SHSelfHostIndex

Gonic vs Universal Media 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?
GO Gonic Lightweight Subsonic-compatible music streaming server VS UN Universal Media Server DLNA-compliant media server for streaming to TVs and consoles
FeatureGonicUniversal Media Server
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageGoJava
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binarydocker, bare-metal, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,496★ 2,636
First released20192012
ReplacesSpotify, PlexPlex, Serviio

Why pick each one

Choose Gonic if…

  • Runs on Raspberry Pi easily
  • Works with many Subsonic clients
Gonic details

Choose Universal Media Server if…

  • Works with old TVs and consoles
  • Simple setup
Universal Media Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gonic or Universal Media Server better?

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

Are Gonic and Universal Media Server free and open-source?

Yes. Gonic is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Universal Media Server under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Gonic and Universal Media Server with Docker?

Gonic: yes. Universal Media Server: yes.

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