Black Candy vs Funkwhale
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Black Candy | Funkwhale |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Ruby | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,418 | ★ 2,700 |
| First released | None | 2017 |
| Replaces | Spotify, Apple Music | Spotify |
What are Black Candy and Funkwhale?
Black Candy
A self hosted music streaming server. Contribute to blackcandy-org/blackcandy development by creating an account on GitHub.
- Personal music streaming
- Responsive web player
- Multi-user accounts
- PWA support
Funkwhale
Funkwhale is a self-hosted, federated music server for streaming and sharing audio, including support for podcasts and community libraries. It targets musicians and communities wanting a social music platform. It is deployed via Docker.
- ActivityPub federation
- Music and podcast streaming
- Subsonic API compatibility
- Community libraries
Black Candy vs Funkwhale: key differences
Black Candy is written in Ruby, while Funkwhale is built with Python. Licensing differs — MIT for Black Candy versus AGPL-3.0 for Funkwhale. Black Candy is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Funkwhale.
Why pick each one
Choose Black Candy if…
- Clean modern interface
- Simple to deploy
Watch out for
- Music only
- Smaller ecosystem
Choose Funkwhale if…
- Federated and social
- Subsonic client support
- Podcast support
Watch out for
- Heavier setup
- Federation adds complexity
Frequently asked questions
Is Black Candy or Funkwhale better?
Black Candy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Funkwhale if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Black Candy and Funkwhale free and open-source?
Yes. Black Candy is licensed under MIT and Funkwhale under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Black Candy and Funkwhale with Docker?
Black Candy: yes. Funkwhale: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Black Candy or Funkwhale?
Black Candy has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Funkwhale. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.