Beets vs koel

Two self-hosted Media Streaming - Audio Streaming apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.

Side by side

Beetskoel
DescriptionMusic library manager and MusicBrainz tagger (command-line and Web interface).Personal music streaming server that works.
GitHub stars15,91717,337
Forks––
Open issues––
Commits (12 months)2.3k867
Last activity2026-11-082026-11-09
Latest releasev2.14.1 (2026-09-17)v9.15.0 (2026-09-28)
Maintenance healthActiveActive
LicenseMITMIT
Language / platformPython, debPHP
Docker Hub image––
Docker pulls––
Est. server size~1 GB, 1 vCPU~1 GB, 1 vCPU
Est. hosting from$5/mo$5/mo
CategoriesMedia Streaming - Audio StreamingMedia Streaming - Audio Streaming
LinksWebsite · SourceWebsite · Source

What the numbers say

Summary: Beets leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.

This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-15. It does not rate features or quality.

Frequently asked questions

Is Beets or koel more popular?

They are close: Beets has 15,917 GitHub stars and koel has 17,337 (as of 2026-11-15).

Which is more actively maintained, Beets or koel?

Beets had more commits over the last 12 months (2,334 vs 867). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-08 for Beets and 2026-11-09 for koel. Releases in the past year: Beets 10+, koel 10+. Our health labels: Beets is “Active”, koel is “Active”.

What licenses do Beets and koel use?

Both use MIT.

Can I run Beets and koel with Docker?

We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. Check each project's documentation for install options.

Read more

Beets

Music library manager and MusicBrainz tagger (command-line and Web interface).

Active ★ 15.9k MIT ~$5/mo

koel

Personal music streaming server that works.

Active ★ 17.3k MIT ~$5/mo

Browse all self-hosted Media Streaming - Audio Streaming apps.

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