Koel
A clean personal jukebox; solo listening is free, team features are not.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-11
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- MIT
- Hosting Model
- Self-host (your server)
- Platforms
- mobilewebself-hostedself-host, real ops
- Installation
- Download and extract the standalone Koel/FrankenPHP archive, then run the bundled server; Docker is also available
- Operational Setup
- The macOS standalone binary is not code-signed and needs its quarantine flag removed; public access still needs a stable host and domain/reverse-proxy setup
- Where Your Data Lives
- Music stays at the configured media path; the standalone build keeps configuration, a SQLite database, logs, cache, images and transcodes under ~/.koel/
- The Catch / Trade-off
- It streams only your own files and lacks Apple Music's licensed catalogue, native Apple-device integration, family plan, and managed offline library.
Replaces 4 paid apps
up to $48.96/mo ($588/yr) in subscriptions
Koel FAQ
Common questions
Is Koel free and open source?+
Koel is an open-source tool licensed under MIT that runs on self-host. A clean personal jukebox; solo listening is free, team features are not.
What paid software does Koel replace?+
Koel serves as a free replacement for 4 paid SaaS applications: Apple Music, Spotify Premium, TIDAL, YouTube Music Premium, saving up to $48.96/month ($588/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up Koel?+
Installation: Download and extract the standalone Koel/FrankenPHP archive, then run the bundled server; Docker is also available. Setup notes: The macOS standalone binary is not code-signed and needs its quarantine flag removed; public access still needs a stable host and domain/reverse-proxy setup
What is the catch or trade-off with Koel?+
It streams only your own files and lacks Apple Music's licensed catalogue, native Apple-device integration, family plan, and managed offline library.