OwnTone vs Sonixd
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?
OwnTone
Media server with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify support
VS
Sonixd
Cross-platform desktop client for Subsonic music servers
| Feature | OwnTone | Sonixd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,535 | ★ 1,919 |
| First released | 2009 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Spotify, Apple Music | Spotify |
Why pick each one
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
Frequently asked questions
Is OwnTone or Sonixd better?
Neither is universally better. OwnTone 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 OwnTone and Sonixd free and open-source?
Yes. OwnTone is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Sonixd under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OwnTone and Sonixd with Docker?
OwnTone: yes. Sonixd: check the project docs for container support.