Ampache vs Funkwhale vs Koel

Ampache, Funkwhale, and Koel are all free, self-hosted alternatives to commercial music streaming, but they optimize for different things. Ampache is the most…

Ampache

Free (open source) · From Free

Best for: Self-hosters with a mixed music and video collection who want the widest possible client compatibility through Subsonic, UPnP/DLNA, and DAAP support.

Funkwhale

Open Source / Free · From Free (self-hosting infrastructure costs apply)

Best for: Communities, netlabels, or Fediverse users who want a federated music and podcast pod that can interconnect and share content with other Funkwhale installations rather than run as an isolated personal jukebox.

Koel

Freemium · From Free (Koel Plus from EUR 19.99 one-time)

Best for: Users who want a modern, Spotify-like interface with dedicated native iOS and Android apps, and who are open to a one-time Koel Plus purchase later if they need multi-user libraries or cloud storage.

At a Glance

	Ampache	Funkwhale	Koel
Primary category	Media & Audio/Video Tools	Media & Audio/Video Tools	Media & Audio/Video Tools
Rating	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
Pricing model	Free (open source)	Open Source / Free	Freemium
Starting price	Free	Free (self-hosting infrastructure costs apply)	Free (Koel Plus from EUR 19.99 one-time)
Free plan	Yes	Yes	Yes
Free trial	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Team collaboration	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
AI features	Not documented	Not documented	Not documented
Public API	Yes	Yes	Yes

Standout Differences

Only Funkwhale federates across servers

Funkwhale's ActivityPub integration lets independent installations, called pods, follow each other, share libraries, and interconnect the way Mastodon instances do, a capability neither Ampache nor Koel offers.

Funkwhale

Ampache is the broadest client and format play

Ampache is the only one of the three that streams both music and video, and it supports Subsonic, UPnP/DLNA, and DAAP simultaneously, giving it the largest range of compatible third-party apps and devices.

Ampache

Koel has the most dedicated native mobile apps

Koel ships its own purpose-built Koel Player apps for iOS and Android, while Ampache relies entirely on third-party Subsonic clients and Funkwhale's official mobile presence is Android-only via F-Droid.

Koel, Ampache, Funkwhale

All three cores are free forever, but only Koel sells an upgrade

Ampache and Funkwhale have no paid tier at all beyond optional third-party managed hosting for Funkwhale, whereas Koel's Community edition is free but Koel Plus is available as a one-time, pay-what-you-want purchase for multi-user and cloud-storage features.

Koel, Ampache, Funkwhale

Feature-by-Feature

Client and Access Compatibility

Feature	Ampache	Funkwhale	Koel
Subsonic/OpenSubsonic API support	Available	Not documented	Available
Official native mobile app	Unavailable	Limited	Available
UPnP/DLNA and DAAP (iTunes) support	Available	Not documented	Not documented

Content Scope

Feature	Ampache	Funkwhale	Koel
Video streaming alongside music	Available	Unavailable	Unavailable
Podcast support	Not documented	Available	Available
Federated cross-server content (ActivityPub)	Unavailable	Available	Unavailable

Collaboration and Growth

Feature	Ampache	Funkwhale	Koel
Multi-user or per-user libraries	Not documented	Not documented	Limited
External metadata enrichment (MusicBrainz, Last.fm, Spotify, YouTube)	Not documented	Not documented	Available

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Ampache

No individual plan breakdown documented yet.

Funkwhale

Self-Hosted (Open Source) — Free N/A (ongoing infrastructure costs only)

Managed Hosting (Third-Party Providers) — Varies by provider (e.g., YunoHost, elest.io, etke.cc) Provider-dependent (typically monthly)

Koel

Community — Free N/A

Koel Plus — From EUR 19.99 (pay what you want) One-time purchase

Pros & Cons

Ampache

Pros

Completely free and open source, with no subscription fees.
Full control over your own music and video data via self-hosting.
Broad client compatibility through the Subsonic API.

Cons

Requires self-hosting and basic server/Docker knowledge; there's no managed hosting from the project itself.
Interface and setup are less polished than commercial consumer streaming apps.

