Funkwhale vs Lyrion Music Server

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?
FeatureFunkwhaleLyrion Music Server
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseAGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePythonPerl
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,700★ 1,750
First released20172002
ReplacesSpotifySonos, Spotify

Why pick each one

Choose Funkwhale if…

  • Federated and social
  • Subsonic client support
  • Podcast support
Funkwhale details

Choose Lyrion Music Server if…

  • Very mature project
  • Active community
Lyrion Music Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Funkwhale or Lyrion Music Server better?

Neither is universally better. Funkwhale has the larger community, while Lyrion Music Server is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Funkwhale and Lyrion Music Server free and open-source?

Yes. Funkwhale is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Lyrion Music Server under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Funkwhale and Lyrion Music Server with Docker?

Funkwhale: yes. Lyrion Music Server: yes.

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