Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Kodi

Koel is a web-based personal audio streaming service designed for hosting and streaming your own music collection. It combines a modern web player with robust library management and supports multi-user setups.

Key Features

• Stream your personal music library via a fast, modern web interface
• Multi-user support with user accounts
• Favorites, playlists, and smart playlists
• Cross-device playback synchronization
• Library management: upload, delete, and edit track metadata and artwork
• Lossless audio support, equalizer settings, and visualizers
• Radio and podcast support
• Optional metadata enrichment integrations (e.g., MusicBrainz and Last.fm)

Use Cases

• Self-host a personal “Spotify-like” music server for your own library
• Provide a shared home or community music library with separate user accounts
• Stream music from a server while keeping a centralized, curated collection

Koel is well-suited for users who want a polished, developer-friendly music server with a familiar listening experience. It focuses on fast browsing and playback while keeping your library under your control.

mStream is a lightweight open-source music streaming server that provides remote access and device sync for personal music collections. It serves a web-based player and supports mobile clients, letting users stream lossless and lossy formats from their own host.

Key Features

• Web-based music player with gapless playback and a Milkdrop-style visualizer. (github.com)
• Supports common audio formats including FLAC, MP3, AAC, OGG and others. (github.com)
• Playlist management, playlist sharing and drag-and-drop file upload via the web UI. (mstream.io)
• Lightweight Node.js server designed to run on Windows, macOS, Linux and ARM boards (e.g., Raspberry Pi). (github.com)
• Official demo interface available for previewing the web player. (demo.mstream.io)

Use Cases

• Stream a private music library to any device while keeping full control of data and audio files. (mstream.io)
• Provide shared access to a household or small group's music collection with playlist sharing and user accounts. (github.com)
• Run on low-power hardware (Raspberry Pi / small NAS) to serve multi-terabyte libraries with low CPU/memory overhead. (github.com)

Limitations and Considerations

• Mobile apps are provided by third parties (community/third‑party clients) rather than a single official first‑party store app; availability and maintenance can vary. (github.com)
• Core server is Node.js-based and relies on in-repo JavaScript libraries for metadata and fast in-memory indexing; deployment assumptions (e.g., persistence/backups) should be reviewed for large libraries. (github.com)

mStream is a practical choice for users who want a simple, self-hosted music streaming solution with broad format support and a browser-first player. It emphasizes ease of setup, low resource use, and a familiar web/mobile playback experience.

Gonic is a lightweight music streaming server that implements the Subsonic server API, allowing you to use many existing Subsonic-compatible clients. It scans your local music library, serves streams, and can transcode audio on the fly.

Key Features

• Subsonic-compatible API for broad client support
• Library browsing by folder structure and by tags
• On-the-fly audio transcoding with caching (via FFmpeg)
• Multi-user support with per-user preferences and playlists
• Podcast support
• Jukebox mode for server-side, gapless playback
• Web UI for configuration, user management, and library scans
• Scrobbling support (Last.fm and ListenBrainz)

Use Cases

• Self-hosted personal or family music streaming with existing Subsonic clients
• Lightweight music server for low-power devices (for example, Raspberry Pi)
• Centralized library with transcoding for bandwidth- or device-limited playback

Limitations and Considerations

• Transcoding features require FFmpeg to be available on the host
• Client experience depends on the capabilities of the chosen Subsonic client

Gonic focuses on being small, fast, and compatible rather than providing an all-in-one media suite. It is a practical choice if you want a simple Subsonic API server with solid scanning, transcoding, and multi-user playback.

Lyrion Music Server (LMS, formerly Logitech Media Server) is a music streaming and control server for Squeezebox hardware players and compatible software clients. It manages your music library and streams audio to one or many players across your network, with extensive customization via plugins.

Key Features

• Streams local music libraries to multiple synchronized players
• Supports Squeezebox devices and software players such as Squeezelite
• Web-based management and playback control interface
• Internet radio playback and integration with various streaming services via plugins
• Scales to large libraries and multi-room, multi-device setups
• Extensible plugin ecosystem for new sources, integrations, and UI customization

Use Cases

• Whole-home multi-room audio using Squeezebox-compatible players
• Centralized management and playback of a large local music collection
• Combining local audio with internet radio and third-party streaming sources

Lyrion Music Server is a mature, community-maintained platform for users who want flexible, server-centric control of music playback across many devices. Its compatibility with a broad ecosystem of hardware, software players, and plugins makes it a strong option for customizable home audio setups.

LMS (Lightweight Music Server) is an open-source, self-hosted music streaming server that provides a web interface to access and manage personal music collections. It supports rich metadata, multi-library setups, and compatibility with Subsonic/OpenSubsonic clients.

Key Features

• Web-based music library browsing with support for multi-valued tags (genre, mood, artists, etc.)
• Subsonic/OpenSubsonic API compatibility for external clients
• MusicBrainz identifiers and release/group support to handle duplicates and multiple versions
• ListenBrainz integration for scrobbling and synchronizing listens and 'love' feedbacks
• Recommendation engine and "radio" mode to fill play queues with similar tracks
• Audio transcoding for client compatibility and bandwidth reduction (relies on FFmpeg)
• ReplayGain support, playlists (m3u/m3u8), podcast support, and lyrics (embedded, lrc, txt)
• Multi-library support, artist information folder handling, and flexible album/track grouping
• User management with multiple authentication backends and admin configuration options

Use Cases

• Host and stream a personal music collection remotely with a browser-based UI
• Provide Subsonic-compatible streaming to mobile or desktop clients while preserving rich metadata
• Build a small-scale recommendation/radio service for private collections and curated playback

Limitations and Considerations

• The tag-based recommendation engine can significantly slow the UI on very large databases or under-constrained hardware; it can be disabled in administration settings
• On-the-fly transcoding increases CPU usage and may require configuring / provisioning FFmpeg and adequate CPU resources for smooth playback across low-bandwidth clients

LMS is suitable for users who want a lightweight, metadata-rich music server with Subsonic compatibility and features like recommendations, scrobbling integration, and flexible tagging. It is actively developed and distributed under the GPL-3.0 license.

