Finamp vs Sonixd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Finamp | Sonixd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Dart | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,279 | ★ 1,915 |
| First released | 2021 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Plexamp, Spotify | Spotify |
What are Finamp and Sonixd?
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
Sonixd
Sonixd is a cross-platform desktop music player for Subsonic-compatible servers including Navidrome, Airsonic, and Funkwhale. It provides queue management, theming, and scrobbling for a desktop listening experience.
- Subsonic-compatible client
- Advanced queue management
- Theming
- Scrobbling support
Finamp vs Sonixd: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Sonixd's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Finamp is actively maintained. Finamp is written in Dart, while Sonixd is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Finamp versus AGPL-3.0 for Sonixd. Finamp has the considerably larger community, at 4,279 GitHub stars versus 1,915.
Why pick each one
Choose Finamp if…
- Reliable offline mode
- Active community
Watch out for
- Mobile only
- Requires Jellyfin server
Choose Sonixd if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Desktop client only
- No longer actively developed
Frequently asked questions
Is Finamp or Sonixd 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 Sonixd free and open-source?
Yes. Finamp is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Sonixd under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Finamp and Sonixd with Docker?
Finamp: check the project docs for container support. Sonixd: check the project docs for container support.