Airsonic-Advanced vs LMS
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 | LMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,404 | ★ 1,680 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify |
What are Airsonic-Advanced and LMS?
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
LMS
LMS is a lightweight, self-hosted music streaming server with a focus on performance and a built-in recommendation engine. It exposes the Subsonic API for compatibility with a wide range of clients.
- Subsonic API compatible
- Music recommendations
- Low resource use
- Scrobbling support
Airsonic-Advanced vs LMS: key differences
Airsonic-Advanced is written in JavaScript, while LMS is built with C++. LMS is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Airsonic-Advanced. LMS is the more established project (first released 2014), while Airsonic-Advanced arrived in 2019.
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 LMS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Web UI is functional but plain
Frequently asked questions
Is Airsonic-Advanced or LMS better?
Neither is universally better. LMS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Airsonic-Advanced and LMS free and open-source?
Yes. Airsonic-Advanced is licensed under GPL-3.0 and LMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Airsonic-Advanced and LMS with Docker?
Airsonic-Advanced: yes. LMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Airsonic-Advanced or LMS?
LMS 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.