Polaris 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?
Polaris
Music streaming server focused on speed and simplicity
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Sonixd
Cross-platform desktop client for Subsonic music servers
| Feature | Polaris | Sonixd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,715 | ★ 1,919 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Spotify | 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 Polaris or Sonixd better?
Neither is universally better. Polaris has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Polaris and Sonixd free and open-source?
Yes. Polaris is licensed under MIT and Sonixd under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Polaris and Sonixd with Docker?
Polaris: yes. Sonixd: check the project docs for container support.