Lidarr vs Sonixd
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
Sonixd
Archived
Cross-platform desktop client for Subsonic music servers
| Feature | Lidarr | Sonixd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 84 · Excellent | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,679 | ★ 1,915 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify |
What are Lidarr and Sonixd?
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
Sonixd
Sonixd is a cross-platform desktop music player for Subsonic-compatible servers including Navidrome, Airsonic, and Funkwhale. It provides queue management, theming, and scrobbling for a desktop listening experience.
- Subsonic-compatible client
- Advanced queue management
- Theming
- Scrobbling support
Lidarr vs Sonixd: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Sonixd's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Lidarr is actively maintained. Lidarr is written in C#, while Sonixd is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Lidarr versus AGPL-3.0 for Sonixd. Sonixd is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Lidarr. Lidarr is the more established project (first released 2017), while Sonixd arrived in 2021. Lidarr has the considerably larger community, at 5,679 GitHub stars versus 1,915. Lidarr lists first-class Docker deployment; Sonixd does not.
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 Sonixd if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Watch out for
- Desktop client only
- No longer actively developed
Frequently asked questions
Is Lidarr or Sonixd better?
Neither is universally better. Lidarr has the larger community, while Sonixd is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Lidarr and Sonixd free and open-source?
Yes. Lidarr is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Sonixd under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lidarr and Sonixd with Docker?
Lidarr: yes. Sonixd: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Lidarr or Sonixd?
Sonixd 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.