replacing Google Drive
Open Source Google Drive Alternatives
Cloud storage and file sync — Google Drive pricing: Free 15GB / $1.99-$18/month. Below: 3 free,
self-hostable open source projects that cover the same ground, ranked by real GitHub adoption.
There are 3 open source Google Drive alternatives tracked on this registry, against Google Drive pricing of Free 15GB / $1.99-$18/month. The most-adopted is Nextcloud with 36,828 GitHub stars under AGPL-3.0, written in PHP. Together the set has 54,204 stars across 3 languages and 2 licences. All 3 are free to self-host with no licence fee, and 3 of 3 received a commit in the last 90 days. 3 head-to-head Google Drive comparisons are available.
Google One pricing scales with storage. Files are scanned and indexed by Google. No client-side encryption option.
Our top 3 Google Drive 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 · Google Drive 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 · Google Drive vs Seafile →
ownCloud Infinite Scale (oCIS) is a self-hosted file sync and share server written in Go under the Apache-2.0 license. It lives in the ownCloud ecosystem and uses reva as a scalable backend with open APIs such as WebDAV and CS3. It presents itself as the foundation for a data management platform and as an open alternative to Google Workspace and Google Drive.
Apache-2.0 · Go · Google Drive vs ownCloud →
last updated nightly · ranking method: github stars, live-tracked
Frequently asked questions
What is the best open source alternative to Google Drive?
Nextcloud is the most-starred open source alternative to Google Drive in this registry, with 36,828 GitHub stars. 3 alternatives are compared here in total.
Are there free alternatives to Google Drive?
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 Google Drive?
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.