Self-Hosted YouTube Music Alternatives

Why Replace YouTube Music?

YouTube Music Premium costs $10.99/month ($132/year) or $16.99/month for Family ($204/year). Like Spotify, you’re renting access — cancel and everything disappears.

YouTube Music has specific issues beyond the general streaming complaints:

• Ad-heavy free tier. The free version plays ads between songs and doesn’t allow background playback on mobile. Google uses this to pressure upgrades.
• Tied to YouTube Premium. YouTube Music Premium is bundled with YouTube Premium for $13.99/month. Many users pay for the bundle just for ad-free YouTube, making the music service feel like an afterthought.
• Upload library integration is clunky. YouTube Music supports uploading your own files (inherited from Google Play Music), but the uploaded library is treated as second-class — mixing poorly with the streaming catalog and lacking many features.
• Google’s track record. Google killed Google Play Music and force-migrated users to YouTube Music. They could change or discontinue YouTube Music at any time. Google’s graveyard of abandoned products is long.
• Algorithmic recommendations favor engagement over quality. YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes watch time, not musical taste. Recommendations often feel generic.

Best Alternatives

Navidrome — Best Overall Replacement

Navidrome is a lightweight music server that streams your personal collection to Subsonic-compatible mobile apps. With ~50 MB of RAM and a single Docker container, it delivers a streaming experience that rivals YouTube Music for personal libraries.

Why it’s the best:

• Subsonic API compatibility = 20+ polished mobile apps (Symfonium, Ultrasonic, play:Sub)
• Transcoding for bandwidth-limited connections (stream FLAC as MP3 over cellular)
• Multi-user with per-user playlists and play history
• Last.fm scrobbling for listening stats
• Runs on a Raspberry Pi

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Navidrome]

Plex + Plexamp — Best Listening Experience

Plexamp is the most Spotify/YouTube Music-like experience available. Artist radio, sonic exploration (audio-based recommendations), gapless playback, crossfade, loudness normalization, and offline downloads. Requires Plex Pass ($120 lifetime).

Why choose it: Plexamp is the closest thing to YouTube Music’s recommendation engine for a personal library. Sonic Exploration analyzes audio characteristics to find similar songs — no cloud service needed.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Plex]

Jellyfin + Finamp — Best Free All-in-One

Jellyfin handles music alongside video, and Finamp is a dedicated music client for iOS and Android. If you already run Jellyfin for video, adding music costs nothing — same server, same infrastructure. Finamp provides offline downloads, gapless playback, and a music-focused UI.

[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Jellyfin]

Migration Guide

Exporting from YouTube Music

1. Export playlists: Use Exportify or Soundiiz to export your YouTube Music playlists to CSV or transfer them to another platform
2. Download uploaded music: If you uploaded music to YouTube Music (from the Google Play Music migration), go to Google Takeout → select YouTube Music → request download
3. Download purchased music: Any music purchased through Google Play Music is available for download via Takeout

Building Your Self-Hosted Library

YouTube Music users who stream primarily (no owned files) need to build a library:

• Bandcamp — FLAC downloads, best artist support
• Amazon Music — MP3 purchases
• iTunes/Apple Music — AAC purchases
• HDTracks — Hi-res FLAC for audiophiles
• CD ripping — Use whipper (Linux) or Exact Audio Copy (Windows) for lossless rips

Quick Navidrome Setup

services:
  navidrome:
    image: deluan/navidrome:0.54.5
    container_name: navidrome
    restart: unless-stopped
    user: "1000:1000"
    ports:
      - "4533:4533"
    environment:
      ND_SCANNER_SCHEDULE: "1h"
      ND_LOGLEVEL: "info"
      ND_ENABLETRANSCODINGCONFIG: "true"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
      - /path/to/music:/music:ro

Install Symfonium (Android, $5 one-time) or play:Sub (iOS, $5 one-time) for the mobile experience.

Cost Comparison

	YouTube Music Premium	YouTube Music Family	Self-Hosted (Navidrome)
Monthly cost	$10.99	$16.99	~$3-5 (electricity)
Annual cost	$131.88	$203.88	~$36-60
3-year cost	$395.64	$611.64	~$108-180 + music purchases
Audio quality	256 kbps AAC	256 kbps AAC	Lossless (FLAC)
Catalog	100M+ songs (rental)	Same (shared)	Your collection (owned)
Ad-free YouTube	Bundled ($13.99/mo)	Bundled ($22.99/mo)	N/A
Offline listening	Yes	Yes	Yes (via mobile apps)
Privacy	Google tracks everything	Same	Zero tracking
Upload own music	Yes (clunky)	Yes	Native — it’s your library

What You Give Up

• YouTube Music’s catalog: 100 million+ songs on demand. Self-hosting only covers music you own.
• Music videos: YouTube Music integrates official music videos with audio tracks. Self-hosted servers don’t have music video integration.
• Ad-free YouTube: If you’re paying for YouTube Premium primarily for ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music is a bonus, self-hosting the music doesn’t help with the YouTube ads problem.
• Discovery and playlists: YouTube Music’s algorithmic playlists (Discover Mix, Your Mix) draw from the entire catalog. Self-hosted discovery is limited to your library.
• Lyrics: YouTube Music shows real-time synced lyrics for most songs. Some Subsonic clients support lyrics via third-party sources, but it’s not as comprehensive.
• Casting: YouTube Music casts natively to Chromecast and Google/Nest speakers. Self-hosted music casting requires setup (DLNA, or casting from a mobile client).

FAQ

Can I get YouTube Music’s radio/mix features self-hosted?

Plexamp’s Sonic Exploration creates radio-like mixes from your library by analyzing audio characteristics. Navidrome doesn’t have this feature natively, but some Subsonic clients support shuffle-by-genre or random playlists. Nothing fully matches YouTube Music’s algorithm-driven mixes.

What if I mostly use YouTube Music for music videos?

Self-hosted music servers don’t handle music videos. For that use case, YouTube Music (or YouTube itself) has no real alternative. You could download music videos and serve them through Jellyfin, but there’s no integrated audio-video music experience.

Is the audio quality actually better?

Yes, significantly. YouTube Music streams at 256 kbps AAC. Self-hosted with FLAC gives you lossless audio (typically 800-1400 kbps). Even 320 kbps MP3 is noticeably better than YouTube Music’s quality. Whether you can hear the difference depends on your ears and equipment.

Can I share my server with family?

Yes. Navidrome supports multiple users with individual playlists, favorites, and play history. Each family member installs a Subsonic client and connects with their own account — no additional cost.

What about podcasts?

YouTube Music includes podcast integration. For self-hosted podcasts, use Audiobookshelf or a standalone podcast app. Most podcast apps (Pocket Casts, AntennaPod) work independently of any streaming service.

Related

• How to Self-Host Navidrome
• How to Self-Host Jellyfin
• How to Self-Host Plex
• Self-Hosted Spotify Alternatives
• How to Self-Host Audiobookshelf
• Best Self-Hosted Media Servers
• Docker Compose Basics