Nightingale

Nightingale is a free, open-source karaoke application that builds sing-along tracks from music you already own or host. It is best for technically inclined singers with a local or home-network library, especially those who need strong lyric handling for Asian languages. The trade-off is that you create and analyze tracks yourself instead of choosing from a packaged karaoke catalog.

Overview

Nightingale turns songs from local folders, Plex Media Server, Jellyfin, or Navidrome into karaoke performances. Vocal separation uses either the UVR Karaoke model or Demucs, while WhisperX transcribes and aligns lyrics word by word; LRCLIB lyrics are used when available. This makes a personal music collection usable for karaoke, but the preparation and analysis workflow is central to the experience.

Key features

Lyrics support is a major strength. You can provide timed LRC or Enhanced LRC files, paste plain lyrics for alignment, or edit existing lyrics. Japanese, Chinese, Cantonese, and Korean songs receive per-character alignment and romanized readings, which is particularly useful when standard word-level timing is inadequate.

Once a track has been analyzed, you can change its key and tempo and view pitch scoring in real time. That combination suits singers who want feedback rather than simple lyric display. Ten GPU shader backgrounds, five Pixabay video styles, and video-file backgrounds add visual variety without changing the core singing tools.

The app supports .mp4 and .mkv video files and experimental UltraStar song folders. Separate player profiles keep score histories apart, and gamepad navigation plus touch playback controls make it more practical for shared or living-room use. Vocal controls and track creation are included in the free Nightingale plan.

Privacy is another reason to consider it: the site describes Nightingale as having no cloud, and Navidrome login details are encrypted on disk. It is GPL-3.0-or-later open source, with Discord support and optional Patreon and Ko-fi support.

Pricing

Nightingale: free. The plan is a free and open-source karaoke app, with no free trial because the product itself is free. There are no paid tiers or published usage quotas, so it is the natural choice for individuals and self-hosters who can supply their own music libraries. You give up the convenience of a bundled commercial song catalog, and the software's track-analysis workflow remains part of the cost in time.

Platforms

Native builds run on Linux, macOS, and Windows. CUDA or Metal acceleration is used when available, with CPU fallback, so compatible hardware can reduce processing time without making those accelerators mandatory. A self-hosted web build runs on a Linux computer on a home network and is opened in a browser. The platform mix suits households with mixed devices, although the web deployment specifically requires a Linux host.

Who it's for

Choose Nightingale if you have music in local folders or Plex, Jellyfin, or Navidrome and want to turn that collection into scored karaoke. It is especially compelling for multilingual singers who need per-character timing or romanization, and for households that want profiles, controllers, and touch playback. Look elsewhere if your priority is instant access to a large supplied song selection or a minimal setup before singing.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Vocal separation and track creation work with personal libraries rather than requiring a fixed catalog.
• Pros: WhisperX alignment, editable lyrics, and CJK character timing cover demanding lyric workflows.
• Pros: Key and tempo changes, real-time pitch scoring, and separate score histories support practice and group play.
• Pros: Free GPL-licensed software, native desktop builds, and a self-hosted browser option avoid subscription costs and cloud dependence.
• Cons: Songs must be analyzed and prepared, so it is less immediate than a service with ready-to-sing tracks.
• Cons: The browser deployment requires a Linux home-network host, limiting its appeal for users who want a hosted web service.
• Cons: UltraStar support is experimental, so users depending on that format should treat it as an additional rather than definitive workflow.

Alternatives

Browse Karaoke Software for a wider comparison. Pick KaraFun instead if you prefer freemium access across Android, iOS, macOS, web, and Windows, with a Premium plan at £7.99 a month; its free tier includes free songs and Premium previews.

Karaoke 5 is a better fit when a Windows or macOS player and manager are enough; its free edition has no synchronization, YouTube downloads, mobile management, or music quiz. Choose OpenKJ for free, open-source karaoke hosting across desktop, mobile, and web platforms, or its OpenKJ Songbook service from $9.99 a month.

Encore Karaoke suits users wanting a free open-source player on Android, Linux, macOS, or Windows, but its song library is not included. Karaoke Mugen is another free, MIT-licensed option for Linux, macOS, web, and Windows.

Choose Kanto Karaoke Player&Recorder if recording is central and macOS or Windows is sufficient; its free Windows version limits playlists to five songs and recordings to one minute. Performous offers free software for Linux, macOS, and Windows. Smule is the alternative for Android, iOS, or web users who want to join existing duets at no cost, with a 19.99 USD-per-month VIP All Access Pass.

Verdict

Nightingale is the strongest choice for singers who want to build karaoke from their own libraries, control lyrics closely, and receive pitch feedback without paying for software. Its main reason to look elsewhere is equally clear: anyone seeking an instant, supplied catalog will find the preparation workflow less suitable than a catalog-based service.