Is Icecast Better Than Shoutcast?

When it comes to streaming audio, two of the most popular solutions are Icecast and Shoutcast. Both of these solutions have been around for a long time and have been used by many broadcasters to stream their audio content. But which one is better? In this blog post, we’ll take a look at the differences between Icecast and Shoutcast and determine which one is the better option for streaming audio.
 
What Is Icecast?
Icecast is an open source streaming media server that was developed by Xiph.org in 1999. It is designed to stream audio over the internet using the Ogg Vorbis, Opus, MP3, and AAC codecs. It can also be used to stream video using Theora or VP8 codecs. Icecast is free to use and can be installed on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows operating systems.
 
What Is Shoutcast?
Shoutcast is a proprietary streaming media server developed by Nullsoft in 1998. It was originally designed to stream MP3 audio over the internet but has since been updated to support other formats such as AAC+, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, WAV, and WMA. Unlike Icecast, Shoutcast requires a license in order to use it commercially or for broadcasting purposes.
 
Features Comparison
When comparing Icecast and Shoutcast, there are several features that should be taken into consideration. In terms of supported codecs, both solutions support MP3 but only Icecast supports Ogg Vorbis, Opus, AAC+, FLAC, WAV and WMA formats as well as video streaming with Theora or VP8 codecs. In terms of scalability, both solutions can easily scale up or down depending on your needs but only Icecast offers advanced features such as authentication for listeners and administrators as well as real-time statistics about your streams. Finally, when it comes to cost both solutions are free but if you need commercial use or broadcasting capabilities then you will need a license for Shoutcast while IceCast remains free even for commercial use or broadcasting purposes.
 
Conclusion 
From our comparison above it’s clear that when it comes to streaming audio over the internet then IceCast is the better option due its support for more codecs (including video), its scalability options and its lack of licensing fees even for commercial use or broadcasting purposes.