SHSelfHostIndex

LMS vs OwnTone

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?
LM LMS Lightweight music server with Subsonic API support VS OW OwnTone Media server with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify support
FeatureLMSOwnTone
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageC++C
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 1,654★ 2,535
First released20142009
ReplacesSpotifySpotify, Apple Music

Why pick each one

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++
LMS details

Choose OwnTone if…

  • Excellent AirPlay support
  • Low footprint
OwnTone details

Frequently asked questions

Is LMS or OwnTone better?

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

Are LMS and OwnTone free and open-source?

Yes. LMS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OwnTone under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run LMS and OwnTone with Docker?

LMS: yes. OwnTone: yes.

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