Open-source alternatives to Google Drive
The most popular self-hosted, open-source alternatives to Google Drive (cloud file storage and sync) are Syncthing (89,502 GitHub stars), Nextcloud (37,174 GitHub stars) and SeaweedFS (35,572 GitHub stars). SelfHostHub lists 12 options below, taken from its File Transfer & Synchronization and Object Storage & File Servers categories; 6 support Docker and all of them can run on your own server.
Comparison of self-hosted Google Drive 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. |
| 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. |
| SeaweedFS | 35,572 | Apache-2.0 | Go | SeaweedFS is an open source distributed file system supporting WebDAV, S3 API, FUSE mount, HDFS, etc, optimized for lots of small files, and easy to add capacity. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| OpenCloud | 6,187 | Apache-2.0 | Docker, Go, Nodejs | File Sharing and Collaboration Platform. |
| Unison | 5,536 | GPL-3.0 | deb, OCaml | Unison is a file-synchronization tool for OSX, Unix, and Windows. |
| Kinto | 4,418 | Apache-2.0 | Python | Minimalist JSON storage service with synchronisation and sharing abilities. |
| Pydio | 2,256 | AGPL-3.0 | Go | Turn any web server into a powerful file management system and an alternative to mainstream cloud storage providers. |
| Zenko CloudServer | 1,953 | Apache-2.0 | Docker, Nodejs | Implementation of the Amazon S3 protocol on the front-end and backend storage capabilities to multiple clouds, including Azure and Google. |
| Sync-in | 1,940 | AGPL-3.0 | Nodejs, Docker | File storage, syncing, sharing, and collaboration with real-time editing, permission management, and desktop/CLI clients. |
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 - Object Storage & File Servers
Frequently asked questions
What is the best open-source alternative to Google Drive?
By GitHub stars, Syncthing is the most popular self-hosted alternative to Google Drive listed here, followed by Nextcloud and SeaweedFS. The best fit depends on the features and stack you need.
Is there a free self-hosted alternative to Google Drive?
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 Google Drive alternatives use?
The most common licences among them are AGPL-3.0 (5), Apache-2.0 (5) and GPL-3.0 (3).
Can I run a Google Drive alternative with Docker?
6 of the 12 alternatives list Docker as a supported platform.