I’ve been a Spotify user for years. It was convenient, had everything I wanted to listen to, and worked seamlessly across all my devices. But somewhere along the way, things changed. The free tier became nearly unusable due to constant ads interrupting every few songs. Then came the price increases. And the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became with handing over data about every single song I played. So a few weeks ago, I decided to try something different. I built my own music streaming server using Navidrome, and honestly, I’m not going back.

Navidrome puts you in control of your music

It comes loaded with features

Navidrome is an open-source, self-hosted music server that turns your personal collection into a private streaming service. You can install it on a home server, old laptop, or Raspberry Pi. Once it’s set up, you point it to your music folder, and it scans your files to build a searchable library with a clean web interface.

Unlike Spotify, which stores everything in the cloud and decides what you can access, Navidrome works with music you already own. It supports MP3, FLAC, AAC, and other formats. It reads your metadata, fetches album art, and organizes everything so you can stream from any browser or mobile app. Because it uses the Subsonic API, many third-party apps work with it out of the box.

Navidrome lets you listen to your collection from any browser or mobile device without subscription fees or tracking. It respects your existing tags and metadata. If your files are already organized, everything works smoothly. It can also fetch artist bios, album art, and missing metadata from Last.fm, Spotify, or Deezer. If you use Last.fm or ListenBrainz, you can enable scrobbling to track your play history.

It supports smart playlists, handles multi-disc albums correctly, and allows you to browse by folder structure if you prefer that over tags. You can also create separate libraries with their own access controls. Navidrome is actively developed with regular updates and bug fixes. There’s a helpful community on Reddit and Discord.

Setting up Navidrome was easier than I expected

At least on Linux

I’m running Navidrome on an old laptop that was collecting dust. It’s nothing fancy, just a basic machine with Ubuntu installed. The setup process was surprisingly straightforward. I followed the official documentation, which guides you through the step-by-step installation of the software.

Start by installing ffmpeg, which Navidrome uses for audio transcoding. Then download the latest Navidrome package from GitHub and install it. The commands look something like this:

sudo apt install ffmpegwget https://github.com/navidrome/navidrome/releases/download/vX.Y.Z/navidrome_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.deb sudo apt install ./navidrome_X.Y.Z_linux_amd64.deb

After that, edit the config file at /etc/navidrome/navidrome.toml to point to your music folder. Once that’s done, enable the service and start it:

sudo systemctl enable --now navidromesudo systemctl status navidrome

That’s about it. Now all you need to do is go to the localhost URL on your browser and create a login ID and password. If you prefer Docker, there’s a containerized setup available too, but I went with the native install since I was already on Ubuntu.

Navidrome might not be for everyone, though

Some might want to stick to Spotify

Navidrome has a lot going for it if you care about privacy and control. Your music stays on your own server. There’s no cloud service analyzing your listening habits or selling your data. You decide who can access it and how it is accessed. The software is lightweight and runs efficiently even on modest hardware. My old laptop handles it easily, even with a library of several thousand songs. It supports all common audio formats like MP3, FLAC, AAC, and OGG. If you have high-quality files, you can stream them at full quality or transcode them on the fly for mobile connections.

Multi-user support is one of its best features. You can create multiple accounts, each with its own playlists, favorites, and play counts. It’s useful if you want to share access with family or friends without mixing up each other’s stats. The web interface is clean and responsive, built with Material-UI. It handles album art, metadata, and compilations well. You can rate songs, favorite artists and albums, and import existing playlists in M3U format.

Because Navidrome uses the Subsonic API, it works with a wide range of third-party apps. On Android, DSub and Ultrasonic are popular options. On iOS, play:Sub and Amperfy work well. There are also desktop clients and Kodi plugins. If you don’t like one app, you can switch to another without losing functionality.

That said, Navidrome isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t surpass Spotify in every way. The biggest thing missing is music discovery. Spotify’s algorithm is great at recommending new songs and artists based on your habits. Navidrome doesn’t do that. It’s just your library. If you want new music, you have to find and add it yourself. It takes more effort and feels less convenient.

There’s also the setup and maintenance side. Spotify is plug-and-play. You install the app, log in, and start listening. Navidrome requires installation, configuration, and file management. It’s not hard if you’re comfortable with basic server setups, but it’s not for everyone. The Subsonic app ecosystem is large, but none of the apps feel as refined as Spotify’s. Some have quirks, others lack features, and you might need to try a few before settling on one you like.

Try more open-source apps

If Navidrome isn’t for you, try another free and open-source Spotify alternative you can build and share with friends. If you want to explore more open-source software, check out the apps that can replace your daily essentials, or take a look at these four small tools that can save you hours every week.