Airsonic vs Airsonic-Advanced
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Airsonic
Archived
Free, web-based media streamer derived from Subsonic
VS
Airsonic-Advanced
Community-driven music streaming server
| Feature | Airsonic | Airsonic-Advanced |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,045 | ★ 1,404 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify |
What are Airsonic and Airsonic-Advanced?
Airsonic
Airsonic is a free, web-based media streamer providing access to your music collection from anywhere. It is the community fork of Subsonic and supports the Subsonic API for use with many client apps.
- Subsonic API support
- Multi-user with roles
- On-the-fly transcoding
- Podcast support
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
Airsonic vs Airsonic-Advanced: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Airsonic's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Airsonic-Advanced is actively maintained. Airsonic is written in Java, while Airsonic-Advanced is built with JavaScript. Airsonic is the more established project (first released 2017), while Airsonic-Advanced arrived in 2019.
Why pick each one
Choose Airsonic if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Watch out for
- Original repo less active
- Java memory usage
Choose Airsonic-Advanced if…
- Works with many clients
- Mature feature set
- Multi-user
Watch out for
- Heavier Java runtime
- Slower development pace
Frequently asked questions
Is Airsonic or Airsonic-Advanced better?
Neither is universally better. Airsonic has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Airsonic and Airsonic-Advanced free and open-source?
Yes. Airsonic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Airsonic-Advanced under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Airsonic and Airsonic-Advanced with Docker?
Airsonic: yes. Airsonic-Advanced: yes.