SHSelfHostIndex

Lyrion Music Server vs Snapcast

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?
LY Lyrion Music Server Open-source music server for Squeezebox and software players VS SN Snapcast Synchronized multi-room audio streaming player
FeatureLyrion Music ServerSnapcast
CategoryMedia ServersMedia Servers
LicenseGPL-2.0GPL-3.0
LanguagePerlC++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 1,750★ 7,801
First released20022014
ReplacesSonos, SpotifySonos

Why pick each one

Choose Lyrion Music Server if…

  • Very mature project
  • Active community
Lyrion Music Server details

Choose Snapcast if…

  • Excellent sync accuracy
  • Runs on tiny devices
Snapcast details

Frequently asked questions

Is Lyrion Music Server or Snapcast better?

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

Are Lyrion Music Server and Snapcast free and open-source?

Yes. Lyrion Music Server is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Snapcast under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Lyrion Music Server and Snapcast with Docker?

Lyrion Music Server: yes. Snapcast: yes.

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