Koel vs Snapweb

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?
FeatureKoelSnapweb
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal, source
GitHub stars★ 17,208★ 145
First released20162020
ReplacesSpotifySonos

Why pick each one

Choose Koel if…

  • Beautiful interface
  • Active community
Koel details

Choose Snapweb if…

  • No app install needed
  • Tight Snapcast integration
Snapweb details

Frequently asked questions

Is Koel or Snapweb better?

Neither is universally better. Koel has the larger community, while Snapweb is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Koel and Snapweb free and open-source?

Yes. Koel is licensed under MIT and Snapweb under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Koel and Snapweb with Docker?

Koel: yes. Snapweb: check the project docs for container support.

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