Icecast vs Shoutcast: Complete Radio Hosting Comparison for 2026

Quick answer: Icecast is free, open-source, and more flexible. Shoutcast has better directory integration but requires licensing for commercial use. For most radio stations, Icecast is the better choice—it's completely free, supports more formats, and works with all major radio software. Both are easy to set up on a VPS.

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Quick Comparison

| Feature | Icecast | Shoutcast | |---------|---------|-----------| | Cost | Free (open-source) | Free (non-commercial) / Paid (commercial) | | License | GPL | Proprietary | | Audio formats | MP3, Ogg, Opus, FLAC, AAC | MP3, AAC | | Directory listing | Radio Browser, TuneIn (manual) | Shoutcast.com (built-in) | | Metadata support | Excellent | Good | | Source software | Wide compatibility | Wide compatibility | | Statistics | Built-in, extensible | Built-in | | Relay support | Yes | Yes | | SSL/HTTPS | Yes | Yes | | Configuration | XML file | INI file |

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What is Icecast?

Icecast is an open-source streaming media server developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation (same people behind Ogg Vorbis, Opus, FLAC).

Key Features

• Free forever: No licensing fees, even for commercial use
• Format flexibility: MP3, Ogg, Opus, FLAC, WebM, Theora
• Multiple mount points: Run many stations on one server
• Relay support: Chain servers for scaling
• HTTPS: Native TLS/SSL support
• Stats API: JSON/XML stats for monitoring

Ideal For

• Community radio stations
• DIY hobbyist stations
• Podcast streaming
• Stations using Ogg/Opus (better quality per bitrate)
• Commercial stations (no licensing needed)

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What is Shoutcast?

Shoutcast is proprietary streaming software developed by Nullsoft (WinAmp) and now owned by Shoutcast/Radionomy.

Key Features

• Shoutcast Directory: Built-in listing on shoutcast.com
• YP (Yellow Pages): Easy public visibility
• DNAS v2: Modern server software
• Wide adoption: Many listeners know Shoutcast
• Mobile apps: Directory apps find your station

Ideal For

• Stations wanting Shoutcast directory exposure
• Simple MP3-only streaming
• Hobbyist stations (free tier)
• Stations already using Shoutcast ecosystem

Commercial Licensing

For commercial use, Shoutcast requires licensing:

| Use Case | Cost | |----------|------| | Non-commercial (hobby) | Free | | Commercial (small) | €49/month | | Commercial (large) | Custom pricing |

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Technical Comparison

Supported Formats

| Format | Icecast | Shoutcast | |--------|---------|-----------| | MP3 | ✅ | ✅ | | AAC/AAC+ | ✅ | ✅ | | Ogg Vorbis | ✅ | ❌ | | Opus | ✅ | ❌ | | FLAC | ✅ | ❌ | | WebM | ✅ | ❌ |

Icecast advantage: Opus at 64 kbps sounds like MP3 at 128 kbps, saving half your bandwidth.

Mount Points / Streams

Icecast:

• Unlimited mount points
• Each mount point is a separate stream
• Different formats/bitrates per mount

Example:

http://server:8000/radio-128.mp3
http://server:8000/radio-64.opus
http://server:8000/radio-hifi.flac

Shoutcast:

• Multiple streams possible via SID
• Less intuitive configuration
• Format-limited

Connection Limits

| Aspect | Icecast | Shoutcast | |--------|---------|-----------| | Default listeners | Unlimited (server-limited) | Configurable | | Source connections | Unlimited | 1 per stream (v2: more) | | Relay connections | Unlimited | Configurable |

Both are limited only by your VPS bandwidth and CPU.

Statistics and Monitoring

Icecast:

• JSON stats: http://server:8000/status-json.xsl
• XML stats: http://server:8000/admin/stats
• Custom XSL templates

Shoutcast:

• Admin panel: http://server:8000/admin.cgi
• XML stats: http://server:8000/statistics
• Shoutcast directory stats

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Setup Guide: Icecast on VPS

Step 1: Install Icecast

sudo apt update
sudo apt install icecast2 -y

During installation:

• Configure icecast: Yes
• Hostname: your-domain.com or server IP
• Source password: password for DJs
• Relay password: for relay servers
• Admin password: for admin panel

Step 2: Configure Icecast

Edit configuration:

sudo nano /etc/icecast2/icecast.xml

Key settings:

<icecast>
    <location>Netherlands</location>
    <admin>[email protected]</admin>
    
    <limits>
        <clients>100</clients>
        <sources>5</sources>
        <queue-size>524288</queue-size>
        <client-timeout>30</client-timeout>
        <source-timeout>10</source-timeout>
    </limits>
    
    <authentication>
        <source-password>your-source-password</source-password>
        <relay-password>your-relay-password</relay-password>
        <admin-user>admin</admin-user>
        <admin-password>your-admin-password</admin-password>
    </authentication>
    
