RompR vs ympd
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted media servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | RompR | ympd |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 72 · Good | 11 · At risk |
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, source | bare-metal, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 214 | ★ 545 |
| First released | 2012 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Sonos app | Sonos app |
What are RompR and ympd?
RompR
RompR is a PHP-based web frontend for controlling MPD and Mopidy music servers. It offers a rich interface with album art, smart playlists, internet radio, last.fm scrobbling, and music collection management.
- MPD and Mopidy control
- Smart playlists
- Internet radio
- Last.fm scrobbling
ympd
ympd is a lightweight standalone web-based MPD client written in C that provides a responsive web interface for the Music Player Daemon. It bundles everything needed and requires no external dependencies to host.
- Standalone web MPD client
- No external dependencies
- Responsive interface
- Tiny footprint
RompR vs ympd: key differences
RompR is written in PHP, while ympd is built with C. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for RompR versus GPL-2.0 for ympd. Ympd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RompR. RompR is the more established project (first released 2012), while ympd arrived in 2014. Ympd has the considerably larger community, at 545 GitHub stars versus 214. RompR lists first-class Docker deployment; ympd does not.
Why pick each one
Choose RompR if…
- Rich web interface
- Long-running project
Watch out for
- Needs a music server backend
- PHP stack required
Choose ympd if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Easy to deploy
Watch out for
- Predecessor to myMPD
- Minimal active development
Frequently asked questions
Is RompR or ympd better?
Neither is universally better. ympd has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are RompR and ympd free and open-source?
Yes. RompR is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ympd under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run RompR and ympd with Docker?
RompR: yes. ympd: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, RompR or ympd?
ympd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RompR. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.