Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Subsonic (hosted offerings)

Koel is a web-based personal music streaming server that indexes your existing audio files and lets you stream them from anywhere through a modern browser UI. It focuses on a simple, fast library experience—searching, queuing, and playlisting—while keeping your collection under your control.

Key Features:

• Scans and indexes local audio libraries into a searchable music catalog
• Modern web player with queue management, browsing, and fast search
• Playlist management (create, edit, reorder) for organizing listening
• Multi-user support with authentication for shared servers
• Artist/album/track browsing with artwork and metadata display
• Mobile-friendly web UI suitable for phone/tablet streaming
• Backend API used by the web UI (useful for integrations)

Use Cases:

• Stream a personal FLAC/MP3 library at home or while traveling
• Provide a shared music server for a family or small community
• Centralize music on a NAS/server and play from any device via browser

Limitations and Considerations:

• Requires correct filesystem permissions and a supported PHP/Laravel runtime; initial library scanning can take time on large collections
• Primarily focused on browser-based playback; native app ecosystems may rely on third-party clients/integrations

Koel is a practical choice for users who want a polished “personal Spotify-like” experience on top of their existing music files. It emphasizes a clean UI, fast library navigation, and straightforward administration for running your own music server.