replacing Dropbox
Open Source Dropbox Alternatives
File hosting and sync — Dropbox pricing: $9.99-$24/user/month. Below: 2 free,
self-hostable open source projects that cover the same ground, ranked by real GitHub adoption.
There are 2 open source Dropbox alternatives tracked on this registry, against Dropbox pricing of $9.99-$24/user/month. The most-adopted is Nextcloud with 36,828 GitHub stars under AGPL-3.0, written in PHP. Together the set has 52,082 stars across 2 languages and 1 licence. All 2 are free to self-host with no licence fee, and 2 of 2 received a commit in the last 90 days. 2 head-to-head Dropbox comparisons are available.
Dropbox's free tier is 2GB. Family plan caps at 6 users. Files are stored on Dropbox's servers with client-side encryption only on their terms. No self-hosted option exists.
Our top 2 Dropbox alternatives
Nextcloud is a self-hosted cloud collaboration platform built in PHP, licensed under AGPL-3.0. It enables organizations and individuals to store, synchronize, and share files, contacts, calendars, and other data on infrastructure they control, replacing reliance on third-party cloud services. The project lives in the open-source cloud software ecosystem and serves as a decentralized alternative to proprietary suites like Dropbox, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.
AGPL-3.0 · PHP · Dropbox vs Nextcloud →
Seafile is an open source cloud storage system written in C and positioned as a self-hosted alternative to Dropbox and Google Drive. It organizes files into libraries, each of which can be synced separately, encrypted with a user chosen password, and shared between users or groups. The project lives in the self-hosted file sync and document management ecosystem, where it combines storage, collaboration, knowledge management, and metadata features.
NOASSERTION · C · Dropbox vs Seafile →
last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked
Frequently asked questions
What is the best open source alternative to Dropbox?
Nextcloud is the most-starred open source alternative to Dropbox in this registry, with 36,828 GitHub stars. 2 alternatives are compared here in total.
Are there free alternatives to Dropbox?
Yes. Every project listed on this page is open source and free to self-host — there is no licence fee. Some projects also sell a managed hosted version, but the self-hosted path costs nothing.
What should I look at when replacing Dropbox?
Compare licence terms, community size (stars), primary language and release activity. A fast-moving project with a compatible licence and an active maintainer base matters more than raw star count when you are committing to a migration.