Amperfy vs Sonus Note - Black Candy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Amperfy
iOS music streaming client for Ampache and Subsonic
VS
Sonus Note - Black Candy
Self-hosted Ruby on Rails music streaming server
| Feature | Amperfy | Sonus Note - Black Candy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Swift | Ruby |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,678 | ★ 4,337 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Spotify, Apple Music | Spotify, Apple Music |
Why pick each one
Choose Sonus Note - Black Candy if…
- Clean modern interface
- Simple to deploy
Frequently asked questions
Is Amperfy or Sonus Note - Black Candy better?
Neither is universally better. Sonus Note - Black Candy has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Amperfy and Sonus Note - Black Candy free and open-source?
Yes. Amperfy is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Sonus Note - Black Candy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Amperfy and Sonus Note - Black Candy with Docker?
Amperfy: check the project docs for container support. Sonus Note - Black Candy: yes.