Funkwhale vs Swing Music
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?
Funkwhale
Federated music streaming and sharing platform
VS
Swing Music
Self-hosted music player with a modern interface
| Feature | Funkwhale | Swing Music |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,700 | ★ 2,035 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify, Apple Music |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Funkwhale or Swing Music better?
Neither is universally better. Funkwhale has the larger community, while Swing Music is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Funkwhale and Swing Music free and open-source?
Yes. Funkwhale is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Swing Music under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Funkwhale and Swing Music with Docker?
Funkwhale: yes. Swing Music: yes.