Lidarr vs mStream
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
mStream
Personal music streaming server with mobile apps
| Feature | Lidarr | mStream |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,679 | ★ 2,397 |
| First released | 2017 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify |
What are Lidarr and mStream?
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
mStream
mStream is a personal music streaming server that you can run on any computer to access your music from anywhere. It includes mobile apps for offline downloads and playlist syncing.
- Cross-platform mobile apps
- Offline song downloads
- Playlist sync
- Lightweight server
Lidarr vs mStream: key differences
Lidarr is written in C#, while mStream is built with JavaScript. MStream is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Lidarr. Lidarr has the considerably larger community, at 5,679 GitHub stars versus 2,397.
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 mStream if…
- Easy to install
- Good mobile experience
Watch out for
- Basic web UI
- Slower release cadence
Frequently asked questions
Is Lidarr or mStream better?
Neither is universally better. Lidarr has the larger community, while mStream is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lidarr and mStream free and open-source?
Yes. Lidarr is licensed under GPL-3.0 and mStream under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lidarr and mStream with Docker?
Lidarr: yes. mStream: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Lidarr or mStream?
mStream has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Lidarr. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.