Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Funkwhale VS Navidrome

Compare Funkwhale VS Navidrome and see what are their differences

Funkwhale logo Funkwhale

Funkwhale is a modern, self-hosted, free and open-source music server

Navidrome logo Navidrome

Music Server and Streamer compatible with Subsonic/Airsonic.
  • Funkwhale Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-24
  • Navidrome Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-08-16

Funkwhale features and specs

  • Federation
    Funkwhale supports the ActivityPub protocol, allowing users to connect with other instances and share music across a decentralized network.
  • Open Source
    Funkwhale is fully open-source, which means anyone can audit the code, contribute to its development, and fork it for their own needs.
  • Privacy
    Being a self-hosted solution, Funkwhale offers greater privacy and control over your data compared to commercial streaming services.
  • Community-Driven
    As an open-source project, Funkwhale benefits from community feedback and contributions, which can lead to a more user-focused development.
  • Customizable
    Users can customize their instances to fit specific needs, from appearance to functionality, making it a very flexible choice.
  • No Advertisements
    Funkwhale does not include any advertisements, offering an uninterrupted listening experience.

Possible disadvantages of Funkwhale

  • Technical Complexity
    Setting up and maintaining a Funkwhale instance requires a certain level of technical expertise, which might be challenging for non-technical users.
  • Server Costs
    Self-hosting a Funkwhale instance involves costs associated with server hosting and maintenance.
  • Limited Music Database
    Unlike major streaming services, the music available on Funkwhale is only as extensive as the tracks uploaded by its users and participating instances.
  • Dependency on Federation
    While federation is a strong feature, its effectiveness depends on the number and quality of other instances connected to the network.
  • Lack of Third-Party Integrations
    Compared to mainstream services, Funkwhale may lack integration with popular third-party applications and devices.
  • Support and Documentation
    While the community is active, the level of professional support and extensive documentation might not match that of commercial services.

Navidrome features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Navidrome is a lightweight music server, meaning it requires minimal resources to run, making it ideal for deployment on low-power devices or servers with limited capacity.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    It can be run on multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing users with flexibility in choosing their platform.
  • User-friendly Interface
    Navidrome has a simple and intuitive web interface allowing users to easily navigate and manage their music libraries.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, Navidrome allows developers to contribute to the project, customize it, and ensure transparency of the software’s functionalities.
  • Frequent Updates
    The software is frequently updated, ensuring users have access to the latest features and security enhancements.

Possible disadvantages of Navidrome

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Compared to some commercial counterparts, Navidrome may lack certain advanced features such as audio analysis and recommendation algorithms.
  • Community-based Support
    While Navidrome has a supportive community, the support is community-based, which may not be as immediate or comprehensive as professional customer support.
  • Self-hosting Complexity
    Users need to set up their own server to host Navidrome, which might be complex for individuals without technical or server management skills.
  • No Official Mobile Apps
    Navidrome doesn't have official mobile applications, limiting users to third-party apps or web-based access for mobile use.

Funkwhale videos

Les Tutos: Docker No. 9: Funkwhale - Music streaming server

Navidrome videos

Installing Navidrome using Docker (in French)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Funkwhale and Navidrome)
Music Streaming
69 69%
31% 31
Media Players And Streaming Platforms
Online Music
100 100%
0% 0
Audio & Music
42 42%
58% 58

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Funkwhale and Navidrome

Funkwhale Reviews

Best Spotify Alternatives In The World [Top 10] 2024
Funkwhale is a leading choice among open-source enthusiasts seeking alternatives to mainstream music smooth platforms like Spotify. Funkwhale allows users to maintain complete control over their personal music libraries, free from concerns about content disappearance.
35 Open-source Free Music and Audio Streaming Servers (Self-hosted)
Funkwhale is a music server and player designed for small to medium communities. It also serves as a social platform for music and podcast enthusiasts to discover new content.
Source: medevel.com
List of Top Free Open Source & Self Hosted Application for Media Streaming
Funkwhale – Modern, web-based, convivial, multi-user and free music server. BSD-3-Clause Python/Django

Navidrome Reviews

35 Open-source Free Music and Audio Streaming Servers (Self-hosted)
Navidrome is an open source web-based music collection server and streamer. It gives you freedom to listen to your music collection from any browser or mobile device. It's like your personal Spotify!
Source: medevel.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Funkwhale should be more popular than Navidrome. It has been mentiond 38 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Funkwhale mentions (38)

  • Ask HN: Feedback on this proposed funding model for supporting musicians?
    For context: I recently set up a Funkwhale[0] instance [1] for Communick subscribers, where people can upload their music collection, stream on mobile/web and share with their friends. That's useful already and can be thought of as a replacement to the original Google Play Music, but I guess that those with large music collections will either just play from their dedicated devices or self-host a service like... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Favourite music streaming service?
    I use my own service, but have heard great things about https://funkwhale.audio/. Source: over 1 year ago
  • What 'selfhosting' solution is for me?
    I run Funkwhale. I can listen to my songs online from the browser, or on my phone using the Subsonic protocol (I use an app called dsub on Android). Source: over 1 year ago
  • I don't want streaming music, I just want to stream my music
    For multi-room-audio, I use Iris+Mopidy+Snapcast [2] alternative frontend to my Funkwhale library. [1]: https://funkwhale.audio/ [2]: https://github.com/jaedb/Iris. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
  • Looking for a simple audio hosting solution with comments
    I hear funkwhale can also do comments. Worth checking it out too. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

Navidrome mentions (4)

  • anyway to get entire music library on my phone?
    I would say go with Navidrome and the substreamer app (for Android). I am using Navidrome for a year now with approximately +25 GBs music collection, and it has been a pleasant experience to set up and get used to. Here's the link for Navidrome GitHub: https://github.com/navidrome/navidrome and also the official website: https://navidrome.org. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Specification for smart playlist JSON format?
    I went looking on navidrome.org and through here, but I couldn't find such a document. Have I overlooked somewhere obvious? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Using Navidrome on a RPI3 to host my music collection for DJing so I can listen between sets
    Navidrome (free open source software from https://navidrome.org) is running on the Raspberry Pi 3 which is under my desk via a wired connection with it's own 'http://navidrome.local' custom domain name. This is what it looks like:. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Is Spotify safe to use? If No then what can I do?
    Navidrome - Lightweight, fast and self-contained personal music streamer. Source: over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Funkwhale and Navidrome, you can also consider the following products

Spotify - Map shows when two people play same song at same time

Airsonic - Airsonic is a Free and Open Source community driven media server which allows you to stream...

Deezer - Deezer is a music streaming app created in France. It is available in 180 counties and gets 16 million users a month. 6 million of the users have paid subscriptions. Read more about Deezer.

Ampache - Web ( HTTP centralized ) based audio/video streaming application

SoundCloud - Enjoy music & follow favourite artists

LMS - Lightweight Music Server - Access your self-hosted music using a web interface.