Feishin vs OwnTone
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
OwnTone
Media server with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify support
| Feature | Feishin | OwnTone |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,986 | ★ 2,560 |
| First released | 2023 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify, Apple Music |
What are Feishin and OwnTone?
Feishin
Feishin is a modern, full-featured music player for Subsonic, Navidrome, and Jellyfin servers. It offers a polished desktop and web interface with synced lyrics, scrobbling, and theming.
- Subsonic and Jellyfin support
- Synced lyrics
- Scrobbling
- Desktop and web clients
OwnTone
OwnTone is a media server that streams music to AirPlay and Chromecast devices, with support for Spotify and internet radio. It serves your local library through DAAP and the Subsonic API.
- AirPlay and Chromecast output
- Spotify integration
- Internet radio
Feishin vs OwnTone: key differences
Feishin is written in TypeScript, while OwnTone is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Feishin versus GPL-2.0 for OwnTone. OwnTone is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Feishin. OwnTone is the more established project (first released 2009), while Feishin arrived in 2023. Feishin has the considerably larger community, at 9,986 GitHub stars versus 2,560.
Why pick each one
Choose Feishin if…
- Beautiful modern UI
- Multi-server support
Watch out for
- Client only
- Requires an existing server
Choose OwnTone if…
- Excellent AirPlay support
- Low footprint
Watch out for
- Web UI is minimal
- Configuration via files
Frequently asked questions
Is Feishin or OwnTone better?
Feishin is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider OwnTone if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Feishin and OwnTone free and open-source?
Yes. Feishin is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OwnTone under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Feishin and OwnTone with Docker?
Feishin: yes. OwnTone: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Feishin or OwnTone?
OwnTone has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Feishin. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.