Open-source alternatives to Dropbox
The most popular self-hosted, open-source alternatives to Dropbox (file sync and sharing) are Syncthing (89,502 GitHub stars), copyparty (47,073 GitHub stars) and Nextcloud (37,174 GitHub stars). SelfHostHub lists 12 options below, taken from its File Transfer & Synchronization and Web-based File Managers categories; 5 support Docker and all of them can run on your own server.
Comparison of self-hosted Dropbox alternatives
| Project | GitHub stars | Licence | Language / platform | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syncthing | 89,502 | MPL-2.0 | Go, Docker, deb | Syncthing is an open source peer-to-peer file synchronisation tool. |
| copyparty | 47,073 | MIT | Python | Portable file server with accelerated resumable uploads, deduplication, WebDAV, FTP, zeroconf, media indexer, video thumbnails, audio transcoding, and write-only folders, in a single file with no mandatory dependencies. |
| Nextcloud | 37,174 | AGPL-3.0 | PHP, deb | Access and share your files, calendars, contacts, mail and [more](https://apps.nextcloud.com/) from any device, on your terms. |
| Cloudreve | 28,849 | GPL-3.0 | Docker, Go | File management and sharing system, supports multiple storage providers. |
| Seafile | 15,347 | GPL-2.0, GPL-3.0, AGPL-3.0, Apache-2.0 | C | File hosting and sharing solution primary for teams and organizations. |
| Filestash | 14,806 | AGPL-3.0 | Docker | Web file manager that lets you manage your data anywhere it is located: FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Git, S3, Minio, Dropbox, or Google Drive. |
| ownCloud | 8,837 | AGPL-3.0 | PHP, Docker, deb | All-in-one solution for saving, synchronizing, viewing, editing and sharing files, calendars, address books and more. |
| miniserve | 7,914 | MIT | Rust | CLI tool to serve files and dirs over HTTP. |
| OpenCloud | 6,187 | Apache-2.0 | Docker, Go, Nodejs | File Sharing and Collaboration Platform. |
| Tiny File Manager | 5,986 | GPL-3.0 | PHP | Web based File Manager in PHP, simple, fast and small file manager with a single file. |
| Unison | 5,536 | GPL-3.0 | deb, OCaml | Unison is a file-synchronization tool for OSX, Unix, and Windows. |
| TagSpaces | 5,333 | AGPL-3.0 | Nodejs | TagSpaces is an offline, cross-platform file manager and organiser that also can function as a note taking app. The WebDAV version of the application can be installed on top of a WebDAV servers such as Nextcloud or ownCloud. |
Star counts and licences come from the awesome-selfhosted dataset and may lag GitHub slightly.
Browse the full categories
All self-hosted File Transfer & Synchronization · All self-hosted File Transfer - Web-based File Managers
Frequently asked questions
What is the best open-source alternative to Dropbox?
By GitHub stars, Syncthing is the most popular self-hosted alternative to Dropbox listed here, followed by copyparty and Nextcloud. The best fit depends on the features and stack you need.
Is there a free self-hosted alternative to Dropbox?
Yes. All 12 projects on this page are open source and can be self-hosted at no licence cost; you pay only for your own server.
Which licences do these Dropbox alternatives use?
The most common licences among them are AGPL-3.0 (5), GPL-3.0 (4) and MIT (2).
Can I run a Dropbox alternative with Docker?
5 of the 12 alternatives list Docker as a supported platform.