SHSelfHostIndex

Finamp vs mStream

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?
FI Finamp Jellyfin music player with offline downloads VS MS mStream Personal music streaming server with mobile apps
FeatureFinampmStream
Deploy effortRead-the-docs projectUnder-an-hour setup
Health score74 · Good86 · Excellent
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguageDartJavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 4,279★ 2,397
First released20212016
ReplacesPlexamp, SpotifySpotify

What are Finamp and mStream?

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

Read the full Finamp guide →

mStream

mStream is a personal music streaming server that you can run on any computer to access your music from anywhere. It includes mobile apps for offline downloads and playlist syncing.

  • Cross-platform mobile apps
  • Offline song downloads
  • Playlist sync
  • Lightweight server

Read the full mStream guide →

Finamp vs mStream: key differences

Finamp is written in Dart, while mStream is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Finamp versus GPL-3.0 for mStream. MStream is the more established project (first released 2016), while Finamp arrived in 2021. MStream 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
Finamp details

Choose mStream if…

  • Easy to install
  • Good mobile experience

Watch out for

  • Basic web UI
  • Slower release cadence
mStream details

Frequently asked questions

Is Finamp or mStream better?

Neither is universally better. Finamp has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Finamp and mStream free and open-source?

Yes. Finamp is licensed under MPL-2.0 and mStream under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Finamp and mStream with Docker?

Finamp: check the project docs for container support. mStream: yes.

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