Swing Music 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?
Swing Music
Self-hosted music player with a modern interface
VS
Tempo
Material You Subsonic music client for Android
| Feature | Swing Music | Tempo |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Media Servers | Media Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,035 | ★ 2,220 |
| First released | 2022 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Spotify, Apple Music | Spotify, Plexamp |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Swing Music or Tempo better?
Neither is universally better. Tempo has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Swing Music and Tempo free and open-source?
Yes. Swing Music is licensed under MIT and Tempo under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Swing Music and Tempo with Docker?
Swing Music: yes. Tempo: check the project docs for container support.