    <hostname>radio.yoursite.com</hostname>
    
    <listen-socket>
        <port>8000</port>
    </listen-socket>
    
    <mount>
        <mount-name>/radio.mp3</mount-name>
        <stream-name>My Radio Station</stream-name>
        <stream-description>The best music 24/7</stream-description>
        <genre>Various</genre>
        <bitrate>128</bitrate>
        <public>1</public>
    </mount>
</icecast>

Step 3: Start Icecast

sudo systemctl enable icecast2
sudo systemctl start icecast2

Step 4: Connect Source

Use BUTT, Mixxx, or Liquidsoap to stream to:

• Server: YOUR_VPS_IP
• Port: 8000
• Mount: /radio.mp3
• Password: your-source-password

Your stream: http://YOUR_VPS_IP:8000/radio.mp3

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Setup Guide: Shoutcast on VPS

Step 1: Download Shoutcast DNAS

mkdir -p /opt/shoutcast
cd /opt/shoutcast

# Download latest Shoutcast DNAS (check shoutcast.com for current version)
wget https://download.shoutcast.com/shoutcast-dnas-linux-x64-2.6.0.753.tar.gz
tar -xzf shoutcast-dnas-*.tar.gz

Step 2: Configure Shoutcast

Copy and edit config:

cp sc_serv_sample.conf sc_serv.conf
nano sc_serv.conf

Key settings:

; Server configuration
adminpassword=your-admin-password
password=your-source-password
portbase=8000
maxuser=100

; Stream settings
streamid_1=1
streampath_1=/stream

; Directory listing (optional)
publicserver=default

Step 3: Run Shoutcast

./sc_serv daemon sc_serv.conf

Step 4: Create Systemd Service

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/shoutcast.service

[Unit]
Description=Shoutcast DNAS Server
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=forking
ExecStart=/opt/shoutcast/sc_serv daemon /opt/shoutcast/sc_serv.conf
ExecStop=/opt/shoutcast/sc_serv quit
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable shoutcast
sudo systemctl start shoutcast

Your stream: http://YOUR_VPS_IP:8000/stream

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Source Software Compatibility

Both Icecast and Shoutcast work with popular broadcast software:

Live DJ Software

| Software | Icecast | Shoutcast | Notes | |----------|---------|-----------|-------| | BUTT | ✅ | ✅ | Free, simple | | Mixxx | ✅ | ✅ | Free DJ software | | Virtual DJ | ✅ | ✅ | Popular DJ software | | Traktor | ✅ | ✅ | Via plugins | | SAM Broadcaster | ✅ | ✅ | Paid, full-featured |

AutoDJ / Automation

| Software | Icecast | Shoutcast | Notes | |----------|---------|-----------|-------| | Liquidsoap | ✅ | ✅ | Free, powerful | | AzuraCast | ✅ | ✅ | Web interface | | RadioDJ | ✅ | ✅ | Windows only | | Airtime/LibreTime | ✅ | ❌ | Icecast only |

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Audio Quality Comparison

MP3 Streaming (Same on Both)

| Bitrate | Quality | Bandwidth per listener | |---------|---------|------------------------| | 64 kbps | Acceptable | 28 MB/hour | | 96 kbps | Good | 42 MB/hour | | 128 kbps | Standard | 56 MB/hour | | 192 kbps | High | 84 MB/hour | | 320 kbps | Best MP3 | 140 MB/hour |

Opus (Icecast Only)

| Bitrate | Comparable MP3 | Savings | |---------|----------------|---------| | 48 kbps | 96 kbps | 50% | | 64 kbps | 128 kbps | 50% | | 96 kbps | 192 kbps | 50% |

Opus advantage: Half the bandwidth for same quality.

AAC+ (Both Support)

| Bitrate | Comparable MP3 | Notes | |---------|----------------|-------| | 48 kbps | 128 kbps | Good for talk radio | | 64 kbps | 160 kbps | Music acceptable | | 96 kbps | 256 kbps | Very good |

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Directory Listing

Shoutcast Directory

Shoutcast has built-in directory listing at shoutcast.com:

1. Set publicserver=default in config
2. Add stream info:

   streamtitle_1=My Radio Station
   genre_1=Rock
   

3. Station appears in Shoutcast directory

Millions of users search this directory via:

• shoutcast.com website
• WinAmp
• Various mobile apps

Icecast Directory Options

Icecast doesn't have a single directory, but you can list in:

Radio Browser (Automatic)

• Set <public>1</public> in mount config
• Appears in radio-browser.info
• Powers many radio apps

TuneIn (Manual submission)

1. Apply at tunein.com/broadcasters
2. Submit stream URL
3. Once approved, appears in TuneIn app

Radio Garden

1. Submit at radio.garden/add
2. Provides geographic discovery

Which Has Better Discovery?

