mStream 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?
mStream
Personal music streaming server with mobile apps
VS
OwnTone
Media server with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify support
| Feature | mStream | OwnTone |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,366 | ★ 2,535 |
| First released | 2016 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Spotify | Spotify, Apple Music |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is mStream or OwnTone better?
Neither is universally better. OwnTone 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 mStream and OwnTone free and open-source?
Yes. mStream is licensed under GPL-3.0 and OwnTone under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mStream and OwnTone with Docker?
mStream: yes. OwnTone: yes.