Audioserve is a simple personal audio streaming server that serves audio files directly from directory structures, designed primarily for audiobooks. It includes a modern web PWA client and a lightweight API, focusing on fast browsing and playback position tracking.

Key Features

• Serves audio files from folders without requiring a separate media database
• Web PWA client for modern browsers, plus an alternative older web client
• Supports single-file audiobooks (such as M4B) by exposing chapters as virtual tracks
• Optional transcoding and transcoding cache for bandwidth-friendly streaming
• Full-text search over folder names
• Playlists and playback position sharing between clients
• Collection caching in an embedded key-value store for faster browsing and search
• Filesystem change watching to keep the library up to date

Use Cases

• Self-hosted audiobook server for personal libraries organized by folders
• Lightweight audio streaming for language learning courses or lecture recordings
• Multi-collection setups (for example, separate libraries per language)

Limitations and Considerations

• Initial collection scan and cache build can take significant time for large libraries
• Search is focused on folder names (not per-track indexing or full metadata search)

Audioserve fits users who want a fast, minimalist audiobook-oriented server that respects existing folder structures and works well in a browser. It is especially useful when you need chapter support for single-file audiobooks and simple, reliable streaming without heavyweight media management.

Listenarr is a cross-platform server for managing an audiobook library with automation similar to Sonarr/Radarr, focused on acquisition, tracking, and organization. It integrates metadata sources and download clients to keep your collection tidy and up to date.

Key Features

• Automated searching and downloading from torrent and NZB indexers
• Integration with common download clients (for example qBittorrent, Transmission, SABnzbd, NZBGet)
• Rich metadata enrichment using sources such as Audible and Amazon
• Intelligent library organization with configurable naming and folder structure
• Responsive web interface for desktop and mobile use
• Real-time monitoring of download progress and status
• Optional Discord integration for interacting with the server via slash commands

Use Cases

• Build and maintain an automated audiobook library for a home media server
• Standardize audiobook metadata and file naming across multiple sources
• Monitor and manage ongoing downloads in one interface

Limitations and Considerations

• Actively developed; some features (such as full localization) may be incomplete or evolving

Listenarr is a good fit if you want an automation-first audiobook manager with modern UI, metadata enrichment, and integrations with popular torrent/Usenet tooling. It combines search, download orchestration, and library organization into a single service.

It's MyTabs is a web-based guitar and bass tablature viewer and player focused on synchronized playback and simple, mobile-friendly UI. It renders imported tab files and can sync playback to local audio files or YouTube videos for practice and playback.

Key Features

• Web-based tab viewer/player for guitar and bass with both tab and score views
• Supports common tab formats: .gp, .gpx, .gp3, .gp4, .gp5, .musicxml, .capx
• Sync tabs with local audio files (.mp3, .ogg) or YouTube videos for timed playback
• Built-in MIDI synth allowing mute/solo per track and basic mixing controls
• Multiple cursor modes: no cursor (auto-scroll), highlight current bar, or follow cursor
• Notes coloring, dark/light tab color themes, and mobile-friendly responsive UI
• Shareable links for tabs and a simple UI designed for learning and practice
• Multiple deployment options: Docker, Docker Compose, Deno runtime, or packaged desktop executable
• Uses the AlphaTab rendering engine for notation and tab playback

Use Cases

• Practice and learn songs by syncing tab playback with recorded audio or video
• Quickly preview and share tab arrangements with students or bandmates via links
• Portable self-hosted tab library for personal study, rehearsal, or teaching

Limitations and Considerations

• YouTube-synced playback may not work from private IP addresses; a public hostname or localhost is recommended for reliable video playback
• Focused primarily on viewing and playback rather than advanced score editing; complex editing workflows are limited
• Playback/sync accuracy depends on source files and timing metadata; manual fine-grain sync controls are limited

It's MyTabs provides a lightweight, self-hostable alternative for viewing and practicing guitar and bass tabs with synchronized audio playback and simple sharing features. It is optimized for ease of use and quick deployment for personal or small-group practice.

Roon is a music playback ecosystem centered around a “Core” server that manages your library and streams audio to one or more players (“Outputs”) across your network. It unifies local music files with supported streaming services and presents your library with rich metadata and discovery tools.

Key Features

• Centralized Core that manages library indexing, metadata, and multi-room playback
• Rich artist/album credits, biographies, reviews, lyrics, and interconnected browsing (“music discovery”)
• Multi-room audio to many endpoints (Roon Ready, AirPlay, Chromecast, and other supported devices)
• High-resolution playback with bit-perfect output where supported
• DSP features (device-dependent/plan-dependent) such as EQ, upsampling, convolution, and headphone crossfeed
• Remote control apps for desktop and mobile to browse and control playback
• Zone grouping, synchronized playback, and per-zone signal path inspection

Use Cases

• Run a home music server that streams local hi-res files to multiple rooms
• Combine local library with streaming catalogs and explore music via credits and recommendations
• Centralize playback control for a mixed ecosystem of network streamers, PCs, and mobile devices

Limitations and Considerations

• Not an open-source project; Core and clients are proprietary and require a subscription/license
• Streaming service integration depends on Roon’s supported providers and their regional availability

Roon is best suited for users who want a single, metadata-rich library experience and synchronized playback across many devices. Its Core-based architecture makes it a powerful hub for whole-home audio and high-quality playback when paired with compatible endpoints.