• Shoutcast: Better for pure internet radio discovery
• Icecast: More options but requires more setup

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Scaling and Reliability

Relays

Both support relay servers for scaling:

Icecast Relay Config:

<relay>
    <server>primary.yourradio.com</server>
    <port>8000</port>
    <mount>/radio.mp3</mount>
    <local-mount>/radio.mp3</local-mount>
    <relay-shoutcast-metadata>1</relay-shoutcast-metadata>
</relay>

Shoutcast Relay Config:

; In sc_serv.conf
relay_1=primary.yourradio.com:8000/;stream.nsv

Fallback Mounts

If primary DJ disconnects, play fallback:

Icecast:

<mount>
    <mount-name>/live</mount-name>
    <fallback-mount>/autodj</fallback-mount>
    <fallback-override>1</fallback-override>
</mount>

High Availability

For mission-critical radio, use multiple VPS in different regions with DNS-based failover or a load balancer.

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Security Considerations

Icecast Security

<!-- Restrict admin panel to localhost -->
<paths>
    <adminroot>/usr/share/icecast2/admin</adminroot>
    <webroot>/usr/share/icecast2/web</webroot>
</paths>

<!-- Use HTTPS -->
<listen-socket>
    <port>8443</port>
    <ssl>1</ssl>
</listen-socket>
<paths>
    <ssl-certificate>/path/to/fullchain.pem</ssl-certificate>
    <ssl-allowed-ciphers>ECDH+AESGCM:DH+AESGCM:ECDH+AES256:DH+AES256</ssl-allowed-ciphers>
</paths>

Shoutcast Security

; Restrict admin access
adminpassword=very-strong-password

; Limit IPs (if supported by your version)
; Generally less configurable than Icecast

General VPS Security

# Firewall
ufw allow 8000  # Stream port
ufw allow 22    # SSH
ufw enable

# Fail2ban for brute force protection
apt install fail2ban -y

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Cost Analysis

Icecast Setup

| Item | Cost | |------|------| | Software | Free | | VPS (2GB) | €10/month | | Domain | €1/month | | SSL (Let's Encrypt) | Free | | Total | €11/month |

Shoutcast Setup

Non-commercial (hobby): | Item | Cost | |------|------| | Software | Free | | VPS (2GB) | €10/month | | Domain | €1/month | | Total | €11/month |

Commercial: | Item | Cost | |------|------| | License | €49+/month | | VPS (2GB) | €10/month | | Domain | €1/month | | Total | €60+/month |

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Which Should You Choose?

Choose Icecast If:

✅ You want free software with no licensing concerns
✅ You stream formats other than MP3 (Opus, Ogg, FLAC)
✅ You want flexible mount point configuration
✅ You're on a budget
✅ You prefer open-source
✅ You use Linux-based automation (Liquidsoap, AzuraCast)

Choose Shoutcast If:

✅ You specifically want Shoutcast directory listing
✅ Your audience already uses Shoutcast-aware apps
✅ You only need MP3/AAC streaming
✅ You're a hobbyist (free tier)
✅ You're migrating from existing Shoutcast setup

For Most Users: Icecast Wins

Unless you specifically need Shoutcast directory, Icecast is the better choice:

• Completely free forever
• More audio formats
• Better documentation
• Active open-source community
• Works with AzuraCast (easiest radio management)

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Using Both Together

Some stations run both:

• Icecast: Main streaming (Opus for modern players)
• Shoutcast: MP3 stream for directory listing

Configure your source software to encode twice and send to both servers.

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Migration Guide

Shoutcast to Icecast

1. Install Icecast on same or new VPS
2. Configure same source password
3. Create matching mount points
4. Update DNS or stream URL
5. Test with source software
6. Switch over

Most source software (BUTT, Mixxx, Liquidsoap) just needs server address change.

Icecast to Shoutcast

1. Note: Ogg/Opus streams need re-encoding to MP3
2. Install Shoutcast DNAS
3. Configure similar settings
4. Update source software
5. Update embed codes/links

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use both for the same station?

Yes. Run Icecast on port 8000, Shoutcast on 8010. Stream to both from your source.

Which has better sound quality?

Same for MP3/AAC. Icecast wins if you use Opus (better quality per bitrate).

Is Shoutcast really free?

For non-commercial use, yes. Commercial use requires licensing.

Can listeners tell the difference?

No. The listening experience is identical—just a URL.

Which is easier to set up?

Icecast is slightly easier on Linux (apt install). Shoutcast requires manual download.

Do mobile apps work with both?

Most radio apps (TuneIn, Simple Radio) work with any HTTP audio stream.

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Conclusion

For 2026, Icecast is the recommended choice for most internet radio stations:

1. Free forever - no licensing concerns
2. Better formats - Opus saves bandwidth
3. AzuraCast compatible - best management interface
4. Active community - regular updates

Shoutcast remains viable for hobbyists wanting easy directory listing, but the commercial licensing and format limitations make it less attractive for serious stations.

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Related guides:

• AzuraCast Radio Server Setup
• 24/7 Live Stream VPS Setup
• Multistreaming Guide