Ampache vs qBittorrent

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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FeatureAmpacheqBittorrent
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-3.0-or-later
LanguagePHPC++
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB50 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 3,815★ 39,327
First released20012023
ReplacesSpotifyµTorrent

Why pick each one

Choose Ampache if…

  • Long-established project
  • Flexible catalog options
Ampache details

Choose qBittorrent if…

  • Released under the GPL-3.0-or-later license
  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • Mature project with 39.3k GitHub stars
  • Written in C++
qBittorrent details

Frequently asked questions

Is Ampache or qBittorrent better?

qBittorrent is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Ampache if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Ampache and qBittorrent free and open-source?

Yes. Ampache is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and qBittorrent under GPL-3.0-or-later. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Ampache and qBittorrent with Docker?

Ampache: yes. qBittorrent: check the project docs for container support.

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