FarPlay vs Jamulus

FarPlay enables people to play music together online with reduced audio delay. It transmits uncompressed, full-duplex 48kHz/16bit PCM audio and includes video, customizable layouts and screensharing. A Latency Slider lets users trade lower delay against the possibility of audio glitches. Sessions can be recorded as separate synchronized audio tracks for later import into a DAW, and Broadcast Output sends multi-channel audio to a DAW for livestream mixing. FarPlay uses peer-to-peer connections, without requiring server setup or router-port changes. It runs on Linux, macOS and Windows computers; phones and tablets are unsupported except Windows tablets with Intel processors. An internet connection that supports peer-to-peer connections is required, and Ethernet is recommended for ultra-low latency. The free plan limits sessions to two participants and 45 minutes. Paid plans start at $5.99 a month, with the first month free. Only the person starting a session needs a subscription for the session to receive subscription benefits.

Jamulus is free, open-source software for playing, rehearsing, or jamming remotely in real time over a broadband connection. It is described for choirs, bands, folk and classical musicians, music lessons, schools, and universities. In its client mixer, users can set the level they hear from each connected musician and use mute, solo, pan, and grouping controls. People connected to the same server can exchange text messages visible to everyone there. A connected MIDI controller can operate mixer volume, pan, mute, and solo controls, with availability depending on platform and version. Users may run their own server, but this is optional because clients can connect to listed or unlisted servers. Network conditions affect server quality; the manual says fewer than five players is usually fine on a slower home connection. Communications are sent without encryption, and normal use shares a user's Jamulus name, city, country, instrument, and skill level with connected servers, peers, and protocol-using third parties. When recording is enabled, unmodified servers show a notice, and the server operator controls recordings.