Lidarr vs LMS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Lidarr
Music collection manager and download automation tool
VS
LMS
Lightweight music server with Subsonic API support
| Feature | Lidarr | LMS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 85 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,679 | ★ 1,680 |
| First released | 2017 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify |
What are Lidarr and LMS?
Lidarr
Lidarr is the music collection manager for the *arr suite, automating searches and downloads for your favorite artists. It monitors releases and integrates with download clients and media servers.
- Automated music collection management
- Release monitoring
- Download client integration
- Quality profiles
LMS
LMS is a lightweight, self-hosted music streaming server with a focus on performance and a built-in recommendation engine. It exposes the Subsonic API for compatibility with a wide range of clients.
- Subsonic API compatible
- Music recommendations
- Low resource use
- Scrobbling support
Lidarr vs LMS: key differences
Lidarr is written in C#, while LMS is built with C++. LMS is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Lidarr. LMS is the more established project (first released 2014), while Lidarr arrived in 2017. Lidarr has the considerably larger community, at 5,679 GitHub stars versus 1,680.
Why pick each one
Choose Lidarr if…
- Part of the popular *arr suite
- Strong automation
Watch out for
- Metadata accuracy varies
- Companion to a media server
Choose LMS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Web UI is functional but plain
Frequently asked questions
Is Lidarr or LMS better?
Neither is universally better. Lidarr has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Lidarr and LMS free and open-source?
Yes. Lidarr is licensed under GPL-3.0 and LMS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lidarr and LMS with Docker?
Lidarr: yes. LMS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Lidarr or LMS?
LMS has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Lidarr. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.