head to head · open source
copyparty vs fileshelter
copyparty has 46,932 GitHub stars, 1,903 forks, 252 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. fileshelter has 535 stars, 45 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. copyparty leads on adoption by 8,672% (46,932 vs 535 stars). copyparty is written in Python under MIT; fileshelter is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. copyparty has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, fileshelter 8%. copyparty was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| copyparty | fileshelter | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 535 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-03-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 45 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick copyparty if
- You weight community size — 47K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick fileshelter if
- You want the fileshelter feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and fileshelter fits your workflow better
About copyparty
copyparty is a portable file server that turns almost any device into a file server with resumable uploads and downloads through any web browser, built for self hosters, homelab operators, NAS owners and anyone who wants to share files directly from their own hardware.
read the full copyparty overview →
About fileshelter
FileShelter is a self hosted, "one click" file sharing web application that lets you upload files and get back a download URL, built for individuals and small teams who want to share files over the Internet without depending on a third party service.
read the full fileshelter overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is copyparty or fileshelter more popular?
copyparty has 46,932 GitHub stars and fileshelter has 535. copyparty has the larger community by that measure.
Are copyparty and fileshelter free?
Both are open source. copyparty is licensed under MIT and fileshelter under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between copyparty and fileshelter?
copyparty is written in Python and fileshelter 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, copyparty or fileshelter?
Choose copyparty if you want the larger community (46,932 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose fileshelter if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.