Despite their similarities, Soulseek and FriendNet serve very different purposes. Soulseek is a single, global network where you can search and download files from anyone on the network. Like FriendNet, it uses a peer-to-peer sharing model.
The main differences are:
- Soulseek is a single network, you cannot host a private server
- FriendNet works without port forwarding and on symmetric NATs (via relay)
FriendNet is not meant as a replacement for Soulseek, it is rather a tool heavily inspired by it to serve small- to medium-sized groups who want to share files.
| * | FriendNet | Soulseek |
|---|---|---|
| Who Stores Files? | Users | Users |
| Sharing Model | Peer-to-peer | Peer-to-peer |
| Self-Hosted? | Yes | No |
| Users Need to Port Forward? | No | Yes, to share effectively |
| Supported Platforms | Desktop OSes | Clients exist for most platforms |
FriendNet was created by an active Soulseek user who wanted something similar that worked without port forwarding and behind restrictive NATs and firewalls.
Should you use Soulseek over FriendNet? If you want to download files from a huge global network, Soulseek will always be a better choice. Do you want a user-friendly, always-works way for you and your friends to share large file collections? FriendNet was designed specifically for that.