Airsonic-Advanced vs Gonic
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 | Gonic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,404 | ★ 2,555 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify, Plex |
What are Airsonic-Advanced and Gonic?
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
Gonic
Gonic is a fast, lightweight music streaming server compatible with the Subsonic API. Written in Go, it works well on low-power hardware and supports podcasts and multiple music folders.
- Subsonic API compatible
- Very low resource use
- Podcast support
- Multiple music folders
Airsonic-Advanced vs Gonic: key differences
Airsonic-Advanced is written in JavaScript, while Gonic is built with Go. Gonic is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Airsonic-Advanced.
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 Gonic if…
- Runs on Raspberry Pi easily
- Works with many Subsonic clients
Watch out for
- No built-in web player polish
- Minimal admin UI
Frequently asked questions
Is Airsonic-Advanced or Gonic better?
Gonic 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 Gonic free and open-source?
Yes. Airsonic-Advanced is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Gonic under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Airsonic-Advanced and Gonic with Docker?
Airsonic-Advanced: yes. Gonic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Airsonic-Advanced or Gonic?
Gonic has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Airsonic-Advanced. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.