head to head · open source
cloudreve vs Seafile
cloudreve has 28,737 GitHub stars, 3,896 forks, 147 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Seafile has 15,257 stars, 1,677 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. cloudreve leads on adoption by 88% (28,737 vs 15,257 stars). cloudreve is written in Go under GPL-3.0; Seafile is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. cloudreve has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, Seafile 11%. cloudreve was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cloud-storage, file-sharing), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| cloudreve | Seafile | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 15K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.9K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick cloudreve if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Seafile if
- You want the Seafile feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and Seafile fits your workflow better
About cloudreve
Cloudreve is a self hosted file management and sharing system written in Go that gives an organisation its own web file manager, sharing layer, and multi cloud storage gateway running on infrastructure it controls.
read the full cloudreve overview →
About Seafile
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.
read the full Seafile overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is cloudreve or Seafile more popular?
cloudreve has 28,737 GitHub stars and Seafile has 15,257. cloudreve has the larger community by that measure.
Are cloudreve and Seafile free?
Both are open source. cloudreve is licensed under GPL-3.0, and Seafile has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between cloudreve and Seafile?
cloudreve is written in Go and Seafile in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, cloudreve or Seafile?
Choose cloudreve if you want the larger community (28,737 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Seafile if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.