ListenBrainz
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Use it if you're a music obsessive who wants free, open, exportable listening data and deeper stats than Last.fm.
New check
Comparison
ListenBrainz vs Last.fm
ListenBrainz and Last.fm both land on Worth it.
Last.fm
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want automatic listening stats and music discovery . the free tier is low-risk.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Worth it |
| Best for | Music nerds tracking every play | Music stat nerds |
| Who it's not for | Casual listeners wanting zero-setup tracking | People wanting a streaming service . it barely plays music |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.11 | 2012 password breach on record; one CVE affects a third-party WordPress plugin, not's own service. |
| Support quality | Volunteer community forum; no paid SLA | No support evidence in reviewed sources |
| Public sentiment | Enthusiasts praise the open, self-hostable data and richer stats, but report scrobble reliability gaps versus.⁵ | Long-term Reddit users are loyal . many cite decade-plus listening histories and stats . while others question the service's future and data quality. |
| Biggest gotcha | Nonprofit, donation-funded: no SLA or paid support; fixes move at volunteer pace.¹ | If your account predates 2012, reset your password . old credentials were leaked. |
Pick ListenBrainz when
- Music nerds tracking every play
- Self-hosted server users (Navidrome, Funkwhale)
- Last.fm refugees wanting data ownership
- Developers building on listening APIs
When ListenBrainz is not a fit
- Casual listeners wanting zero-setup tracking
- App developers needing Spotify-scale listening-data reach
- Anyone needing Last.fm feature parity today
- iOS-first users wanting a mature app
Pick Last.fm when
- Music stat nerds
- Listeners across multiple services
- Artists tracking their plays
- Music discovery fans
When Last.fm is not a fit
- People wanting a streaming service . it barely plays music
- Privacy-conscious users
- Casual listeners fine with Spotify Wrapped
- Businesses or teams . it is consumer-only
Sources
- ListenBrainz donate pagelistenbrainz.orgofficial
- ListenBrainz homepagelistenbrainz.orgofficial
- Last.fm API proxylistenbrainz.orgofficial
- ListenBrainz client libraries docslistenbrainz.readthedocs.ioofficial
review
- Weekly Jams not updating weeklyreddit.comreview
news
- ListenBrainz iOS App - Road to Productioncommunity.metabrainz.orgofficial
- ListenBrainz product security pagelistenbrainz.orgsecurity
- listenbrainz-labs security policygithub.comsecurity
- MusicBrainz / MetaBrainz overviewen.wikipedia.orgnews
review
- How Last.fm Recommends New Artists and Songsresources.onestowatch.comreview