Finamp vs Koel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Koel
Personal music streaming server with an elegant interface
| Feature | Finamp | Koel |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Dart | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,279 | ★ 17,262 |
| First released | 2021 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Plexamp, Spotify | Spotify |
What are Finamp and Koel?
Finamp
Finamp is a free and open-source music client for Jellyfin built with Flutter for Android and iOS. It allows downloading albums and playlists for offline listening and supports gapless playback and transcoding.
- Offline music downloads
- Gapless playback
- Transcoded streaming
- Cross-platform mobile
Koel
Koel is a personal music streaming server with a focus on a clean, modern web interface. It supports smart playlists, last.fm scrobbling, and streaming your own collection from any browser.
- Elegant web player
- Smart playlists
- Last.fm scrobbling
- Mobile companion app
Finamp vs Koel: key differences
Finamp is written in Dart, while Koel is built with PHP. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Finamp versus MIT for Koel. Finamp is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Koel. Koel is the more established project (first released 2016), while Finamp arrived in 2021. Koel has the considerably larger community, at 17,262 GitHub stars versus 4,279. Koel lists first-class Docker deployment; Finamp does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Finamp if…
- Reliable offline mode
- Active community
Watch out for
- Mobile only
- Requires Jellyfin server
Choose Koel if…
- Beautiful interface
- Active community
Watch out for
- Needs a separate database
- Limited transcoding options
Frequently asked questions
Is Finamp or Koel better?
Neither is universally better. Koel has the larger community, while Finamp is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Finamp and Koel free and open-source?
Yes. Finamp is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Koel under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Finamp and Koel with Docker?
Finamp: check the project docs for container support. Koel: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Finamp or Koel?
Finamp has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Koel. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.