Ampache
Ampache: A flexible free platform for streaming personal music collections under your control. Ranked #26 of 32 in Streaming Audio Hosting by our editors (6.6/10); pricing: Free plan; best for self-hosted personal music streaming.
At a glance
- Editor score6.6 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forSelf-hosted personal music streaming
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Founded2001
- Facts checked21 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free and open source with broad client compatibility
- Transcoding, playlists, catalog management, and web playback
- REST, Subsonic, UPnP/DLNA, and DAAP support
Where it doesn't
- Requires your own web server and database
- Not designed as a managed streaming-hosting service
- Radio scheduling and conventional broadcast workflows are limited
Our verdict on Ampache
Ampache is a free, open-source web application for managing and streaming personal music and video collections. It suits individuals, households, and small organizations that want to operate their own media library and streaming infrastructure. The platform provides catalog browsing, browser-based HTML5 playback, HTTP stream playlist generation, transcoding, configurable bitrate settings, and synchronized broadcasts to other users. It supports web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and self-hosted deployments, with Docker and release packages available.
Its strongest fit is ecosystem flexibility. Ampache works with Subsonic clients, UPnP/DLNA clients, DAAP clients, HTTP stream players, Docker, and its REST API. Subsonic API compatibility broadens client choice, while REST and legacy APIs support custom connections. Scheduled catalog maintenance through cron helps keep a library organized, and optional analytics and tracking plugins provide additional monitoring capabilities. This makes Ampache a practical choice for people who value control over how their collection is stored, accessed, and played across devices.
The trade-off is operational responsibility. Administrators install and maintain the application on their own web server and database, so Ampache is better suited to users comfortable managing self-hosted software than to buyers seeking a ready-to-run hosted service. Its documented broadcast capability centers on synchronized playback from the web player rather than a full radio-operations workflow. Choose Ampache for personal or organizational media libraries, broad client compatibility, and open-source control; choose another product if managed hosting or scheduled radio automation is central to the requirement.
Your product? Our editors can test Ampache in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →
Ampache pricing
Ampache fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Listener limit | Not verified |
| Live streaming | Yes |
| Scheduled automation | Not verified |
| Audio quality | Not verified |
| Stream protocols | Not verified |
| Listener analytics | Yes |
| Recording archive | Not verified |
| Deployment | Cloud, Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Web, Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
| Support | Community, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 6 integrations: Subsonic clients, UPnP/DLNA clients, DAAP clients, HTTP stream players, Docker, REST API See all → |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | ampache.org |
| Facts checked | 21 Sep 2026 |
Ampache integrations
Ampache lists 6 integrations on its own site.
- Subsonic clients
- UPnP/DLNA clients
- DAAP clients
- HTTP stream players
- Docker
- REST API
See all Ampache integrations →
Alternatives to Ampache
- AzuraCastA capable open-source radio suite for technical teams comfortable managing their own hosting.9.4
- Caster.fmA broad radio platform with a free tier and paid tools for growing stations.9.2
- RadioBOSS CloudAffordable hosted radio automation with scheduling, streaming, storage, and analytics.9.0
See all Ampache alternatives →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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