsonic-Advanced and Finamp with Docker?
Airsonic-Advanced: yes. Finamp: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Airsonic-Advanced or Finamp?
Finamp has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Airsonic-Advanced. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.