TimeSide vs pyAudioAnalysis
Python audio analysis tools compared
TimeSide and pyAudioAnalysis are Python projects for analyzing audio. TimeSide combines a plug-in framework with a server and REST API for media processing, while pyAudioAnalysis focuses on feature extraction, classification, segmentation, and related machine-learning tasks.

TimeSide: Process and Analyze Audio at Scale with Python
TimeSide is a Python framework and server for analyzing, visualizing, transcoding, streaming, and labeling audio and video. Its plug-in architecture supports both local processing and a REST API for larger, asynchronous workloads.

pyAudioAnalysis: Analyze, Classify and Segment Audio
pyAudioAnalysis is a Python library for audio feature extraction, classification, segmentation and related applications. It provides tools for tasks such as sound classification, event detection, speaker diarization and audio visualization.
| TimeSide | pyAudioAnalysis | |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Python | Python |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Stars | 393 | 6.3k |
| Forks | 60 | 1.2k |
| Last analyzed | Oct 29, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Key differences
- TimeSide covers audio and video processing, including transcoding, streaming, visualization, and labeling; pyAudioAnalysis focuses on audio analysis tasks such as classification, event detection, and speaker diarization.
- TimeSide offers a plug-in architecture and REST API for asynchronous jobs; pyAudioAnalysis provides Python wrappers and command-line workflows.
- TimeSide uses the AGPL-3.0 license, while pyAudioAnalysis uses Apache-2.0.
- TimeSide documents Docker Compose as its installation route and says it does not support use outside the original Docker container; pyAudioAnalysis requirements identify Python and tests, with no required GPU, database, or container runtime specified.
- TimeSide is marked inactive, with no commits or releases in over a year; pyAudioAnalysis is marked maintained and has had a few recent commits, though neither has published a release in over a year.
- TimeSide is suited to media collections and integrations that need a processing service; pyAudioAnalysis centers on Python and command-line workflows for audio features and machine-learning applications.
Choose TimeSide if you…
- need a REST API for asynchronous audio processing or transcoding jobs.
- want a plug-in framework for processing, visualizing, streaming, or labeling audio and video.
- work with media collections and need server-based workflows alongside Python processing.
Choose pyAudioAnalysis if you…
- need tools for audio feature extraction, classification, segmentation, or event detection.
- want to explore speaker diarization or other unsupervised audio analysis.
- prefer Python wrappers or command-line tools for audio machine-learning workflows.
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This comparison is generated with AI from the OSRepos analyses of both projects. Always check each project's repository and documentation before choosing.