Helix vs PinePods

Comparing two open source alternatives to Spotify. Use the comparison below to decide which one fits your needs.

Helix

AGPL-3.0

Self-hosted music player with Pandora-style stations, shared listening lobbies, and playlist imports, built on a Subsonic-compatible library.

GPL-3.0

A self-hosted, cross-platform podcast management system with a modern Rust and Python stack.

	Helix	PinePods
License	AGPL-3.0	GPL-3.0
Self-hostable	Yes	Yes
GitHub Stars	32	986
Forks	2	71
Open Issues	2	145
Last Commit	Sep 9, 2026	Sep 9, 2026
First Released	Feb 12, 2026	Sep 3, 2022
Categories	Music Player Music Discovery	Content Publishing Podcasting
Tags	#music #streaming #subsonic #media-server	#podcast #self hosted #audio #cross-platform

Cross-platform lossless music player with rich library management, synced lyrics, and gapless playback for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Android music app that plays YouTube Music, Gaana and Saavn plus your local files through one ad-free interface.

Self-hosted music server focused on metadata integration and UI, with music videos as first-class citizens and mobile apps for Android and iOS.

Self-hosted podcast server that uses AI to automatically remove ads from episodes before you hit play.

Modern, lightweight self-hosted music server compatible with Subsonic/Airsonic clients — stream your music everywhere.

Self-hosted tracker for media consumption and fitness, with imports from Trakt, Goodreads, MyAnimeList, Plex, Jellyfin and more.