OwnTone vs Tempo
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
Tempo
Material You Subsonic music client for Android
| Feature | OwnTone | Tempo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,535 | ★ 2,220 |
| First released | 2009 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Spotify, Apple Music | Spotify, Plexamp |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is OwnTone or Tempo better?
Neither is universally better. OwnTone has the larger community, while Tempo is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OwnTone and Tempo free and open-source?
Yes. OwnTone is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Tempo under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OwnTone and Tempo with Docker?
OwnTone: yes. Tempo: check the project docs for container support.