head to head · open source
Navidrome vs Nuclear
Navidrome has 24,490 GitHub stars, 1,799 forks, 275 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nuclear has 18,856 stars, 1,356 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Navidrome leads on adoption by 30% (24,490 vs 18,856 stars). Navidrome is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Nuclear is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Navidrome has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, Nuclear 7%. Nuclear was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (music), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Navidrome | Nuclear | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 24K | ★ 19K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 1.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Navidrome if
- You weight community size — 24K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Nuclear if
- You want the Nuclear feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Nuclear fits your workflow better
About Navidrome
Navidrome Music Server Navidrome is an open source web based music collection server and streamer. It gives you freedom to listen to your music collection from any browser or mobile device. It's like your personal Spotify! Note : The master branch may be in an unstable or even broken state during development. Please use releases instead of the master branch in order to get a stable set of binaries. Check out our Live Demo! Any feedback is welcome! If you need/want a new feature, find a bug or think of any way to improve Navidrome, please file a GitHub issue or join the discussion in our Subreddit. If you want to…
read the full Navidrome overview →
About Nuclear
Nuclear Nuclear is a free, open source music player without ads or tracking. Search for any song or artist, build playlists, and start listening. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Screenshots Nuclear comes with multiple built in themes: Download Grab the latest release for your platform from the Releases page. Features Search for music and stream it from any source Browse artist pages with biographies, discographies, and similar artists Browse album pages with track listings Queue management with shuffle, repeat, and drag and drop reordering Favorites (albums, artists, and tracks) Playlists (create, import…
read the full Nuclear overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Media & Streaming projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Media & Streaming field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Navidrome or Nuclear more popular?
Navidrome has 24,490 GitHub stars and Nuclear has 18,856. Navidrome has the larger community by that measure.
Are Navidrome and Nuclear free?
Both are open source. Navidrome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Nuclear under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Navidrome and Nuclear?
Navidrome is written in Go and Nuclear in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Navidrome or Nuclear?
Choose Navidrome if you want the larger community (24,490 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Nuclear if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.