Funkwhale

Pros

Completely free and open source with no licensing fees
Full data and library ownership since it runs on infrastructure you control
Federation lets separate pods interconnect and share content like email across domains
No advertising or algorithmic lock-in

Cons

Requires self-hosting knowledge or a managed provider, unlike a ready-to-use consumer app
Volunteer-paced development means feature releases can be slower than commercial competitors
No licensed major-label commercial catalog; content is limited to what is uploaded or federated
Smaller ecosystem and community size than mainstream self-hosted alternatives like Jellyfin

Koel

Pros

Community edition is free forever with no artificial limits
Fully open source and self-hosted, giving complete data ownership
Subsonic API compatibility unlocks a large ecosystem of existing mobile clients
Koel Plus is a one-time purchase, not a subscription
Modern, fast interface built with Vue.js

Cons

Requires self-hosting knowledge (server, PHP, database, Docker)
No official cloud-hosted version for non-technical users
Multi-user and cloud storage features are locked behind the paid Plus tier
Smaller community and ecosystem than Plex or Jellyfin
Relies on a single primary maintainer, a common open-source project risk

Use Cases

Choose Ampache: Self-hosters with a mixed music and video collection who want the widest possible client compatibility through Subsonic, UPnP/DLNA, and DAAP support.

Choose Funkwhale: Communities, netlabels, or Fediverse users who want a federated music and podcast pod that can interconnect and share content with other Funkwhale installations rather than run as an isolated personal jukebox.

Choose Koel: Users who want a modern, Spotify-like interface with dedicated native iOS and Android apps, and who are open to a one-time Koel Plus purchase later if they need multi-user libraries or cloud storage.

Ampache

Personal music streaming — Self-host your own library and stream it to any device.
Home media server — Combine with UPnP/DLNA to stream to TVs and other networked devices.

Funkwhale

Self-hosted personal music library — A privacy-conscious listener uploads their own music collection to a self-hosted Funkwhale pod to stream it from any device without relying on a commercial streaming subscription.
Independent musician and netlabel publishing — A netlabel or independent artist runs a Funkwhale channel to publish original tracks directly to a federated audience without going through a commercial streaming platform.
Community or organization shared library — A university club or interest community sets up a shared Funkwhale pod so members can pool and stream a common audio library together.

Koel

Personal music streaming server — Users with large local music collections self-host Koel to stream their library from any device, similar to a private Spotify.
Family or shared household streaming — With Koel Plus, households set up individual user libraries so multiple family members can manage separate music collections on one server.
Mobile playback via Subsonic clients — Users connect existing Subsonic-compatible mobile apps to their self-hosted Koel server for offline-capable mobile listening.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Ampache, Funkwhale, or Koel cost anything to use?

All three are free and open source at their core. Ampache and Funkwhale have no paid tier at all beyond optional infrastructure or third-party managed hosting costs. Koel's Community edition is also free, with an optional one-time-purchase Koel Plus upgrade starting from EUR 19.99 for multi-user and cloud-storage features.

Which of these three supports podcasts, not just music?

Funkwhale and Koel both support podcasts. Ampache's provided feature set focuses on music and video streaming and does not document podcast support.

Which one has the best mobile app experience?

Koel ships its own native Koel Player apps for iOS and Android. Funkwhale offers an official Android app distributed through F-Droid but no official iOS client. Ampache has no first-party mobile app and instead relies on third-party Subsonic-compatible apps like DSub or Substreamer.

What does Funkwhale's federation actually mean in practice?

Funkwhale integrates ActivityPub, the same protocol behind Mastodon, so separate Funkwhale installations (pods) run by different people or communities can interconnect: users can follow artists, channels, and playlists hosted on another pod and share libraries across server boundaries, similar to how email works across providers.

Can I stream video, not just music, with any of these?

Only Ampache supports both music and video streaming from the same self-hosted server. Funkwhale and Koel are audio-focused, covering music, radio, and podcasts.

Do these tools work with existing Subsonic-compatible apps?

Ampache and Koel both implement the Subsonic API, so they work with the large existing ecosystem of Subsonic-compatible mobile and desktop clients. The provided data does not document Subsonic API support for Funkwhale, whose primary interoperability model is ActivityPub federation instead.

Read the full Ampache review · Read the full Funkwhale review · Read the full Koel review

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